Death Race
Directed by	Paul W.S. Anderson
Produced by	Paul W.S. Anderson Jeremy Bolt Roger Corman Tom Cruise Paula Wagner
Written by	Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring	Jason Statham Joan Allen Tyrese Gibson Ian McShane Natalie Martinez
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	Autumn 2008
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Death Race is an upcoming American film written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film is a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 and stars Jason Statham in the lead role. The remake had been in development since 2002, though production was delayed by disapproval of early screenplays then placed in turnaround following a dispute between Paramount Pictures and the producer duo Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Death Race was acquired by Universal Pictures, and Anderson re-joined the project to write and direct. Filming began in Montreal in August 2007, and Death Race is slated for a release in fall 2008.

Premise

In a future America, prison inmates are forced to compete against each other in a driving arena. The prison warden (Joan Allen) coerces a prisoner with only weeks before his release (Jason Statham) into becoming a driver. The prisoner becomes a crowd favorite known as Frankenstein.<ref name="buckle" />

Cast

• Jason Statham as a prisoner coerced to drive in the arena, becoming famously known as Frankenstein.<ref name="buckle" />
• Tyrese Gibson as Machine Gun Joe, a sociopathic racer who looks to escape from prison.<ref name="buckle" />
• Joan Allen as the prison warden.<ref name="buckle" />
• Ian McShane as a coach.<ref name="buckle" />
• Natalie Martinez as Case, Frankenstein's navigator.^[1]

Production

In March 2002, director Paul W.S. Anderson revealed that he was directing a remake of Death Race 2000 (1975) entitled Death Race 3000 at Paramount Pictures based on a script by J.F. Lawton. The remake would be produced by the producer pair Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Anderson described the remake as a riff on the first film. "It's not a straight remake at all. The first movie was an across-America race. This will be an around-the-world race. And it's set further in the future, so the cars are even more futuristic. So you've got cars with rockets, machine guns, force fields; cars that can split apart and re-form, a bit like Transformers. Cars that become invisible," the director explained.^[2] Two years later, Roger Corman, the producer of Death Race 2000, elaborated that he had an option agreement with producer Tom Cruise, and that Cruise would portray the lead role. The director said that Cruise had not been happy with the first two screenplays and that a third one was underway.^[3] In June 2006, producer Jeremy Bolt reported that Anderson would direct the remake of Death Race 2000 after completing (2007). The producer described the remake's new tone: "We've basically taken the idea of reality television and extended it twenty years. So it's definitely a comment on society, and particularly reality television, but it is not as much a parody or a satire as the original. It's more straight."^[4] The following August, Paramount ended its relationship with Cruise/Wagner Productions, and Death Race was placed in turnaround. According to reports, when the project was discovered available, Universal Pictures acquired it. Cruise and Wagner resumed their roles as producers, and Anderson returned to write and direct the film.^[5]

In April 2007, actor Jason Statham entered negotiations to star in Death Race, with production slated to begin in late summer or early fall.<ref name="seat" /> Anderson described that Death Race would take place in a prison, and that the film would be "super-violent" like its predecessor. "It has little echoes of the original – a lot of people get run down, but rather than having the points system, which had no pay off anyway, it’s a pure race. It’s more like Gladiator, with the last person standing – or driving, winning," explained the director.^[6] Filming on Death Race began in Montreal in August 2007. The film is slated to be released in autumn 2008.^[7]

References

External links