The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that the long-in-development remake of the action crime comedy Uptown Saturday Night has found another director to step behind the camera in the form of Dope writer/director Rick Famuyiwa with Kevin Hart (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) still set to lead the film in front of the camera.
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The remake will be written by Kenya Barris (Black-ish) who is working on the most recent draft of the screenplay. A remake of the 1974 comedy of the same name has been planned for some time, with Will Smith and Denzel Washington originally in talks to star with Adam McKay set to direct. While Smith’s schedule doesn’t allow for him to lead the film onscreen, he will still be producing the feature with his Overbrook Entertainment partner James Lassiter. Hart and John Cheng will produce as well through their HartBeat company.
Purchase the original film here.
The original film, directed by Sidney Poitier, starred Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte as a pair of friends who, after getting robbed, learn that they’ve won the lottery and set out to track down the thieves and the wallet with the winning ticket inside.
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Uptown Saturday Night was previously set to serve as a quick reunion between Hart and Malcolm D. Lee who recently collaborated on Night School, premiering in theaters on September 28, 2018. Lee’s other credits include last year’s summer hit Girls Trip, Barbershop: The Next Cut, The Best Man Holiday, and Undercover Brother.
After writing and directing the well-received coming-of-age drama The Wood and the romantic comedy Brown Sugar, Famuyiwa found widespread acclaim and success with the indie coming-of-age comedy Dope. He was previously attached to helm the solo Flash outing for the DC Extended Universe but had dropped out of the project in 2016 due to creative differences between Warner Bros. and the filmmaker.
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