Universal Lines Up New Scarface Movie

“You know who the real crooks are? Those sleazy Hollywood producers!” Words uttered by an infinitely wiser soul than I and, if we adhere to the ‘takes one to know one’ theorem, then ones which seem particularly apt today, given the news that Universal is seeking to fashion a fresh Scarface for the 21st century.

Universal Lines Up New Scarface Movie

Universal was the studio that backed the 1983 iteration of Scarface, a movie directed by Brian De Palma, penned by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman, and which starred Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee turned cocaine kingpin who has since gone on to be regarded as one of the most iconic gangsters in cinema history. And it is Universal again lending its clout to the proposed new version, with the now-80-year-old Bregman also back on board. The studio’s ex-chairman, Marc Shmuger, will be producing under his freshly-inaugurated Global Produce banner.
This third Scarface will apparently be neither a remake of nor sequel to the De Palma movie, with the basic premise of an immigrant rising to power in America via the construction of a criminal empire instead being the key retained aspect. Shmuger, Bregman and Universal reportedly know the direction they want to take, and are now ready to meet with potential scriptwriters who might fashion a suitably compelling screenplay.
The precursor to Tony Montana was Chicago mobster Tony Camonte, played by Paul Muni in 1932’s Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (the subtitle was tacked on by censors in a bid to deglamorise the criminality depicted in the movie), a character so obviously based on Al Capone that the legendary mob boss allegedly dispatched some ‘advisors’ to the film set to ensure that all was to his satisfaction (to the relief of director Howard Hawks, the response from Capone was favourable and he even purchased his own print of the movie. What a sweetheart).
But whether the next Tony is Camonte or Montana, or something else again, the key question is ‘Which actor is going to be charged with playing him?’ Your suggestions, please!