ROTTEN TOMATOES: Exclusive: Tony Scott talks Warriors Comments

Exclusive: Tony Scott talks Warriors

by Joe Utichi | June 02, 2009

Summary

Tony Scott sat down with RT recently to discuss The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, but of course we couldn't leave him without taking about another remake on his agenda; The Warriors. Based on a novel by Sol Yurick, the 1979 original was written and directed by Walter Hill. "I'm not doing a straight remake," he insisted. "I love the original Warriors and I'm using the same basic story. It's really still 10 guys stuck at point B and they need to get back to point A. But I'm going to set it in Los Angeles and it's going to be a kind of study of gang culture in LA today." Back to Article

(1-38 of 38 posts) | Reply

Bob S. writes:
on Jun 02 2009 01:19 AM

This movie's a cult classic - and it's not one that I'm averse to seeing redone with a larger budget. It's one of the most interesting interpretations of Xenophon's Anabasis (anyone else read The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford? Awesome book). The gangs in THE WARRIORS were well-crafted and memorable, and hopefully their portrayal here will be equally so, even if they're grounded in reality. I think Rockstar Games even released a computer game based on the movie.

A hundred thousand real gang members? Wow...but Tony, please, no more style over substance. Yes, 100,000 gang members will make for a highly memorable scene, but what makes the tale of Xenophon interesting (no matter how it's told) is the characters and their journey through danger.

(Reply to this)

John Z. Delorean writes:
on Jun 02 2009 03:52 AM

The Rockstar Game was great and the movie is a classic. I don't mind actual gangmembers as extras but I need real actors in the main roles and even though its not a remake please add an Ajax type character. I'd rather have seen it shot in NY because I think it adds more atmosphere and is almost claustrophobic at times like in the subway or the Lizzies hideout.

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princ3_ali writes:
on Jun 02 2009 04:02 AM

this is by far the dumbest thing i have ever heard
after just writing a paper about contemporary cinema and its obsession with remakes, i think i would know which can and can not work

the idea of having guns in the warriors throws the story out of perspective
and changes the whole mood and atmosphere

i will personally be boycotting this movie and tony scott with his stupid ways

(Reply to this)

princ3_ali writes:
on Jun 02 2009 04:03 AM

this is by far the dumbest thing i have ever heard
after just writing a paper about contemporary cinema and its obsession with remakes, i think i would know which can and can not work

the idea of having guns in the warriors throws the story out of perspective
and changes the whole mood and atmosphere

i will personally be boycotting this movie and tony scott with his stupid ways

(Reply to this)

princ3_ali writes:
on Jun 02 2009 04:08 AM

this is by far the dumbest thing i have ever heard
after just writing a paper about contemporary cinema and its obsession with remakes, i think i would know which can and can not work

the idea of having guns in the warriors throws the story out of perspective
and changes the whole mood and atmosphere

i will personally be boycotting this movie and tony scott with his stupid ways

(Reply to this)

John A. writes:
on Jun 02 2009 04:39 AM

Tony Scott, the master of subtlety and director of such classics as Domino and Deja Vu, is perfect for this. I greatly look forward to... ok, I couldn't even finish that statement. Sorry. This will be awful.

Maybe it would work with a better director, one with a talent for both characterization and visceral action. I dunno, Martin Campbell or Pierre Morel (director of Taken). I'm not suggesting that there's much characterization in Taken, but we immediately "get" Neeson's character without any idiotic subplots and the movie does its job of blowing things up and shooting guys. The Warriors, no matter how its done, should be a similar series of action set pieces, just with wackier costumes.

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Propadanda writes:
on Jun 02 2009 04:55 AM

This could be a great entertainment flick, I just hope it doesn't get modernised and too "realistic" like Tony implied, by meeting real gang leaders and **** like that. I don't want people pulling out guns and having shootouts on urban streets with a blue filtered look. I want it to be colourful, old-school and very reminiscent of the original, with lots of outlandish gang get-ups, bandannas and all. Something that's a lot of fun.

Pretty much I'd like it to be very similar to the original, but that looks like it isn't going to happen. I'm still really interested in seeing how it turns out though.

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De4ective Detectiv3 writes:
on Jun 02 2009 05:21 AM

I could never understand the love for this movie. It's so campy. I always preferred Escape From New York to this. Is Tony Scott really going to try and put a serious spin on it?

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Mike B. writes:
on Jun 02 2009 05:50 AM

I can't wait to watch the riot on youtube when he gets 100,000 gang members *from different gangs* together on a fawkin bridge.

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Yjeizz writes:
on Jun 02 2009 06:26 AM

If you're going to base it in Los Angeles and you're not making it a straight remake, don't call it The Warriors. The original is amazing and a classic none the less. I really hate the phase Hollywood is in right now.

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BUCK69 writes:
on Jun 02 2009 07:09 AM

In reply to this comment (#2523872)
Now I know why you call yourself princ3_ali - you say the same thing three times. This is a remake that would work. First of all, it's not going to be a straight remake. The first was more surreal, like Walter Hill's "Streets of Fire." This is going to be more grounded in the real world; the location is obviously different and it will be much more closely tied to the source material. I see this as more akin to the recently announced Coen Brothers remake of "True Grit" as opposed to some of the more recent garbage that's been tossed on movie screens.

(Reply to this)

jokerboy1991 writes:
on Jun 02 2009 07:18 AM

Yeah I never LOVED Warriors, I thought it was fun but nothing amazing. I dont care much about a remake. I think Tony Scott is fine and not as bad as some say.

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ZiGyStRdUsT writes:
on Jun 02 2009 07:33 AM

I have a feeling putting so many gang members together might not result too well.

(Reply to this)

Gimy writes:
on Jun 02 2009 07:49 AM

is this finally getting made? reminds me of fanboys, lots of talk for YEARS and it turns out to be crap. i heard about this years ago, same premise with the REAL life gangs but...nothing ever happened. should be fun. gimme the behind the scenes footage rather than the actual movie though...sounds way more entertaining

(Reply to this)

Ashron writes:
on Jun 02 2009 07:56 AM

I think this could be pretty good. I loved The Warriors as a teenager, but I saw it recently and, while the fight scenes are still cool in their stylized way, parts of the movie are painfully slow. I don't think an update is necessarily a bad thing.

And to the person who said they wanted it to be close to the original, if that's the case, just watch the original.

(Reply to this)

chewie louie writes:
on Jun 02 2009 08:03 AM

100,000 L.A. gang members together in one location? What could possibly go wrong?

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TheCaptain of TeamLoyalty writes:
on Jun 02 2009 08:28 AM

A remake of a mediocre movie, it could work, i mean it cant be worse than the original...well it will have to try hard to be worse than the original.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Jun 02 2009 08:39 AM

Warriors. . . come out to Play e AY.

DeNiro used real bike gang peeps in A BRONX TALE and it worked out really well.

(Reply to this)

CFM writes:
on Jun 02 2009 08:59 AM

"I'm hoping to get a hundred thousand real gang-members standing on the Vincent Thomas Bridge for one shot."

Cool. Then I hope the authorities are onhand to bust them punk-a$s beoyches. Yeah!

(Reply to this)

CFM writes:
on Jun 02 2009 09:01 AM

In reply to this comment (#2523871)
I dig how princ3_ali thinks he knows which remakes can and can not work, because he wrote a paper. *raises middle finger*

(Reply to this)

CFM writes:
on Jun 02 2009 09:05 AM

I wonder if they'll have the gang that dressed up as clowns.

Or the baseball dudes with bats. Great stuff.

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Dunk writes:
on Jun 02 2009 12:50 PM

Screw having the cops try to bust them; just gather them and drop a big bomb!

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Bob S. writes:
on Jun 02 2009 01:15 PM

I think one of the aspects of the original that worked so well was the highly stylized gangs - each one had its own personality, and it was pretty apparent just by sight which was which. Going the realistic route drops that entirely, and like others have said, if the violence is made "real" instead of stylized, it's going to have a different feel.

The reason that I think a remake might work is that the original is a bit dated and has some pacing issues. Slight tweaks here and there and it could make a really fun movie. Tony Scott will need a really good script though - hopefully they've abandoned the version that was floating around in 2006, because that script was just not good at all.

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Confounded writes:
on Jun 02 2009 01:49 PM

I post comments on Rotten Tomatoes,
so I think I know which posters are and are not mentally handicapped.

I'm sure ali's paper is hanging up on the fridge next to his stick figure crayon drawing of him and his mommy.

And CFM, I think it would be hilarious if Tony Scott goes through all this hassle, rounds up 100,000 gang members, put them all on a bridge, shoots his scene, and then blows the bridge. Not only is Tony Scott a director, but he is now the single cause of the crime rate in LA dropping to almost nothing. Plus, CGI is for pussies.

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Jun 02 2009 03:54 PM

In reply to this comment (#2523932)
DAMN, you beat me to the line.

(Reply to this)

ZigBallistic writes:
on Jun 02 2009 04:33 PM

It will be a great feat getting 100k gang members all together without some fighting/killing other ones. I salute the attempt.

(Reply to this)

GreenBastard writes:
on Jun 02 2009 04:37 PM

The original movie was really good but I dont think the movie itself was great just the premise. I love the idea. I liked the 80's setting to it allowed the gangs to fight without guns. Modern with guns and no cool 80's retro will probably suck balls.
Sounds more like Judgement Night. Crap

(Reply to this)

BatsInTheBelfry writes:
on Jun 02 2009 07:36 PM

The videogame did a great job of expanding on the movie. I think the remake could be okay, but I agree with the idea that New York works better as a claustrophobic atmosphere.

(Reply to this)

Luke M. writes:
on Jun 02 2009 09:22 PM

I am a huge fan of the original Warriors film and loved the video game. When I was younger I used to watch that movie at least once a week, yeah weird. I don't love it like I used to but it still has some... 'magic.... whole lotta magic'.

Anyways, I think anyone going to see this movie with hopes of experiencing anything that resembles the original Warriors is going to be very dissapointed. I'll go and see it but I'm expecting tattooed mexicans and your average lame-*** L.A. gang members in place of the baseball furies and the turnbull A.C's. Tony Scott is a pretty good director but I wouldn't be surprised if the movie sucked.

I'd love to see a sequel to The Warriors video game tho! :D

(Reply to this)

Bob S. writes:
on Jun 02 2009 10:12 PM

In reply to this comment (#2524089)
@Luke M:
Latino Review posted a script review of the Tony Scott WARRIORS back in '06. I don't know if they've redone things, but that script looked like it more or less mimicked the original with many of the changes coming from a transplantation of the setting to NYC. It also received a grade of F from El Mayimbe - I think it was his first. I don't know if they've changed the script significantly since then, but I've been hearing about Tony Scott's remake of this off and on for a few years.

You can read the review here if you're interested:
http://www.latinoreview.com/script-reviews/the-warriors-33

(Reply to this)

Dark Knight jr. writes:
on Jun 02 2009 11:23 PM

I dunno 'bout this. The Warriors was set in a fantasy, gang-infested Ny. If you put more realism in it, then it's just gonna be like a generic nigga vs. nigga move. I ain't wit' that crap, 'cuz it's gonna make 'em look like dumbasses. I want the fantasy in it. This guy is a retard..

(Reply to this)

GreenBastard writes:
on Jun 03 2009 03:24 AM

I love that bit at the end where the dude has the bottles on his fingers! Magic!

(Reply to this)

Dave J. writes:
on Jun 03 2009 06:16 PM

I was anticapating a new warriors movie would be made since the old one is not too realistic. Current gangs most don't wear identical outfits with one another unless you're in a biker gang such as the Hell's Angels.

(Reply to this)

laughingcrows writes:
on Jun 05 2009 01:14 PM

I beg you PLEASE leave "THE WARRIORS" alone.

If you can't come up with an original idea, don't make a movie.

Re-makes and re-hashes are beyond joke level, it's just sad now.

(Reply to this)

Jonathan P. writes:
on Jun 08 2009 03:28 AM

Horrendous news - Tony Scott just ruined my Monday.

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Rumblestiltzkin writes:
on Jun 08 2009 06:06 AM

I'm down with this. I would like to see what this turns out to be. My curiousity wins.

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billtheburger writes:
on Jun 08 2009 06:27 AM

what the first 2 comments said times a million
make new stuff hollywood, you lazy people, you are rich enough not to worry about money, be more inventive and creative.

(Reply to this)

deadlysquirrel writes:
on Jun 10 2009 03:08 AM

Warriors...come out and plaayyyaayyyyyyy! I give Tony Scott the green light, if u have seen his type of photography and scenery, I liked his taste and grimy look of mexico when he did Man On Fire...So i can imagine Warriors having the gritty look, sorta like Training Day...If he can give it that atmosphere that would be amazing...If u could bring back some of the original actors and maybe have them in as cameos or something that would be awesome as well...Can u dig it suckaassss?!?!!! Can youuuuu diggggg ITTT...!!!!?????

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