Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the rights to Zhang Yimou’s remake of the Coen Brothers’ “Blood Simple.”
Zhang’s film is described as a “thriller-comedy remake”and will be set in a Chinese noodle shop in a sand dune-specked desert, rather than a bar in an unnamed Texas town. The owner of the noodle shop’s seemingly simple plan to murder his adulterous wife and her lover quickly spins out of control after the introduction of a gun into the lives of characters more accustomed to knives and swords.
“The idea of a remake of ‘Blood Simple’ as seen through the eyes of Zhang Yimou’s masterful visual elegance and clever narrative twists is genius,” said SPC’s co-presidents and co-founders Michael Barker and Tom Bernard. “Our continued partnership over the years with both Zhang Yimou and Bill Kong has always been so fruitful. We are excited to be back in business with them.”
Produced by Bill Kong, the film see release under the Sony Pictures Classics banner in North America, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand and will be the 11th collaboration between Yimou and SPC. No release date has been set yet. Production on the project just started a few weeks ago. [Indiewire]
