Justin Theroux approves of Luca Guadagnino‘s potential “American Psycho” reboot. Theroux, who appeared in Mary Harron’s iconic 2000 film, told Vulture that he supports a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, especially during the modern political climate.
Guadagnino’s version, which is being billed by Lionsgate as an entirely new adaptation of Ellis’ book, was announced in 2024 with Scott Z. Burns (“Extrapolations,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”) adapting. Austin Butler was rumored to lead the film as Patrick Bateman, the character that Christian Bale first brought to screen. However, author Ellis later said that the remake was “fake news” and that no deals for any of the aforementioned creatives are in place. Guadagnino went on to appear in a video message during Lionsgate’s CinemaCon presentation confirming his involvement in the project.
Count Theroux among those who would like to witness Guadagnino’s take on the material. Theroux told Vulture as the original film marks 25 years that it is the “perfect time” for the rumored “American Psycho” remake to be in the works.
“It sounds like they’re putting together an interesting team of people and actors,” he said. “I’m usually not into remakes, but once I heard who is involved, I thought that could be really good. Maybe it’s a perfect time to retell that story. Whenever you get more time away from an era, you have more perspective on it. The truth or the lies come into more relief, so it might be easier to satirize.”
Theroux recalled how the film’s legacy has endured, for better or worse, and at times, has been misinterpreted.
“There are a couple of movies in the same vein, like ‘Wall Street’ with Gordon Gekko or Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’ These are all technically villains, and the thing I find odd is around ten or maybe 12 years ago, I started seeing people going as Patrick Bateman for Halloween, getting an axe and a clear trenchcoat,” Theroux said. “In bro culture, he became sort of a hero, and I find that deeply disturbing.”
Theroux continued, “I remember being at a Halloween party once and some Patrick Bateman guy was like, ‘Holy shit, bro, you were in that! Wanna take a picture with me?’ I thought it was so gross, but I could tell by the way he was acting that he probably was a finance bro and admired Patrick in whatever dumb way. Same thing with Gordon Gekko, the ‘Greed is good’ guy. You can see it in, like, Donald Trump Jr. He’s a strain of the same DNA.”
Theroux explained that a new version would hopefully steer the cultural discussion away from glorifying the characters to instead realizing its satire.
“It’s as relevant today, just a shift in form,” he said. “The [finance] guy might be wearing a baseball hat or Lululemon. There are still business schools turning out guys who think greed is good and who worship at the altar of capitalism and don’t have any moral qualms. I can spot those guys a mile away walking around the West Village or Wall Street — but they’re not as confined to the Financial District or the Upper East Side as they used to be.”
Either way, author Ellis will not be involved in the modern adaptation. He said during his eponymous podcast that if the remake does exist, he will “have nothing to do with this,” adding, “I might get some money if they do this, but I am not involved creatively on any level, and that is all I know.”
Source link