ROTTEN TOMATOES: Gandolfini Joins Pelham One Two Three Remake

Gandolfini Joins Pelham One Two Three Remake

From Mafia don to mayor.

by Jeff Giles | March 25, 2008

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A Sopranos movie is still the stuff of rumors, but fans of James Gandolfini will be seeing him in theaters soon enough.

Variety reports that Gandolfini has joined the cast of Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three remake, signing on to play the mayor of New York City. For those unfamiliar with the story, Gandolfini's character has to deal with a major PR headache when a crew of criminals (led by John Travolta) hijacks a subway car. Denzel Washington will star as one of the police officers tasked with saving the day.

Pelham joins a growing list of projects for Gandolfini, who also provides the voice of one of the Wild Things in Spike Jonze's upcoming Where the Wild Things Are; according to Variety, Gandolfini will be "producing an untitled drama that casts him as author Ernest Hemingway for director Philip Kaufman."

The article also says Gandolfini will be returning to the network that signed his checks during the Sopranos' run; his production deal with HBO will be bearing fruit in the form of ABCD Camp, a film starring Gandolfini as Sonny Vaccaro, "the godfather of grassroots basketball whose camp launched the careers of dozens of NBA superstars."

Source: Variety

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(1-10 of 10 posts) | Reply

walkingdead09 writes:
on Mar 25 2008 06:02 AM

The Pellam movie sounds good, as for the other stuff, hard to see Tony Soprano as that stuff, but I guess that's what actors do. Being a huge sopranos fan, he will always be type cast for me and that's a good thing, although I'm still upset he killed christopher.

JD

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John Z. Delorean writes:
on Mar 25 2008 06:33 AM

I'm def hyped about ABCD camp. Growing up playing aau ball in new york, sonny vaccaro is legendary even if he is a polarizing figure in youth ball. As far as pelham they could cast a talking dog as mayor as long as Tony Scott and Denzel are down I'm there...twice on a sunday.

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theginsengtree writes:
on Mar 25 2008 06:59 AM

I'm very worried about this. The original had a comic charm because of Walter Matthau's tired, irritated attitude toward the crisis, but I can't see Denzel pulling that off at all. They'll probably turn it into another serious hostage flick.

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rle4lunch writes:
on Mar 25 2008 07:29 AM

Travolta/Gandolfini, hmmm. I really don't know how to comment on this. Sounds like a 'Get Shorty' kinda flick, or something in that neighborhood. I don't believe that I saw the original, so hearing the word 'remake' doesn't make me cringe as much as usual. I just don't know though. I'll wait for DVD for this movie, sometime in 2010.

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Eldorado writes:
on Mar 25 2008 10:05 AM

So just because Travolta & Gandolfini were in Get Shorty together, that makes this one sound the same?? Regardless of plot??

Good lord..

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rle4lunch writes:
on Mar 25 2008 01:45 PM

yes.

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postgray writes:
on Mar 25 2008 02:44 PM

In reply to this comment (#1652214)
I totally agree. Denzel is almost always devoid of humor. The great thing about Matthau was that he was a hilarious curmudgeon and that made people underestimate him, especially the cool, assured mastermind Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw). PELHAM is one of the best depictions of NY attitude on screen and I hope they don't lose that. EVERYONE in the original was cranky and annoyed that they had to deal with a hijacking, even the hostages! Fantastic...

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John Z. Delorean writes:
on Mar 26 2008 05:54 AM

I'm sure Denzel can pull this off...I know he's no Matthau but he's atleast an aight actor, right? Whatever, Denzel will be good, he was cool in Inside Man without being a tough guy and charismatic as ever in American Gangster. If you don't like the idea then just rewind your tapes and watch the original, haters.

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manonfire238 writes:
on Mar 26 2008 03:28 PM

Well I like Gandolfini and Denzel but I like the original Pelham 123 more! Having said that, I'm curious enough to see what they do with it. It's a good story and to be honest with that and the cast that's they're getting together, they'd have to work very hard to mess it up!

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patsw writes:
on Mar 27 2008 08:14 PM

"No parking" We're filming Pelham One Two Three near me --- March 30 2008 Roosevelt Ave (Woodside, Queens NYC) 61st - 59th Streets.

These same blocks have appeared in "Changing Lanes" and "Kinsey"

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