Luca Guadagnino keeps piling up the projects. This might be his most bewildering one of all. Guadagnino is reportedly set to direct a remake of “American Psycho.”
The remake will follow on Mary Harron’s 2000 film, based on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, which starred a never-better Christian Bale as 1980s Wall Street sociopath Patrick Bateman. Lionsgate has hired Scott Z. Burns to pen the screenplay and reboot the film for the modern age, with a fresh new take on the character.
At the time of its release, “American psycho” had been attacked by notable feminists for its violence against women. Will this film try to avoid controversy? I sure hope not.
The book’s anti-hero, Patrick Bateman, a work and character of pure transgressive art, warned us about consumer culture. The sexism was the point, which further delved into the shallow and vicious aspects of materialism and superficiality. It predicted the postmodern world in which, as literary critic Jeffrey W. Hunter so well put it, the “surface” would reign supreme.
The original film did spawn a direct-to-video sequel that absolutely nobody cared to watch, 2002’s “American Psycho 2,” starring Mila Kunis. It bear no resemblance whatsoever, nor was it connected, to the original — the only reason it was called “American Psycho 2” was to fool audiences into renting it.
Regardless, we can add the “American Psycho” remake to the never-ending list of projects that Guadagnino currently has in development, which includes “Buddenbrooks,” “Separate Rooms,” “The Lord of the Flies,” a “Call Me By Your Name” sequel, and “Leading Men.”
Did I mention Guadagnino released two films this year (“Challengers” and “Queer”)? He also has one in post-production (“After the Hunt”) and ready for release in 2025.