Warner Bros. Discovery Strikes Film Deal With Former Staffer; ‘The Intern’ To Be Remade Warner Bros. Discovery is getting into business with one of its longest-serving execs in Asia and will remake The Intern as part of the agreement.
The entertainment powerhouse has struck a first-look film deal with Jack Nguyen and his JOAT Films. Under terms of the deal, Nguyen will present Asia-focused films to the studio with an emphasis on local-language remakes of WBD’s English-language films.
First off of the line will be a Korean remake of 2015 comedy-drama The Intern, which starred Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway and Rene Russo. “Jack is an industry veteran with a second to none understanding of the film production business across Asia,” said Kurt Rieder, SVP, Head of Theatrical Distribution, APAC, WBD. “There is a strong appetite for remakes of universally popular Hollywood stories across the region, and we look forward to working with Jack to bring these to life through a new local lens.” Nguyen worked for WBD for 30 years, where he oversaw local-language activity in the Asia and Latin America regions, and led market entries into China, India, Japan and Korea.
He led the biz vertical that shot Letters from Iwo Jima, the Rurouni Kenshin franchise and Yurusarezaru Mono, the remake of Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winner Unforgiven.
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