There are only a few things guaranteed in life such as death, paying taxes and apparently remakes of John Carpenter films. Despite the fact that most of them fail miserably, Hollywood keeps churning them out in a desperate attempt to re-capture the magic Carpenter was able to muster on shoe-string budgets. One particular film of Carpenter's is Escape from New York, a dark, gritty and violent look at a future America where New York City has been turned into one giant prison where the worst of the worst are summarily dumped and left to fend for themselves. When terrorists capture Air Force One and crash it into a skyscraper, the US government must find a way to rescue the President before time runs out on a peace summit being held. This is where Snake Plissken enters the picture. As portrayed by Kurt Russell, Plissken is the ultimate anti-hero. Neither hero nor villain, Snake is a man out for himself though he is not one without his own moral code. Snake Plissken is a character most actors dream of playing because he provides every juicy bit of coolness possible. He's his own man with a mysterious past, a badass who is just as good with his fists as he is with a gun, women want him but aren't sure why, men fear him and they know exactly why. The eye patch, the bad-ass attitude - Snake is a futuristic Clint Eastwood passed through the filter of Vietnam. Who wouldn't want to step into his shoes? Well producer Joel Silver is trying to find that guy with his proposed remake of (and hopeful trilogy for) a new Escape from New York. As the media has covered the attempts at starting the production up over the years, many names have been talked about, speculated upon and semi-officially attached to the role. So let's take a look at some of those actors who could be great choices for the character and some others that would, to keep with the Eastwood theme Kurt Russell used as inspiration, be bad or just plain ugly. Let's start with five who shouldn't even come near Snake.......
5. Timothy Olyphant
You remember Olyphant's scene stealing role in Live Free or Die Hard don't you? No? What about the remake of The Crazies? Still nothing? Perhaps that's because despite the fact that Olyphant is a talented actor, he has this air of trying too hard to be tough. If there's one thing about Snake Plissken it's that he never has to try hard at being tough, he just is. It should come easy for the actor, we shouldn't see the strain on his face as he tries to get the right look in the eye, etc. Olyphant is not someone you want to see "win the day," he's more like the slightly scummy henchman that you want to see killed by the hero in the last 30 minutes of a movie.