Chris Rock to Remake an Akira Kurosawa Classic? Huh??

You don't eff with Akira Kurosawa. I love Chris Rock as much as the next guy, but do I really want him writing a remake of Kurosawa's 1963 hostage classic, High and Low? No I don't, although that's exactly what's happening according to Black Voices.  While promoting his upcoming remake, Death at a Funeral, Rock revealed he'd be taking over the writing chores on the project from David Mamet. Seriously? From Mamet to Rock? If this was a couple of weeks ago I'd SWEAR we were being pranked.

Mike Nichols(Closer, Charlie Wilson's War) is still directing the project, but no word if original producers Scott Rudin and Martin Scorsese are still involved.

High and Low tells the story of Kingo Gondo, a wealthy exec on the verge of a huge corporate takeover. His plans go awry when he learns that his son has been kidnapped, with the kidnappers demanding a huge ransom. He soon learns that a mistake was made, and it was his chauffeur's son who was actually kidnapped. Gondo must decide whether to use his fortune to rescue the boy, or to use it for the corportate buyout he had been planning.

High and Low is one of my favorite Kurosawa films, and I have zero desire to see it turned into a crappy remake devoid of all the moral dilemmas that made it great to begin with. I know Rock is something of a film buff, and I expect he'll pay the story it's proper respect. However, his other remakes (Down to Earth, I Think I Love My Wife) have left me cold, and Rock wrote both of those as well.

At the very least, the combination of Rock/Nichols/Kurosawa is something that needs to be followed closely. Who knows? Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.