Len Wiseman to direct 'New York'

Len Wiseman to direct 'New York'

Gerard Butler to star in New Line's remake



Variety.com


August 14,2007



By DAVE MCNARY



Len Wiseman ("Live Free or Die Hard") has decided to "Escape From New York," and is set to helm the New Line remake, which will star Gerard Butler and be produced by Neal Moritz.Wiseman's in final negotiations with the minimajor, which won bidding in March for a package that included Butler following the boffo launch of "300."

"Black Hawk Down" scribe Ken Nolan is penning the script. Exec producers include Original's Ori Marmur; Ron Halpern and Frederic Sichler of Canal Plus, which held the remake rights; and John Carpenter, who directed the original 1981 pic.

Butler's portraying Snake Plissken, the convict and war hero who's sent into a futuristic Manhattan -- which has been turned into a giant maximum security prison -- to rescue the president of the U.S. after his plane is knocked down by terrorists. The original starred Kurt Russell and was set in 1998.

"Live Free or Die Hard" has grossed more than $335 million worldwide. Wiseman, who broke into the business in production design, directed "Underworld" and "Underworld: Evolution."

He’s repped by ICM.



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