The latest film Hollywood is looking to give the remake treatment to is the 1993 comedy Grumpy Old Men. Long-time collaborators Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau starred in the original as feuding neighbours John Gustafson Jnr. and Max Goldman, and the film still holds up pretty well. Perhaps that’s why Eddie Murphy is in talks to star in a sort-of remake of the buddy comedy.
New Line Cinema is producing a new comedy which is reportedly “inspired” by Grumpy Old Men, but who knows how much is inspiration and how much is just rehashing the same jokes. Tim Story will direct and produce the film, alongside John Davis, who produced the original.
There’s not yet word on who will star opposite Murphy, but Samuel L. Jackson‘s name has reportedly been mentioned as a possibility, which is no surprise considering he just finished collaborating with Story on Shaft.
The not-really-a-remake is also in line to potentially get a new title, which is a slight surprise considering Hollywood’s current love of linking any new project to one from the past with familiar IP. Though it’s debatable if Grumpy Old Men is something younger generations are familiar with.
Murphy recently wrapped filming on Dolemite Is My Name, where he plays Rudy Ray Moore, a self-made blaxploitation icon of the 70s who starred in a series of films about a kung-fu wielding pimp who also owns a nightclub. That film also stars Chris Rock, Keegan-Michael Key, Wesley Snipes, and Craig Robinson, and will debut on Netflix at some point relatively soon.
#Peace.Love.GrumpyOldMen
