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Zak Penn Rewriting a Dirty Dozen Remake

by Alex Billington
July 5, 2007
Source: Variety

Screenwriter and filmmaker Zak Penn, who's almost always in the news for something usually comic book related, has popped up again, this time rewriting a remake of The Dirty Dozen for Joel Silver and Warner Brothers. The classic 1967 action film starred Lee Marvin as a major who conscripts twelve condemned soldier-prisoners for a dangerous mission in WWII. Following that trend that 2008 is the year of the return of WWII movies, this is a rewrite of an original remake script that would contemporize the storyline.

Would this remake work? Or is it yet another washed out remake that no one will look forward to. It's almost too classic to remake, but maybe Zak Penn will bring the right touch to the script and improve it into something that will be a truly worthwhile remake.

In addition to this remake, there are a number of other WWII movies in the works for the next few years, including: Bryan Singer's Valkyrie, Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, Edward Zwick's Defiance, Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna, David Goyer's new Invisible Man, and even the X-Men spin-off Magneto.

Explore tags: Movie News

Heckle0

If they do this and F it up i will be sooooooo upset. I love the original. Ranks up there with Stalag 17 and The Great Escape.
Charlie

I find it hard to believe this might work. The actors from the original are iconic and when you think of Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Jim Brown, or Telly Savales, how could this pass your mind? Leave the Dirty Dozen-like movie to Tarantino who's doing his spin with Inglorious Bastards. Nuff said.
Julian in San Antonio

Heckle0 & Charlie, I agree with both of you. And enough with f*&^%$#@ with the classics. And this is a TRUE classic. They don't make movies like The Dirty Dozen anymore. How in the hell are they going to "modernize" it? Put it in Iraq? Kuwait? North Korea? What a horrible idea. Absolutely horrible. Leave it alone. If they try and to a remake of Sam Fuller's "The Steel Helmet", there's gonna be a hate crime coming on. -30-
Goose

I never understood how a remake makes the classic any less of a classic. If anything it'll bring more people to check out the original who havent already. You're old favorite isnt changing, if you dont like it dont go see it.