In a new podcast interview at Deadline’s “Crew Call,” “Marty Supreme” director Josh Safide and co-writer Ronnie Bronstein (“Good Time,” “Uncut Gems”) discusses what happened to their “48 Hrs.” remake at Paramount Pictures that never materialized, based on the original Walter Hill buddy crime pic from 1982 starring Nick Nolte as a desperate cop, that springs a young Eddie Murphy as a smart-mouthed prisoner to help him track down some violent criminals (considered the first film in the ’80s “buddy cop” genre, although, Murphy doesn’t play a cop in the film).
Tapped by the studio back in 2017, the Safdie Brothers (Benny and Josh Safdie) were tasked to reboot “48 Hrs.” coming off their critical success of “Good Time,” but as Josh tells Deadline, the script they handed in was something “original,” which wasn’t exactly what Paramount was expecting from the siblings.
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“Why I’m giving you the kind of more emotional, intellectual response is to try to shine a light as to how hard it is. I think it’s much easier to, as Ronnie was saying earlier, it’d be great if I could, we did that, we wrote a remake of ’48 Hrs.’ for Paramount, and they read it, and they were like, ‘This isn’t a remake, what is this? This is an original film.’ We’re like, ‘Sorry, we tried.'”
They also talked about why movies are set in the 50s, but feature 80s music (such as Tears for Fears, Alphaville, Peter Gabriel, and John Lydon’s P.I.L.band).
“But it’s the era where [President] Reagan brought back the American dream in air quotes. It’s chasing the prosperity and exuberance of a time in the past; there’s a nostalgia there. The 80s was the first time you saw culture start to eat its own tail. You saw it in fashion, you saw it in hair, you saw it in music, and you saw it in movies. ‘Back to the Future,’ they’re literally going back to the 50s. So I think that in terms of hontological culture, I think that was the beginning of remakes and sequels and whatnot,” Safdie said.
Safide also explains why he gave up final cut on “Marty Supreme,” as co-writer Bronstein said part of that was cause they already established a voice with their movies, so it’s not like studios didn’t know what they were getting when they bought a script. “And thankfully, you know, with each movie, you know, we got a little bit more attention and more opportunities until we were able to form a relationship with A24 with an aesthetic worldview that had calcified. So, you know, we get so much respect in that area because we arrived kind of fully formed, because we were allowed to form our ideas, you know.”
The director added, “I gave up final cut. I don’t need it because I’m trying. If I need to communicate my ideas in a clearer way, you know, if someone’s not agreeing with it, I just have to figure out a way to communicate my ideas in a stronger way.”
As for the next film, both creators said there’s “nothing in the can” and “the tank is completely drained,” both literally and emotionally.
“Marty Supreme,” led by Best Actor Oscar hopeful Timothée Chalamet, has done exceptionally well in limited release over the weekend before the wide release on Christmas Day later in the week. You can listen to that full exchange with Safide and Bronstein on Deadline’s “Crew Call” podcast below, and read The Playlist’s review of “Marty Supreme” right here.
