What does Kurt Russell think of Zack Snyder’s 1997 New York remake?
First asked the legendary Snake Plissken. And he doesn’t seem to be totally opposed to it…
Present at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, to receive a Crystal Nymph for his entire career, Kurt Russell is today a star of the small screen thanks to The Madison (on Canal +) and Monarch (on Apple TV). But for many he remains one of the great action heroes of American cinema of the 1980s and 1990s. Among his most emblematic roles is obviously Snake Plissken, the one-eyed mercenary from Escape from New Yorkwho became in France New York 1997.
However, lately, the idea of a remake of John Carpenter’s post-apocalyptic classic seems to be coming to fruition in Hollywood, with Zack Snyder at the helm. Asked by First in Monte-Carlo, Kurt Russell tells us what he thinks:
“This isn’t the first time they’ve talked about it. They’ve been trying for several years… I want to say: why not? Go ahead, give it a try!“
More precisely, the actor believes that the adventure of Snake Plissken imagined by Carpenter is starting to date and that it could perfectly be brought up to date:
“It’s a story that we told 45 years ago now, so it’s clearly open to a new version… So, good luck (laughs)!“
As for the very principle of the remake, Kurt Russell recalls that there are no immutable rules in Hollywood. He himself participated in one of the most famous remakes in cinema:
“You see, I did The Thing with John Carpenter right after New York 1997, and it was a remake! So we obviously have the right to make remakes…“
But the actor above all highlights what was the strength of Carpenter’s film:
“With The Thing, John completely reinvented the 1951 film, returning to the original novel, Who Goes There?. He made it a story of pure paranoia, something absolutely terrifying, with horrible creatures. At the time, it shocked everyone. But times change and the way we see films evolves.“
In other words, Kurt Russell gives his blessing to the project… on the condition that Snyder finds his own way to enter the legend of Snake Plissken.
