‘Point Break,’ ‘Highlander’ reboots resurrect action favorites

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There can be only ... two?

Just hours after Alcon Entertainment announced its intention to update the 1991 Keanu Reeves-Patrick Swayze action favorite ‘Point Break,’ word came today that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (’28 Weeks Later’) will direct a reboot of ‘Highlander,’ the 1986 cult sci-fi/fantasy film starring Christopher Lambert as an immortal swordsman, for Summit Entertainment. Meaning that a pair of video store favorites for a certain generation will be overhauled with younger moviegoers in mind.

‘Highlander,’ which featured a supporting turn from Sean Connery, spawned movie sequels and even a TV series starring Adrian Paul. Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (among the writers of ‘Iron Man’) wrote the script for the remake; RCR Media Group is co-financing the film. No cast has been announced for the project.

The news comes as Fresnadillo’s most recent film, the horror/thriller “Intruders” starring Clive Owen, premiered Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In an interview last year with The Times, Summit President Erik Feig talked about the upside of rebooting films from the past: “You get to make a movie that has brand awareness, but you’re not slavishly tied to what has been done before.”

The update of ‘Point Break’ is in the very early stages, but a media release issued Monday said the new version of the film, which was originally directed by Kathryn Bigelow, will be set in the world of ‘international extreme sports.’ Warner Bros. will release the new movie. The original required Reeves’ California cop to go undercover to infiltrate a gang of bank robbing surfers.

Remakes, of course, continue to be all the rage in Hollywood. Rod Lurie’s update of Sam Peckinpah’s violent ‘Straw Dogs’ opens in theaters Friday.

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-- Emily Rome