Gerard Butler Escapes “New York”
By Garth Franklin
With “Assault on Precinct 13”, “The Fog” and “Halloween” having gotten the remake treatment, and often talked about plans for a sequel/remake of “The Thing”, it was only a matter of time before the last of director John Carpeneter’s great late 70’s/early 80’s high concept thrillers got slated for the same treatment.

Scottish hottie Gerard Butler, leading the charge in current box-office champ “300”, is attached to star in a remake of Carpenter’s 1981 actioner “Escape From New York.” Neal Moritz is attached to produce and scribe Ken Nolan (“Black Hawk Down”) will pen the screenplay reports Variety.

The deal goes out this week to distributors who’re already vying for the property. Butler would play Snake Plissken, the one-eyed convict who’s charged with heading into the inescapable maximum security prison formerly known as Manhattan to liberate the U.S. president.

Kurt Russell originated the role and reprised it in the 1996 sequel “Escape to L.A.” One is curious as to how the film’s setup will be changed. In the original, terrorists hijack Air Force One and crash it into one of Manhattan’s skyscrapers. In another key scene, Plissken enters Manhattan by landing a glider on top of the World Trade Center. Both elements will no doubt have to be altered to fit the post 9-11 world.