New Role for Alex in “Straw Dogs” Remake
FINALLY! A new film for Alex! Here’s a few articles on the new project!
Thesps leashed for new ‘Straw Dogs’
Bosworth, Skarsgard join Marsden in film
Screen Gems has set Kate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgard to star alongside James Marsden in “Straw Dogs,” a reimagining of the 1971 Sam Peckinpah film.
Rod Lurie wrote the script and will direct. Shooting is scheduled to begin in August.
Marsden plays a Hollywood screenwriter who relocates with his wife to her hometown in Mississippi. Bosworth plays the wife, who left the South for LA. to become an actress and returns home so her husband can finish his script in quiet. Skarsgard plays her high school boyfriend, an ex-football hero who sees the return of his former girlfriend as a way to reclaim glory.
Bosworth, most recently seen in “21,” next stars in “Warrior’s Way.” Skarsgard is playing the badass vampire Eric Northman in HBO’s “True Blood.” Before that, he starred in HBO’s “Generation Kill.”
Marc Frydman and Lurie are producing through their Battleplan Prods. banner. Gilbert Dumontet, who brought the project to Screen Gems, is executive producer.
UPDATE: Okay, now Kate Bosworth has been confirmed by Variety as Marsden’s wife in the feature. As much as the Skarsgard casting impressed me, Bosworth’s addition… not so much. On top of that, the more fleshed out storyline from Variety sounds rather generic to me. I updated the article below to contain all the new information.
Well, I am not exactly excited for Rod Lurie’s update on Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, but the idea “True Blood” co-star Alexander Skarsgard has landed a role has me a little more optimistic as he has joined the cast along with Kate Bosworth.
James Marsden stars in the film in a role that was previously occupied by Dustin Hoffman in the 1971 original thriller I urge all of you to watch, but it appears this remake is going to hardly be anything like the original and is beginning to smell truly vanilla.
Marsden plays a Hollywood screenwriter who relocates with his wife to her hometown in Mississippi. Bosworth plays the wife, who left the South for LA. to become an actress and returns home so her husband can finish his script in quiet. Skarsgard plays her high school boyfriend, an ex-football hero who sees the return of his former girlfriend as a way to reclaim glory.
The big change right off the bat is the decision to move the film from the English setting of the original and send it into the South, although that is one thing that bothers me as I am concerned it is going to play to traditional country bumpkin stereotypes. As for Skarsgard playing an ex-football hero and Bosworth’s high school boyfriend sounds so “been-there-done-that.”
I wrote more on my thoughts on the remake back in April, but have since toned down my concern seeing how a remake can’t hurt the original so why should I bother myself? Perhaps we’ll have a pair of good films to look back on.
As it stands now the film was originally set for an August 2010 release, but has since been moved to TBA status. Screen Gems will distribute.
Alexander Skarsgard lies with ‘Dogs’
Actor cast in remake of Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 thriller
By Steven Zeitchik
July 15, 2009, 10:50 PM ET
Alexander Skarsgard is going from vampires to vicious locals.The “True Blood” star has signed to “Straw Dogs,” Screen Gems’ remake of Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 thriller.
Rod Lurie is directing the updated pic, in which a Hollywood screenwriter encounters bloody threats and conflict from locals in a small Southern town after he and his wife move there.
James Marsden is the lead. Skarsgard will play Charlie, described as a grizzled, athletic type.
Skarsgard, repped by CAA, has had roles in features like “Zoolander” and the HBO miniseries “Generation Kill.” He is best known for playing Eric Northman in “Blood,” also set in the South.
I really don’t think the world needs a remake of Sam Peckinpah’s raw rural thriller STRAW DOGS, but necessity is rarely the driving force behind Hollywood decisions…
At least the update is getting an interesting cast. James Marsden looks like he’ll finally get more deserved dramatic work as a Hollywood screenwriter (…) who travels with his wife to her hometown for a bit of seclusion, only to find himself dealing with rape and terror. Bad vacation, yeah.
Now joining Marsden are actress/RealDoll Kate Bosworth, and Alexander Skarsgard (Stellan’s awesome son) of HBO’s “Generation Kill” and “True Blood”. One of them plays the wife, the other not.
The shocking 1971 original starred Dustin Hoffman as a scientist who moves to a quiet area in England with his British wife (Susan George) to get away from the violence of America, only to find himself savagely mixing it up with some nasty locals.
The update is being directed by Rod Lurie (DETERRENCE, RESURRECTING THE CHAMP), a former film critic who should honestly know better than to touch something like this. But I guess a job is a job…
Extra Tidbit: Skarsgard played one of Derek’s ill-fated model buddies in ZOOLANDER. R.I.P., Meekus.
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