John Woo’s Next 2 Passion Projects

I’m going to check out that epic period piece RED CLIFF this fall and see what the buzz is all about but frankly, I want director John Woo to return to pure fire power hardcore action. At point, there were rumors about THE KILLER, the original version was bloody awesome, and then there’s that CALIBER adaptation that was announced last year but nothing has gone into production since.
Talking to Movieline, Woo revealed 2 passion projects that he wants to do next and they’ll be his first English language films since Paycheck (2004)

“I still have two projects that I like very much,” Woo said. “One is trying to remake a French classic called Le Samouraï.” That news may surprise Woo fans, since the director already mounted a near-remake of Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 crime drama with his Chow Yun-Fat starrer The Killer. However, twenty years have passed since the release of The Killer, and as Woo explained, “I want to make it into a modern film.”

As for the second project, it has something in common with Red Cliff, said Woo. “The other is also a historical period film: Marco Polo.” He laughed as he revealed that while the ancient Chinese story of the Battle of Red Cliff has long dominated his thoughts, he’s been just as interested in the tales of explorer Marco Polo and his relationship with Kublai Khan. “It’s one of my favorite stories,” he said.

The original 1967 Frech film Le Samourai is about a perfectionist Assassin who never gets caught. He lives in solitary with no friends. But one night, when he shoots an owner of a nightclub, a eyewitness sees him in the act. Things get more complicated when his employer tries to have him killed and the police is actively tracking him down.
This will be a good Woo movie, this could be a good reunion with John Travolta (Broken Arrow, Face/Off)

* Here’s the old trailer for Le Samourai