Werner Herzog’s remake of Abel Ferrara’s early ’90s depraved cop classic, “Bad Lieutenant,” just got a little bit more awesome or terrible depending on which side of the fence you’re on.
Starring Nicolas Cage in the full-frontal cocksmith role made famous by Harvey Kietel and co-starring Eva Mendes, the cast has just grown by the inclusion of Val Kilmer and Xzibit.
Though we love Herzog, clearly we were on the disgusted side when we heard about this film, but the more and more we read, hear and think about this project, the more the wonderful absurd proclivities of this amazing German director start to excite our irony leanings (which we normally keep in check at all times).
Kilmer and Xzibit are really huge names at this point, but we think we’re finally starting to see where Herzog is going with this and of all things it’s starting to conjure up – coincidentally enough – Ferrara’s “King Of New York,” which if you watch now is just as comical as it is amazing.
Kilmer will play Cage’s cop buddy (naturally probably another loose cannon scumbag) and Xzibit will play his nemesis. The film sounds like it’s going to be done on the cheap in the same way Herzog’s “Rescue Dawn” was (but not painful low-budget, just a modest mix of action and drama). Producer mensch Avi Lerner spoke to the L.A. Times about the project and he basically said, they’re not fucking around with the money. According to the Times, because of Werner’s prestigious name, Cage was willing to cut his fee to do the film, taking roughly 10% of his normal $20-million fee.
The film starts shooting on July 14 and the production won’t be spending money on superfluous luxuries like trailers for actors. “‘I don’t want to spend the money on stupid things that you won’t see on the screen.’ So there won’t be any big trailers. You lose one trailer, you save $100,000. You lose five trailers, you save $500,000.”
Don’t forget Christian Bale ate maggots on the set of ‘Dawn,’ and there were no trailers, just huts in the middle of the jungle. If you’re working with Werner Herzog, you better be prepared to keep the pampering at home.
Lerner says the film is going to have a ton of commercial appeal and won’t be the artsy version of ‘Lieutenant.’ “I trust Werner. He was very clear. You saw what he did with ‘Rescue Dawn.’ He wants to make a mainstream movie.” Don’t go thinking that it’s going to be Michael Bay style though. You’ve hopefully seen enough Herzog/Klaus Kinski films to know better.
