Nicolas Cage is Werner Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT

By Matt Holmes / May 13, 2008

Werner Herzog, the genius German director who doesn't so much grow with every movie he makes but instead sticks to the incredibly high level he set himself to some decades ago and never seems to have a dip in form. He is Mr. Consistent. He puts out nothing less than a four star movie each and every time he picks up the camera. BUT, having said that... he is giving himself a challenge here. The word has leaked from Variety that Herzog will remake the 1992 thriller Bad Lieutenant - a no-holds barred NC-17 movie (looks a little Taxi Driver-ish) made at the height of a resurgence in the career of it's lead Harvey Keitel shortly after Reservoir Dogs and before his Academy Award friendly turn in The Piano. Herzog will be remaking the movie with Nicolas Cage and production will begin in the summer...

Edward R. Pressman producing and Avi Lerner's Nu Image/Millenium Films financing. The original film, also produced by Pressman, starred Harvey Keitel and was directed by Abel Ferrara from a screenplay by Ferrara and Zoe Lund. That film received an NC-17 rating with the depraved title character heavily involved in drugs, gambling, sex and stealing while a New York police officer. The new script's written by Billy Finkelstein, a TV writer with credits on "Murder One," "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue."

Nicolas Cage... really? One of the most boring leading actors of the last few years. The actor who totally embarrassed himself by his performance in The Wicker Man remake and has stunk out the cinema for his last four movies straight. You get Cage... the epitome of not cool to play the walking God that was Harvey Keitel during one of his career highs? No thank you. Werner Herzog... we have interviewed you before for Obsessed With Film - we support you as a great artist... one of the truly great directors of my life time and beyond but what is your thinking here? If you or your reps have one of those Internet name catching devices and you are reading this post, please let us know why you are remaking a movie that is just over 15 years old. WHY would you do that? I could understand if it was a Foreign Language movie but it's not. I haven't seen the original but it seems to stand up on it's own feet... what is the need for this?