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John Carpenter’s Escape From New York Getting Rebooted by Fox

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Dust off your eye patch, find your machete and get ready to Escape From New York again. Fox has just landed the rights to reboot John Carpenter’s cult classic film and transform it into a new franchise for the dystopia-hungry masses.

The 1981 film, which was written, directed and scored by Carpenter, was set in 1997 and starred Kurt Russell as special forces veteran Snake Plissken, who is sent into the maximum security prison formerly known as the island of Manhattan to rescue the President after Air Force One is hijacked and crashed into the wasteland.

Fox acquired the rights from StudioCanal after what was reportedly a very long and competitive bidding process. But they aren’t the first film company to try and revamp the film — both New Line and Silver Pictures have attempted this in the past.

While the Hollywood rumor mill has been working overtime on this project, including some intriguing ideas about casting Sons of Anarchy‘s Charlie Hunnam, The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal, or former Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens in the lead as Snake Plissken, Deadline reports that the project is starting from scratch.

Not that Fox will be entering the gang-filled Manhattan prison entirely alone. While the project is still in the very early stages of development, Carpenter is supposed to be on board as an executive producer who will “exert creative influence” over the project.

The success of films like The Hunger Games and Divergent show that audiences are always eager to enter dystopian futures (so long as they can leave again when the film is over). The re-boot of the Escape from New York franchise that presumably includes Carpenter’s 1996 sequel Escape From L.A., which was set in 2013, could translate to big box office returns for Fox, presuming they can get it off the ground.

[Deadline]

22 Movies That Are Being Turned Into TV Shows

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Minority Report (Fox) The rebooted version of the Tom Cruise sci-fi flick will be set 10 years after the Precrime division has been dismantled and will focus on a female detective. 20th Century Fox
Big (Fox) The TV show version of Big, from the creators of Enlisted, will be a limited series that delves into "what it means to be an adult and what it means to be a kid, and how in today's world those two things are more confused than ever."20th Century Fox
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Hitch (Fox) Will Smith, who starred as a love doctor in the movie version of Hitch, and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith will produce this workplace comedy about dating politics.Columbia
Scream
Scream (MTV) This 90s horror classic is getting a modern update: It will follow a spate of killings kicked off by a viral YouTube video. But if the TV version is anything like the movie, no actor on the show should make long-term plans. Dimension Films
Owen Wilson in "Marley and Me"
Marley & Me (NBC) Though the Marley & Me movie may have been a tear-jerker, the proposed TV show will be a comedy. Picking up where the film left off, John, Jenny and their three children will be forced to adopt a new stray puppy — whom they name Marley, of course.20th Century Fox
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Bachelor Party (ABC) The writers have said the TV show, "loosely based" on the 1984 Tom Hanks movie about bachelor party debauchery, will be an anthology series in which each season focuses on a different wedding party and examines the relationships of various couples.20th Century Fox
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In Good Company (CBS) In Good Company focuses on a middle-aged executive who must contend with a new boss who is both half his age and dating his daughter. Paul Weitz, who wrote the 2004 film, is onboard to write and executive produce the show.Universal
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Monster-in-Law (Fox) The 2005 comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda will follow a happily married woman who must contend with her mother-in-law while preparing to welcome a baby.New Line Cinema
The Devil's Advocate (NBC) The series, like the Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino film, will center on a public defender who joins a law firm that is run by the devil.Warner Bros.
The Dark Fields
Limitless (CBS) Bradley Cooper, who starred in the action film, will executive produce the Limitless TV series about a writer who is able to access 100% of his brain on a mysterious drug called NZT.Relativity Media
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Real Genius (NBC) A present-day reboot of the cult Val Kilmer film, Real Genius will be a workplace comedy about the relationship between a physics legend and his naive coworker.TriStar
Rush Hour (CBS) The TV show version of Rush Hour will again pair up a play-by-the-rules Hong Kong police officer and a rebellious black Los Angeles cop in a procedural-type show.New Line Cinema
The Illusionist (CW) The Edward Norton film may have been set in 1889 Vienna, but the TV adaptation will take place in turn-of-the-century New York. It will follow a famous illusionist who returns home from prison to find his wife married to the mob boss who framed him for a crime.Yari Film Group
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Uncle Buck (ABC) Like the 1980s John Hughes movie starring John Candy, Uncle Buck in its TV show form will focus on a man who must learn to grow up by taking care of his brother's kids. Universal
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12 Monkeys (SyFy) Set to premiere January 19, the series features a man sent back from the future to prevent a plague that will destroy mankind.Universal
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The Odd Couple (CBS) Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon star in this remake of the classic Neil Simon play/film/show about a two recently divorced men and roommates — one messy and one a neat freak.Paramount
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School of Rock (Nickelodeon) Set to air on Nickelodeon, School of Rock will follow a down-on-his-luck musician who pretends to be a substitute teacher at a prep school.Paramount
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Shooter (TNT) Mark Wahlberg, who starred in the conspiracy thriller film, will produce the TV adaptation about a sharpshooter who is framed for murder.Paramount
Ashecliffe, a prequel to Shutter Island (HBO) Dennis Lehane, author of the novel Shutter Island upon which the Martin Scorsese film is based, will pen a prequel called Ashecliffe that would explore the eerie hospital's past before Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the film ever visited. Scorcese is reportedly in talks to direct the pilot.Paramount
The Truman Show (Paramount) Paramount Pictures has begun to develop a Truman Show TV series about a man unknowingly living in a semi-scripted reality show — a concept that's become all-the-more relevant in the age of hacks, shrinking privacy, over-sharing and social media.Paramount

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