Caffeinated Clint
Well, sort of… you see, Mel Gibson played the character of Parker, the tough-guy thief at the center of the Donald Westlake/Richard Stark mystery novel series, in 1997’s “Payback”; this new movie, simply titled “Parker” will also feature the same character – now played by Jason Statham – but like a Jack Ryan or even a new adaptation of The Great Gatsby one will have nothing to do with the other; much easier to get away with when your central hero is best known as a literary hero than movie hero. Lee Marvin was actually the first actor to play Parker on the big screen; he originated the role in “Point Blank” some years ago – as great as he was in the role, nobody really thinks of Marvin, nor Gibson for that matter, when they think Parker. Helps too that Gibson and Marvin’s characters in the other films weren’t called ‘Parker’.
Now Statham’s going to try and make a movie icon out of the character. Jennifer Lopez is in discussions to play the female lead (Maria Bello played head chick in the Gibson version) says Deadline, a woman named Leslie who gets involved in a heist that Parker’s trying to pull off. And Taylor Hackford is set to direct. Oh, and he will be called ‘Parker’.
What I’d like to know is when this new film might be set – will be it a noir, as the novel suggests? That needs to happen; secondly, why the heck Statham!? Clive Owen busy?
