Breck Eisner is my new best friend. Okay, maybe not, but I did get to chat with the director twice about The Crazies, which also happens to be one of my favorite films of the year. Anyway, according to THR, Eisner has another big remake gig in his future, Escape From New York.

The rights have been in Newline’s hands for quite a while and the plan seemed to have hit a wall up until just two months ago. Apparently Allan Loeb worked some magic and altered the script enough to meet the studio’s requirements, particularly working out the details of the character originated by Kurt Russell, Snake Plissken. In John Carpenter’s 1981 original, Plissken is one of many inmates of Manhattan after the entire island is converted into a prison due to a major crime increase. As reported by Vulture, this updated version will depict New York City in a less pricy manner, primarily intact having merely been evacuated, not ravaged.

Eisner is no novice when it comes to working with a minimal budget. Considering what he was given, what he was able to accomplish in The Crazies is tremendous. All Eisner really needs now is an actor to take Russell’s place. When New Line first acquired the rights back in 2007, Gerard Butler was the man for the job. It’s 2010 now and Butler apparently has better things to do like The Bounty Hunter. Perhaps I’ve seen one too many stills from Ondine, but what about Colin Farrell? Throw an eye patch on him and his character from that movie would look exactly like the original Plissken!

By Perri Nemiroff