Rod Lurie, the man behind the upcoming Straw Dogs remake, says he will not tone it down and the film could be controversial as Sam Peckinpah‘s original. The Playlist is reporting on an interview Lurie did with Collider as he is going for a hard R rating. Lurie was quoted as saying the following:
“…I keep reading blogs from people saying it’s going to be far less violent than the 1971 film [or that] the rape scene will be watered down. And those people are going to be shocked because this movie is hard R, it’s a tough movie.”
Lurie continues to explain:
“If you’re looking for the film to be less violent, less tense, less provocative, less controversial than the first you’re looking at the wrong film. It’s going to be very controversial.”
Lurie isn’t just making a shot for shot remake, as he will bring his own vision to it as star Alexander Skarsgard says:
“It’s a remake and it’s not. Rod Lurie wrote it and directed it, and you can’t just copy a Sam Peckinpah movie because there’s really no point in doing that. You have to add something and I think Rod did. What attracted me to it is that there’s also a love triangle drama there. My character had a history with Kate Bosworth’s character. They dated for many years, she leaves and she comes back ten years later with James Marsden’s character who’s a screenwriter from Hollywood. It’s a culture clash.”
Although I’ve never seen the original, I am aware that it was very controversial when it was released. The film has been banned in a number of countries and is extremely violent. I’m happy Lurie isn’t toning his version down. Too many horrro remakes these days have toned down their violence to go for the PG-13 rating and quite frankly it’s bullshit. These films should stay true to the original material. Good for Lurie for not giving into the studios and rating boards.
The film stars Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, James Woods, Dominic Purcell and Willa Holland. There is no confirmed release date yet.
Are you a fan of the original? Will you check this one out?