Mike Nichols, who directed last year’s Charlie Wilson’s War, is confirmed to direct a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low for Miramax Films.
Kurosawa’s original 1963 film starred Toshiro Mifune as a businessman who learns his son has been kidnapped and pays ransom to the criminals, only to find out it is actually his chauffeur’s son, sending him into dilemma of whether or not the child’s life is worth his money. The film itself was based on the novel King’s Ransom by Ed McBain.
The reboot’s screenplay has been written by David Mamet (Hannibal, Ronin) and has not started casting yet. Scott Rudin and Martin Scorsese are set to produce the film.
Originally, Scorsese was supposed to direct a remake of the film, but since it took Mamet over two years to acquire rights to the screenplay, Scorsese put it on hold.
So far, two of Kurosawa’s films have been remade. The Seven Samurai was made into a U.S. Western film in 1960, The Magnificent Seven, and is equally as popular as its original. Rashomon was remade into The Outrage in 1964 and starred the late Paul Newman.
Steven Spielberg is also currently developing a remake of Ikiru for DreamWorks.
