Heat type Movie genre Mystery

Thriller

Simon West knows action, having directed the likes of Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and this year’s The Expendables 2, and now he’s set to direct another action thriller: a remake of the 1986 film Heat.

Jason Statham will take on the starring role played by Burt Reynolds in the original, Sierra/Affinity announced Thursday. The company is handling international sales for the film. Statham and Steven Chasman for SJ Pictures will produce, with Quad Films (The Intouchables, Heart Breaker) co-producing. Cory Yuen, who directed Statham in 2002’s The Transporter, will come on board as the movie’s action director/fight choreographer. The script is a modern version of the original, written by Oscar winner William Goldman, who wrote Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, based on his own novel. Principle photography will begin next February.

The thriller tells the story of Nick Escalante, played by Statham, a gambling addict who ends up in Las Vegas, “where he takes odd jobs providing ‘security’ to support his addiction,” according to the press release. “His professional and personal lives collide when his friend is brutally beaten, forcing him to take on the mob.”

Next up for action staple Statham is Parker, out in theaters Jan. 25.

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