American studios are pretty much constantly plumbing Asia for film properties that they can westernize and introduce to American audiences (see The Departed, The Ring, Fistful of Dollars, The Magnificent Seven, The Lake House, etc.). Now it looks like Fistful of Dollars star Clint Eastwood is about to get a taste of that medicine. Eastwood’s 1992 Best Picture winner Unforgiven, which Eastwood both directs and stars in, is set to get a remake from Japanese director Lee Sang-il, and actor Ken Watanabe. According to The Playlist, Yurusarezaru mono will trade the late 19th century American west for late 19th century Japan, specifically on the island Hokkaido where the Ainu people are being displaced by Japanese settlers. Watanabe in the starring role seems like obvious/excellent casting; every American role he’s taken since he first appeared to American audiences in The Last Samurai implies that he’d have absolutely no problem embodying the stoicism and unflappability that made the last act of Unforgiven so amazing. What might be especially great though, is if they keep Morgan Freeman in the supporting role and make the movie into a buddy comedy about two guys who each have no clue what the hell the other is saying.
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