EuropaCorp announced they are partnering with the global entertainment studio All Nippon Entertainment Works, Japanese partner Nippon Television and Chris and Paul Weitz’s production company Depth of Field, to develop, finance and produce an English-language Shield of Straw remake. The film will be based on the recent Japanese thriller, directed by Takashi Miike. Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt (Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen) are writing the script.
The original film tells the story of a team of five police officers charged with protecting an accused killer who has been marked for death by the billionaire grandfather of his latest victim. Shield of Straw was a finalist in the competition for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and was a huge theatrical success that year in Japan. A translated version of the original novel was released by Vertical Publishing earlier this year.
“We are thrilled at the prospect of bringing the remake of the Japanese thriller Shield of Straw to American audiences and the world-wide market,” said EuropaCorp President Lisa Ellzey. “This film is right on brand for EuropaCorp, and we look forward to working with the filmmakers on this project.”
“I’m thrilled to learn that the Hollywood film production based on my debut novel ‘Wara no Tate’ is proceeding smoothly,” said the author of the original novel, Kazuhiro Kiuchi. “With EuropaCorp’s involvement in the project, it’s exciting to consider the prospects of the film being set in the U.S. where we’ll see the characters speeding via train through cities across the country. As a fan of the original film, I look forward to seeing this new version.”
The producer of the original work, Nippon TV’s Naoaki Kitazima will produce the Shield of Straw remake with Depth of Field’s Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano and Dan Balgoyen alongside Climan and EuropaCorp.
