Returning some video tapes: Small budget 'American Psycho' remake planned

Remakes are nothing new, adding bigger names and budgets to perfectly good (or bad, but usually good) films to give them increased exposure to a new generation, but Lionsgate's green-lighting of an 'American Psycho' remake with a shoestring budget is particularly interesting news.

David Fincher's second unit director on 'The Social Network', Noble Jones, a relative unknown aside from his commercials and music video work, will be making his feature film debut with the project. He wrote a script last month that updated the 80s set killing spree and social commentary up to the present day, impressing Lionsgate who own the remake rights.

Updating the unashamably 80s pop culture criticism will mean a loss of soundtrack favourites Phil Collins ("This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite.") and Huey Lewis ("I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.") among many other winners. A sense of nostalgic distance and hindsight of musical tastes helps make 'American Psycho' so brilliant. A breakdown of Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger' probably won't have the same pre-killing effect.

Bret Easton Ellis wrote the original novel which the 2000 film was based on. Christian Bale took on the title role of yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman. Filled with explicit violence and sex, Mary Harron's version of the film (taking over from Oliver Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio) met with mixed reviews and relatively small box office returns in the US but it's stature has gradually increased to become a cult classic of modern American filmmaking.

The first film was produced also on a small budget of $8m. Details of the remake's budget haven't been released but it has been confirmed by Deadline as "microbudget". A name for the scenery chewing lead hasn't been announced either but considering the independent direction the film's taking, a fresh face or emerging star wouldn't be surprising.
 

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