David Ayer to script Scarface remake

After spending the bulk of his career writing and directing stories of corrupt and morally bankrupt cops, David Ayer(Training Day, Dark Blue) is going to be doing something a little bit different. Back in September, we learned of Universal's plan to launch an all new reboot of Scarface, which would take elements from Howard Hawks' great 1932 film and the overrated 1983 version. While I hoped it was just one of those ideas studios throw out there to see if there's any public interest, my wishes fell on deaf ears because it seems to be picking up steam rather than losing it with Ayer being brought on to pen the script. Ayer told Deadline....


Ayer: “I sought it out; I went after it hard. I see it as the story of the American dream, with a character whose moral compass points in a different direction. That puts it right in my wheelhouse. I studied both the original Ben Hecht-Howard Hawks movie and the DePalma-Pacino version and found some universal themes. I’m still under the hood figuring out the wiring that will translate, but both films had a specificity of place, there was unapologetic violence, and a main character who socially scared the shit out of people, but who had his own moral code. Each was faithful to the underworld of its time. There are enough opportunities in the real world today that provide an opportunity to do this right. If it was just an attempt to remake the 1983 film, that would never work.”

Well, at least he's excited for it, so this isn't just some money grab for him. Still, he's not saying anything that makes me think he's found a new approach to the Tony Montana story. With no director on board as of yet, I wonder if they'll consider letting him get behind the camera as well? While he's known primarily for his writing, he made his directorial debut a few years ago with the Christian Bale dirty cop flick, Harsh Times. He followed that up a couple of years later with...you guessed it...another dirty cop flick in Street Kings. Right now, Ayer is putting the finishing touches on End of Watch, yet another movie based on the boys in blue and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. He won't begin on Scarface until that's completed. Ayer has also been rumored as trying to put together a remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando.