Universal Pictures acquires rights to ‘On the Job’
Variety Magazine has announced that major Hollywood studio Universal Pictures has picked up Erik Matti’s On the Job for a major US production.
According to the report, Universal has optioned exclusive rights to the Filipino film, originally produced by Star Cinema and Reality Entertainment, and tapped Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormakur to write and direct the Hollywood remake. Kormakur, who is also an actor and film producer, is famous for directing the 2012 film Contraband, which was also a remake of Oskar Johansson's Reykjavik- Rotterdam, that topped the US box office in January of that year, and the hit action comedy 2 Guns this year.
Variety also said that top Hollywood producer Scott Stuber, who owns the Universal-bannered Bluegrass Films, will oversee the production with Nick Nesbitt, who acquired the film for the company.
Stuber is known as executive producer of the comedy The Internship starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and producer of Identity Thief, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, both of which were released this year, and the 2012 blockbuster film Ted, which featured Seth MacFarlane, Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis.
He and Bluegrass are also on top of the upcoming Keanu Reeves film 47 Ronin. Among his other production credits are Battleship (Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgaard, Rihanna), Safe House (Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington), Love and Other Drugs (Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway), and Love Happens (Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston).
Safe House, which is strikingly similar to On the Job, raked in $200 million worldwide.
Kormakur’s RVK Studios and XYZ Films, which handles worldwide sales for On the Job, are co-producing the project.
Potential cast members
The report did not mention any actor who could be potential cast members, but several reports pointed to Breaking Bad lead actor Bryan Cranston as among the possible shoo-ins, most probably for the role of the middle-aged assassin, played by Joel Torre in On the Job.
The film will not entirely take the story and screenplay of Michiko Yamamoto and Erik Matti, but will have an entirely new adapted screenplay based on the Filipino hitman drama. Komakur was tapped to write the adapted screenplay with additional inputs from a story he developed before Matti helmed his blockbuster. On the Job is now getting rave reviews in its current international run, particularly in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, where it received a thunderous ovation.
While we are elated that an immense Hollywood studio like Universal recognized a Filipino cinematic gem for a major Hollywood film, we fear that the remake will be entirely different from the Filipino production and only retain the storyline and some salient production elements.
We hope, however, it retains the original title, like what US film producers did with their Japanese and Korean film adaptations, and keep the Filipino film’s creative team active in the production. Perhaps Matti can act as co-director or consultant, or a member of the cast can retain his or her role, similar to what happened to director Yam Laranas and actress Iza Calzado in the US remake of Sigaw.
Otherwise, it might just be a legal rip-off.
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