Casting has begun for the remake of the 2010 Best Foreign Picture Oscar winner The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos). Twitch reports that Denzel Washington has been offered the lead role in the thriller being re-written/directed by Billy Ray (not of the Achy-Breaky variety).
The Argentinean thriller directed by Juan Jose Campanella came out of nowhere to win the trophy and Hollywood soon came a-knockin’ with bags of cash with plans of a remake. Warner Bros. ended up with the film and brought on Ray whose previous credits include classics like Shattered Glass and Flightplan. To be fair, Ray also wrote State of Play and Breach, so there are a couple decent films on his filmography.
The movie follows a retired legal counsel who writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and his unrequited love with a superior, both of which haunt him decades later.
The role was originally played with near haunting perfection by Argentinian actor Ricardo Darin. Granted two-time Oscar winner Washington is a worthy actor to portray the role, but do we really need to remake this movie? Isn’t winning the Best Foreign Picture Oscar validation enough? What’s next – are they going to remake last year’s foreign winner, In A Better World or the Japanese film Departures from two years ago?
Where do you stand on this topic? Is Denzel a good choice for this re-make and, taking it a step further, do you think an Oscar winning movie needs to be re-made?
