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Doug Liman to Direct the Coen Bros Scripted 'Gambit' Remake?

by Ethan Anderton
April 29, 2010
Source: Deadline

In January we heard that the Coen Brothers-scripted remake of the 1966 British caper comedy Gambit may finally be going into production sometime soon. But at the time, no director was mentioned, and it was assumed the Coens would take on the project themselves sometime down the road. But it looks like they'll be passing on their script to another director as Deadline reports that Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) is circling the project as his next potential directing gig following Fair Game. Since the story itself deals with a comedic tone set amidst some action, Liman (who also directed Mr. & Mrs. Smith) would be a perfect fit.

The original film starred Michael Caine as scheming career cat burglar Harry Dean who prepares to steal a priceless statue from the world's richest man with the help of showgirl Nicole Chang (Shirley MacLaine), a dead wringer for the victim's dead wife. Though the plan seems fairly foolproof at first, as it's set into action, Dean's accomplice makes things more difficult than he imagined, and he must constantly reinvent the plan as it spirals wildly out of control. Sounds like a lot of fun to me, especially with the Coens behind the script.

But Gambit isn't the only project Liman might take on as Deadline says his other choices include an untitled moon mission project at Paramount with Jake Gyllenhaal (never heard of this?) and The Three Musketeers project which is also competing with Paul W.S. Anderson's own 3-D musketeer-centric flick. It's unsure how soon he will make his decision, but a Coen Brothers-scripted film, even if it is just another remake, is usually the best option in almost every scenario. Let's hope Liman makes the right choice soon, because I'm looking forward to finally seeing Gambit get remade. What do you guys think about Liman directing this?

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