Rumor: Rooney Mara Wanted For ‘Oldboy’ Female Lead?
Spike Leeisset to directan American version of the South Korean favoriteOldboy, withJosh Brolinlooking likethe guy to play the lead role. Brolin would be a man who is kidnapped one night and imprisoned for fifteen years for reasons unknown to him. Released back into society just as abruptly as he was snatched, he begins to look for the person or persons responsible for his incarceration. Along the way he meets a young chef who becomes his partner in the search. And now there’s a report thatRooney Mara, ofThe Social NetworkandThe Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is the choice to play that role.Twitchhas the report, and has been first on the ground with other news about the film, including Spike Lee’s involvement, and the casting of Josh Brolin. (Though we’ve also seen tweets from Variety staffers that call Brolin’s participation into question.)
The site says the character for which Mara is a candidate has been named Marie in the script byMark Protosevichthat forms the basis for this film version. (That script ispartially new material, partially based onPark Chan-wook’s South Korean film, and partially based on the manga that inspired that film.)
Twitch has also been one of the sites reporting the word thatChristian Baleis apossible choicefor the villain of the film, but as of yet we have no reliable word that such a thing is true.
Mara would be a great choice for the character, as David Fincher’s reliance on her forThe Girl With the Dragon Tattoois probably all the encouragement anyone needs that she’d be prepared to handle the weirder parts ofOldboy. Bale would also be a solild choice for the villain. But at this point, we wait to see what Mandate Pictures and Spike Lee decide to do.
