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My new most anticipated movie: MANIAC COP

tn_maniaccopWell, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD had a good decade-plus run as my most anticipated movie. And that worked out well. I doubt I’ll ever see another one pay off like that in my life, but it’s always good to have things to look forward to, to keep you going.

Right now there are plenty of lower key projects to be excited about, from the finally-happening BOYKA: UNDISPUTED IV to the new STAR WARS picture. But right now the one that pushes my buttons the most is actually a remake of MANIAC COP.

This has been in development for a while, to be produced by Nicolas Winding Refn and (last I heard) scripted by Ed Brubaker, writer of acclaimed crime comics (and Seattleite I believe). Sounds fantastic. But what takes this news to the next level is the director: John Hyams, the genius behind UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING, DRAGON EYES, THE SMASHING MACHINE and RANK. I have spent the last five years wondering why the hell some studio hasn’t given this guy a budget to deal with, since his straight-to-video works easily out-thrill, out-style and out-smart most big screen action movies, including $200 million dollar duds like, I’m sorry to say, the recent TERMINATOR picture.

This sounds like the perfect project for Hyams. Bigger, but not multinational corporation big. Material ripe with action, horror and subtextual potential that he can explore while probly not having to deal with too much interference from executives, and with the collaboration of a talented producer who shares his disregard for the boundaries between high and low art.

This still hasn’t been officially announced, so I’ve been hesitant to post about it in the weeks since I first heard of it from a Q&A with original director (also a producer on the remake) William Lustig. But today it has been further confirmed by Hyams on Twitter and apparently Refn at Fantastic Fest. So let’s all keep our fingers crossed that it really happens.

Now I’m trying to think if there are any MMA fighters with giant chins.

Related posts:

  1. Maniac Cop
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  3. Alex Cross
  4. Fury Road teaser
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20 Responses to “My new most anticipated movie: MANIAC COP”

  1. Kenner

    September 25th, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    I hate remakes, but with Hyams aboardand given the news headlines. It’ll be interested to see what Hyama does with this.

  2. Kenner

    September 25th, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    I hate remakes, but with Hyams aboardand given the news headlines. It’ll be interested to see what Hyams does with this.

    Also for the month of sequels, I so hope you get to American Ninja 2.

  3. Charles

    September 25th, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    This is awesome news. I just came from Refn’s exploitation film poster exhibit and book signing for his exploitation poster book “The Act Of Seeing” he did with author Alan Jones. I spoke to Jones for a bit and he was excited to talk about the new MANIAC COP Refn & Lusting were working on as producers, but no mention of Hayms. I was already looking forward to this before I heard Hayms was involved and now I can’t wait. Fingers crossed this becomes a reality.

  4. Charles

    September 25th, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    Andrei arlovski could make one hell of a Manic Cop.

  5. Charles

    September 25th, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    He would be a good Maniac Cop as well. Oh, auto correct.

  6. Max K.

    September 26th, 2015 at 2:35 am

    Apparently Ed Brubaker is in the mix too as they’re working off a script he wrote (is still writing?), now he’s best known for his comics, specifically his superhero comics (he wrote Captain Murica’ for a long time to some acclaim), but to me he’ll always be the guy who wrote the awesome noir-ish grab bag Criminal, the double excellent superhero-espionage series Sleeper, and a bunch of other stuff that’s probably great but I haven’t got round to reading yet.

    Refn and Hyams really seem like the best possible combo for this material. And Hyams being Hyams, you just know he’ll have to up the ante on the OG series, but holy even the most fevered dreams of stuntmen have as much amazing crap as was seen in Maniac Cop 2. He’s got a surprisingly high bar to clear, but I’m sure he’s up to it.

    I mean, that’s all going to be well and good, but you have to get past the fanciful and ludicrous premise of a police officer, a person charged with upholding the law, that such a person might be inclined to commit violence upon undeserving people. Well, that is a just such an enormous leap of logic to make, but that’s the magic of cinema for you I suppose. I’m sure they’ll find some way to make that laughable premise work out somehow.

  7. clubside

    September 26th, 2015 at 5:28 am

    If you want to catch up with Hyams you should check out Z Nation, 10pm EST Friday’s on SyFy.

    He directed a few episodes the first season and continues to be a co-executive producer, but he’s also now doing the writer/director thing. The second episode this season really captured his style and minimalistic dialog with long uncut fights and dynamic staging.

    Don’t let the Asylum brand scare you off, this one has some silliness but it’s mixed with some hardcore action.

  8. Poeface

    September 26th, 2015 at 6:55 am

    Yeah I liked it too clubside. The story followed the well worn path of survivors traversing the dangers of a ZN with the usual personality clashes, but it was the silliness that won me over – the zombinado, the redneck zombie shooting gallery, the crazy cult suicide-bombers, and the women-only compound run by Kelly McGillis, which was a nice call back to her in the excellent STAKELAND.

  9. Mr. Majestyk

    September 26th, 2015 at 8:57 am

    Every time I hear about the highlights of Z NATION, I wish they were condensed into one kickass movie instead of scattered throughout yet another goddamn interminable TV drama. Life is too short to sit through six hours of filler just to see a zombinado.

  10. Poeface

    September 26th, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    I hold accountable the goddamn SHARKNADO trilogy for ruining your attention span and stealing your heart Majestyk.

  11. CJ Holden

    September 26th, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    I blame the current state of serialized television and its Nothing-happens-between-the-season-premiere-and-finale style of storytelling.

  12. clubside

    September 26th, 2015 at 12:21 pm

    If you have access to On Demand or the SyFy app Majestyk just watch Season 2 Episode 2, it really plays like a Hyams feature. You can’t expect that type of storytelling every episode, but it plays standalone enough to enjoy on its own. I enjoy the series for all the reasons Poeface mentioned and more, but if you just want an action reel that episode’ll suffice.

  13. Griff

    September 26th, 2015 at 5:01 pm

    “I blame the current state of serialized television and its Nothing-happens-between-the-season-premiere-and-finale style of storytelling.”

    This is one of the things that irritated me about DEXTER in it’s later seasons.

  14. The Original Paul

    September 27th, 2015 at 5:32 am

    Max K makes a great point. They could make MANIAC COP bitingly satirical if they wanted to. I kinda hope this is the direction that Hyams and Refn take (and I imagine – or at least hope! – that they’re not just doing this for the dollars, they’ve got some new spin to put on it).

    Normally when the word “remake” is said nowadays, my brain automatically equates it with “fucking terrible / pointless”. But maybe this one can be something more.

  15. Jay

    September 28th, 2015 at 9:13 am

    The only Brubaker stuff I ever read were his semi autobiographical Lowlife comics, which are awesome. That alone is enough to get me to watch this if it happens.

  16. Broddie

    September 30th, 2015 at 8:00 am

    I’ll keep an eye out for this.

    Now some talented producer with Hollywood clout needs to be a champion for Isaac Florentine and all will be well in this world.

  17. Broddie

    September 30th, 2015 at 8:04 am

    Brubaker’s Cap stuff bored me when it first started so I never finished it. But he’s also the one that created The Winter Soldier though so if you like that last Cap movie it cribbed a lot from Bru’s work. His X-Men stuff was also pretty atrocious. Overall he’s not my flavor when it comes to mainstream Marvel stuff. I prefer his DC stuff in that regard which is why my favorite comic book work from the guy was his Batman run from the early 2000’s as well as Gotham Central with Greg Rucka. Criminal was ok in the beginning but really got heavy handed and lost in development rather quickly. Still though I do feel that it’s probably the strongest stuff he’s written that’s been published by Marvel.

  18. Charles

    September 30th, 2015 at 10:08 am

    Broddie, I have read some of Brubaker’s stuff, but only a little here and there. I have a friend who owns a comic book store that really liked his Dare Devil run. Ed also was on the “How Did This Get Made” podcast where they discussed the Affleck DD film, and I though he had some good insight into little things that could have made that film better.

  19. Skani

    October 26th, 2016 at 5:23 pm

    Yo, if you’ve got Hulu in the States (can’t speak for elsewheres), Maniac Cop (1988) is streaming.

  20. Shoot McKay

    March 24th, 2017 at 10:03 am

    Maniac Cop remake presses forward

    The Maniac Cop remake will finally start shooting this summer...

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