Director Todd Phillips, who is mostly know for directing comedies such as The Hangover, Old School and Due Date, is venturing into new movie genre territory. He's currently in talks with Paramount Pictures to direct a remake of the 1974 James Caan gambling crime drama The Gambler.
Martin Scorsese was attached to direct the movie at one point, with a script written by William Monahan, who wrote the script for The Departed. It's crazy to think that Phillips is kind of stepping into the shoes of Scorsese for this next project. I'm surprised he's taking it on, but I think he'll do a good job with it. I'm glad he's expanding his horizon and doing something different. It will make him a better director.
The story follows Alex Freed, a literature professor at UCLA who has gambling problem. When he has lost all his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, then his mother and finally borrows some from some gangsters which isn't good for him. Despite of all this he cannot stop gambling.
I liked the original movie, and I'm interested to see Phillips take it on. What do you think about the director trying something new? I wish more directors would.