It's Official - Verhoeven goes topkapi over directing the next CROWN-ing acheivement of Brosnan's career!

Hey folks, Harry here.. Back in 1999, I was out in Los Angeles up to my usual no good, when I got contacted to go meet with Mike Medavoy - as a film geek - I knew his place in the history of 70s films like ANNIE HALL, ROCKY and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.... how he'd ushered films like PLATOON, AMADEUS, ROBOCOP, The TERMINATOR films and a good many others to fruition. At the time he wanted to talk with me a bit about THE 6TH DAY - a film that was a year away at that point... sadly, not a film on the level with those other films. It was amazing as he sat me down and handed me the leather bound copies of the original production drafts for the films that reached BEST PICTURE status... with production notes - and chatting about the history of such things. However, the height of that meeting was when he asked if I'd like to join him at a screening room for a film he'd wanted to take a look at. The title in question was TOPKAPI (1964) - a brilliant film from Jules Dassin. At the time, I knew Jules Dassin, but had never had the opportunity to see TOPKAPI. Peter Ustinov had won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his AMAZING performance... and as I sat in what I can only describe as the most plush and heavenly screening room I've been in... I watched one of the most stunningly beautiful, bizarre and great crime, comedy, adventure, thrillers I'd ever seen. Earlier this year at Half-Ass-A-Thon - I programmed the film to play after STARDUST - as the film is stunningly trippy and colorful and would be a wonderful film to watch afterwards, plus... it was just a movie that I new many would never have had an opportunity to see. WELL - that'll change. The movie has been on DVD for quite sometime, but with no real push... The director, for those of you unfamiliar was the wonderful director behind THE CANTERVILLE GHOST, BRUTE FORCE, THE NAKED CITY, NIGHT AND THE CITY, RIFIFI - and when a director has a filmography that strong... you should make it a point to attempt to see everything that they've done - and TOPKAPI is another stunner.



Why do I bring all this up? Well - The sequel to THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR remake, that John McTiernan helmed - is being based upon TOPKAPI - and I wanted to be sure that those of you unfamiliar with the film, familiarized yourself with it at your earliest convenience. Be it through rental or purchase. With director Paul Verhoeven officially set to helm this sequel/remake... I'm fascinated how they'll adapt TOPKAPI into the world of THOMAS CROWN, because personally - TOPKAPI, to me, is a wondrously unique film... with characters that talk to the camera and the delightful carnival of crime. Who will play the hypnotically sensual partner in crime, I'd cast Monica Bellucci... if such things were left to me... but in the casting of the Peter Ustinov or Robert Morley characters... there are no portly substitutes worthy of their suspenders. And what of Akim Tamiroff's role? This sequel/remake will be filming beginning in January - and we're sure to have casting updates a plenty as this project begins to ramp up over the next two months. With Verhoeven attached - and following his stunning return to form with BLACK BOOK... this could very well be a remarkable film - but at the very least - seek out the original - that's reward enough to discover through this project announcement.