After spending much of the last year sitting in the corner, thinking about what he's done with Get Rich Or Die Tryin',** **Jim Sheridan is in talks to get back to work; specifically , to direct a US remake of 2004's Danish film Brothers.
The original, directed by Susanne Biers and starring Connie Nielsen among others, focused on (as the title suggests) two male siblings. One was just out of prison, the other a family man and career soldier. When the latter is sent on a UN mission to Afghanistan and lost in a helicopter accident, the jailbird finds himself stepping up to the plate - and his brother's missus - to take over his responsibilities. Things really get complicated, however, when the prodigal sibling returns, having been held captive and suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
The remake is being scripted by David Benioff, of Troy and The 25th Hour fame who, incidentally, has been working on the Sam Mendes-produced, Marc Foster-directed Afghan film The Kite Runner in recent years, so should know his Afghan facts. Sheridan's involvement will, it is hoped, attract some A-list talent to the film, which boasts three meaty dramatic roles.
But one question remains - when will this happen? Sheridan has also been linked to a planned remake of Ikiru and Irish-American crime drama Emerald City, neither of which show any signs of getting off the ground. Hopefully this one will make it instead, so that English-speakers all over the world can enjoy a complex and thought-provoking drama without having to deal with all those pesky subtitles.