Ready for a remake of American Psycho?
Lionsgate is preparing a new version of the misadventures of Patrick Bateman. In film? Serial ?
THE golden boy psychopath played brilliantly by Christian Bale will he be back soon? Lionsgate has been teasing a potential expansion ofAmerican Psychoand almost 25 years after the release of the film adaptation of the best-seller by Bret Easton Ellis by Mary Harronthe possibility of a remake seems more than ever ready to see the light of day.
When it was released in theaters in 2000, this black comedy about the world of finance, portraying a particularly odious character, divided critics, but the film gradually reached the status of a cult work. From its first broadcast, there was talk of a sequel. American Psycho 2: All American Girl arrived on the screen in 2002, thought to ride the wave, because in reality, this film has little to do with the original, and it was not validated neither by its author nor by the director. Its actors (notably Mila Kunis) only learned that it would be a “false sequel” ofAmerican Psycho only once on set!
In 2010, Ellis revealed to Guardian that there was also talk of transposing Patrick Bateman’s New York story to other major American cities, a bit like the NCIS : “They thought they were doing American Psycho in LA, American Psycho in Vegas… They wanted to make a whole franchise out of it, actually.”
In 2016, when celebrating the 25th anniversary of his book, Bret Easton Ellis imagined in Town & Country Magazine what today’s Patrick Bateman would look like: “Oh I think he would have launched several websites. Bateman would work at Silicon Valley (…), he would be friends with Zuckerberg and dine at the French Laundry… I think he would wear Yeezys and flirt girls on Tinder.”
“All the themes of the book are still relevant almost thirty years later, he also said. We live in an era where 1% of the population is richer than the rest of humanity, it is an era in which having a jet is as commonplace as having a new car or a million dollar rental. New York, these days, is American Psycho on steroids.”
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Eventually, time passed and when it came time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mary Harron’s film, in 2020, the question of a simple remake came back to the forefront. The author of the novel then explained in Vice that he was surprised that‘American Psycho was such a success because it did not fit into the mainstream productions of the moment. He recognized that the film could not have been made without “obsession” from its producer, Ed Pressman, who had recovered its rights a few years earlier and did everything to adapt it for the screen.
Mary Harron recounted in detail manufacturing his version ofAmerican Psychowhich regularly differs from the book, as well as its casting process, confirming that Lionsgate would have liked to cast Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role but that it was afraid of hiring an actor as popular with a very young audience since the wild success of Titanic.
In spring 2021, Lionsgate TV president Kevin Beggs confirmed that an adaptation ofAmerican Psycho was indeed under development, but that it would be a matter ofa TV series. He then cited this title among others “IP” to be declined for the small screen: “We have just finished adapting Dear White People which was a very good experience. The adaptation of Blindspotting arrives, and a series American Psycho is also in development. We are also thinking of perhaps doing something on television around the franchise Saw…”
In recent days, it is reporter Jeff Sneider who is talking about the project again, but rather suggesting that it would be abouta movie. It evokes “a modern remake ofAmerican Psycho“specifying that Lionsgate is currently looking for a screenwriter to write this new version.
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