The cult success of "Drive" appears to have landed Nicolas Winding Refn the rare status of being a brand name director. Previously beloved by only a few arthouse types, the film's neon cool looks to make him a reference point for all kinds of filmmakers in the near future. And ironically, one of the first movies hoping to cash in on "Drive" is a remake of Winding Refn's debut, executive produced by the director himself.
Hot on the heels of a Hindi language remake of the film in 2010, Vertigo Films ("Bronson," "Monsters") have gotten behind a London-set redo of "Pusher," Winding Refn's 1996 film. Penned by TV veteran Matthew Read, and directed by Spanish filmmaker Luis Prieto ("Ho voglia di te," "Meno male che chi sei"), the film stars Richard Coyle ("W.E.," "Prince of Persia") as an East London drug dealer who sees his life spiralling out of control, while Bronson Webb ("Eden Lake," "Robin Hood"), supermodel Agnyess Deyn, Zlaktko Buric ("2012"), Paul Kaye ("It's All Gone Pete Tong"), Neil Maskell ("Down Terrace") and Mem Ferda ("The Devil's Double") make up the supporting cast.
It's evident from the posters, which HeyUGuys debuted last week, that it's not deviating too far from the source material, even if it's adding a little post-"Drive" neon glamor (and top-billing for Winding Refn) to the mix, but clearly the influence of the director's most recent film reaches further than that, as Prieto has, according to Bleeding Cool, picked legendary British dance act Orbital to score the film. The band, consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, have been going for twenty years, and have had a few screen credits in the past: they contributed the theme tune to 1997's Val Kilmer vehicle "The Saint," they helped out on the soundtrack to "Event Horizon" and more recently scored the 2003 Mischa Barton horror film "Octane".
The band said in a press release that: "Working on 'Pusher' was a great opportunity to create a score that draws on both moody thriller styles and dance music in equal measures. Full of anthemic film noir moments." It's an intriguing proposition — a British techno equivalent to the slinky French electro of "Drive," although time will still tell if the 2012 edition of "Pusher" has anything new to add to the mix. The film hits U.K. cinemas sometime in May, so we'll let you know around then.
