Cuffed in Bangkok

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A note from the great Werner Herzog: "As you probably know, I will begin principal photography of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans in three weeks time, with only a very short period of pre-production. But I am doing fine, and this does not make me nervous. By the way: it is not a remake (as reported almost everywhere) -- it is a completely different story in the same sense as the last James Bond is not a remake of the previous one.

"On another note: just before the hurricane I was scouting locations in Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam for The Piano Tuner, and as soon as I arrived in Bangkok I found myself arrested and handcuffed to a chair because of unpaid bills and taxes by the producers of Rescue Dawn. It required much explaining to explain that I was not the producer."

The Rescue Dawn producer that the Bangkok authorities were looking to get their hands on is almost certainly the notorious Steve Marlton. I'm told that his history, some aspects of which have run afoul of the law, is public record in Oregon.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 15, 2008 at 6:18 PM

comment #1

Josh Massey says ...

Ask him why the hell he's calling it Bad Lieutenant in the first place.

Posted by Josh Massey at June 15, 2008 6:40 PM

comment #2

EOTW says ...

Is that the real title? Jeesh...

Posted by EOTW at June 15, 2008 6:42 PM

comment #3

alynch says ...

Once again, just because the story is different does not mean it's not a remake. By Herzog's logic, the Steve Martin version of The Pink Panther would not be considered a remake.

Posted by alynch at June 15, 2008 8:23 PM

comment #4

D.Z. says ...

alynch: It's a "re-imagining".

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987505.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Posted by D.Z. at June 15, 2008 9:51 PM

comment #5

PerfectTommy says ...

That title opens some great sequel opportunities:
"Noah Cross: Utah Calls"
"Nurse Ratched: In the Pediatric Unit"
"Mr. Potter: Fitting Into New York"

The possibilities for villians and anti-heroes is limitless.

Hey, but if it's Herzog, I'll give it a chance.

Posted by PerfectTommy at June 15, 2008 11:44 PM

comment #6

DavidF says ...

That is a bad title but I think it's also missing a comma or a colon, no?

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call: New Orleans

kinda like
Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace or (to use PerfectTommy's examples) Noah Cross: Another Town: Utah Calls

The New Orleans setting makes me wonder if the plot is at all like Chief Wiggum PI?

Posted by DavidF at June 16, 2008 11:00 AM

comment #7

Joshua Mooney says ...

I love how Herzog lands in Bangkok and is IMMEDIATELY arrested and handcuffed to a chair. Just another crazy day in Werner-world... As was the case with the psychiatrist Hannibal Lektor, after chewing that nurse's tongue out, I suspect Werner's pulse never rose above 85.

Posted by Joshua Mooney at June 16, 2008 12:32 PM

comment #8

BurmaShave says ...

Would much rather see a Herzog documentary on this Steve Marlton. By the way the only way Cage wins me over is if he plays this role with his real hairline.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 16, 2008 1:49 PM

comment #9