Fox is taking the Orient Express for another ride.
The studio has picked up the screen rights to the classic Agatha Christie murder mystery Murder on the Orient Express that was made into a 1974 Oscar-nominated hit, and has set powerhouse producers Ridley Scott, Simon Kinberg and Mark Gordon to produce, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The studio will now search for writers to adapt the material.
The project adapts Christie’s 1934 novel which featured her signature detective, Hercule Poirot, investigating the murder of a passenger on an outbound train from Istanbul.
The book became a mystery classic and was famously adapted into a 1974 movie that starred Albert Finney as Poirot. The movie netted six Oscar nominations, while Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar for best supporting actress.
The Orient Express doesn’t operate anymore, and it’s not clear if Fox and the producers plan on making a period movie or contemporary movie.
Scott is shooting Exodus, the story of Moses, for Fox while Kinberg just re-upped his deal with the studio with plans on godfathering the X-Men universe. Gordon just announced he was developing a new Narnia movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair.
Re: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Remake from Fox, Ridley Sco
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 9:40 pm
by Eric Paddon
We've had two other versions since the 74 film. There was a dreadful 2001 TV-movie which set the story in the present and gave us fewer characters (which disrupts a central theme of the novel regarding the number 12). Suchet's version also surprisingly fell flat. I had more fun with the PC game version which stuck to the main story and threw some twists in for a genuine surprise that worked (Suchet did the voice of Poirot for that one too).
Time IMO has not been kind to Finney's performance. At the time, he gave the best performance of Poirot there had been up to that point (we'd only had Tony Randall before to my knowledge) but looking at it again, Finney is too eccentric and the original made a serious miscalcuation by not making Richard Widmark menacing and threatening as the victim. Suchet became the definitive Poirot but unfortunately got stuck with a bad script his go-round.
Re: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Remake from Fox, Ridley Scott
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 10:18 am
by AndyDursin
Trailer:
Re: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Remake from Fox, Ridley Scott
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 11:11 am
by Monterey Jack
Branagh is a fine filmmaker, and he's assembled an impressive cast. I'll definitely check this one out.
Re: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Remake from Fox, Ridley Scott
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 7:37 pm
by AndyDursin
Certainly has the right cast at the right time. Should rack up some cash provided adults still go to the movies this holiday season!
Re: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Remake from Fox, Ridley Scott
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 2:42 pm
by Paul MacLean
Why is a trailer for an Agatha Christie murder mystery designed like that of a summer popcorn action flick (right down to the trendy pop song)?
Can you imagine the trailer for the Sidney Lumet version using a tune by Jefferson Starship or Grand Funk Railroad?
Re: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Remake from Fox, Ridley Scott
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:01 pm
by AndyDursin
Regrettably even the art of selling movies is over today too!
Re: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Remake from Fox, Ridley Scott
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:13 pm
by AndyDursin
Sounds like an easy pass. Most of the reviews echo this one.
Why remake a movie which got it so absolutely perfect the first time?
You can't outdo the Lumet version -- with that incredible cast (Connery, Widmark, Perkins, Bacall, Hiller, York, etc.), the sumptuous photography of Geoffrey Unsworth, and one of Richard Rodney Bennett's finest scores.
