Warner Bros Also Developing Remake of a TIFF Fave: 'Sleepless Night'

Source: Heat Vision
by Alex Billington
Another day, another remake. It was inevitable. One of the other hot titles coming out of the Toronto Film Fest Midnight Madness line-up this year, also one of my other favorites along with The Raid, is also getting a Hollywood remake - Frédéric Jardin's Sleepless Night. Heat Vision reports that Warner Bros is the studio that ended up with the rights for the remake, zeroing "in on the movie even before it had finished its premiere at TIFF." They haven't named a new director yet, but Roy Lee (of The Uninvited, The Roommate, Abduction, The Woman in Black, Oldboy) is producing & developing for the studio, with Sarah Schechter.

Warner Bros will develop this action-thriller as an English-language remake. Frédéric Jardin's Sleepless Night is a French film starring Tomer Sisley as a cop who gets mixed up with a drug lord who runs a massive nightclub in Paris. When his son gets taken hostage, he ends up being chased all around the club by Internal Affairs agents, the drug lord and his cronies, and many others. I could go the usual route and say screw it, this doesn't need a remake, but I could actually see someone like Michael Mann putting a Collateral like touch on a Hollywood version and it would turn out pretty damn good. The film's concept and writing are what make it stand out, but I'll admit that in a few years time, I wouldn't mind seeing an English-language version, with a new twist. That said, for now our focus will be on the original French film, which is awesome.

While Sleepless Night didn't win any awards at TIFF, it is currently playing at Fantastic Fest in Austin this weekend. Other Midnight Madness titles already being remade include The Raid and I've heard rumors for You're Next, which just got distribution from Lionsgate. We'll definitely keep you updated on release plans and details for Sleepless Night, as this is one you don't want to miss.

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