Confessions of Pain
Monahan, DiCaprio reconnect By Borys Kit Feb 27, 2007 Newly minted Oscar winner William Monahan is reteaming with "The Departed" players Leonardo DiCaprio and Vertigo Entertainment for another Hong Kong remake, a thriller titled "Confessions of Pain" for Warner Bros. Pictures, which acquired the rights to the film. "Pain" follows two close friends, one a police detective and the other a private detective, who team to investigate the murder of the cop's father-in-law. As the investigation proceeds, they uncover evidence that shows that nothing is as it appears. The original, released last year, was created by Alan Mak, Andrew Lau and Felix Chong, the team behind "Infernal Affairs," the Hong Kong film on which Oscar winner "Departed" was based. MediaAsia produced and financed both movies. "Pain" is being developed as a starring vehicle for DiCaprio, who will produce via his Appian Way banner along with Vertigo's Roy Lee and Doug Davison. Monahan, who won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for writing "Departed," will adapt "Pain" and executive produce. Dan Lin will oversee for Warners. Sarah Shepherd and Franklin Leonard brought the project into Appian. "Departed" won three other Oscars on Sunday, for best picture, best editing (Thelma Schoonmaker) and best director (Martin Scorsese). Monahan is repped by Endeavor. DiCaprio is repped by Special Artists Agency and the Firm.

Courtney Thanks for news....sounds like a film I want to see ....wonder who will direct :)

South China Morning Post Wednesday, February 28, 2007 By Audrey Parwani The director of Infernal Affairs says the Oscars' success of the movie's Hollywood adaptation, Martin Scorsese's The Departed, would not prompt him to try to drive up the price for a remake of another film in talks now under way. Andrew Lau Wai-keung said Warner Brothers had been in negotiations since Christmas to obtain the rights to remake the psychological thriller Confessions of Pain. "Negotiations for Confessions of Pain will not be affected and we will definitely not ride on the success of The Departed and charge more," Lau said. He added that the interest in Hong Kong films was encouraging and he hoped more people overseas outside the film industry would become familiar with the city's movies. He said demand for Infernal Affairs had already risen since The Departed picked up awards at the Golden Globes. Confessions of Pain, created by the same team of Lau, Alan Mak Siu-fai and Felix Chong Man-keung, follows the story of a police detective and his private detective friend who investigate the murder of the officer's father-in-law. It is believed the new film will see the collaboration of the same team that worked on The Departed, including screenwriter William Monahan, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Vertigo Entertainment. Lau said he would not mind the story being changed too much if it had to be adapted to suit different markets and cultures. But he felt Confessions of Pain would make for even better adaptation and fewer changes would need to be made. The local director does not wish to have any directing role or otherwise in the new film. "We spent three years on Infernal Affairs and another year on Confessions of Pain, and gave them everything we had. Having someone else come with fresh ideas is a good thing. I don't think I will be able to add anything new beyond what we have done." Co-writer and co-director of Infernal Affairs Mak had commented after the Oscars that the adaptation of The Departed had "not gone far enough" in offering a vision distinct from the 2002 original. As to whether the new film would be a major hit, Lau said: "I don't want to think too far ahead about awards or things like that. "I'll be happy as long as people like the film and more people get to know about Hong Kong films." The Departed was named best film at Monday's Academy Awards and won best film editing. Martin Scorsese won best director and screenwriter Monahan won an award for best adaptation for the film. Date Posted: 2/28/2007

Thanks for the news, Courtney :) This film feels more noir than the Departed. They could get someone like Nolan or Fincher or Soderbergh and make it in black and white.

Thank you for the info, Courtney. :)

Co-writer and co-director of Infernal Affairs Mak had commented after the Oscars that the adaptation of The Departed had "not gone far enough" in offering a vision distinct from the 2002 original. I don't get it. The only thing the two films have in common is plot. Character, dialogue, tone, attitude, and theme are different. I found a good IA vs. TD analysis here. ‘Infernal Affairs’ vs. ‘The Departed’: The Ultimate Showdown! One’s a Hong Kong cult classic, the other won an Oscar. But which flick is worth your time? By Matt Gross Date posted: February 26, 2007 AS SCREENING ROOMS GO, an economy-class seat on a transatlantic flight is not the choice of most film critics. But when I noticed my seatback TV monitor was playing “The Departed,” I realized I had a wonderful opportunity: In the bag at my feet were my laptop and a DVD of “Infernal Affairs,” the 2002 Hong Kong film on which Martin Scorsese based his Oscar-winning cop epic. Over the next four hours or so, I watched them both, first the remake, then the, uh, make. Both movies trace the same basic plot: In each, a cop (Tony Leung in “Infernal Affairs,” Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Departed”) infiltrates a major criminal organization, while a bad guy (Andy Lau and Matt Damon) rises to the highest levels of the police unit that happens to be investigating the gangsters. Pretty soon, each side realizes it has a mole, and—whaddaya know?—the spies are assigned to root each other out. As the stars engage in this game of cat and mouse and cat, they struggle with the psychological trauma of having to live with a double identity. Well, sort of. While DiCaprio emotes furiously through his facial hair and Leung makes his look mustache sad and wispy, Damon and Yau simply carry on with their cushy lives (both have hot girlfriends and awesome apartments), getting antsy only when it appears that their facades may be about to crumble. And, of course, those facades do eventually crumble, resulting in gun battles, bodies being thrown from rooftops and some very tense text-messaging. But given these plot particulars, does either film do a better job? Should you spend 101 minutes with Lau and Leung, or 151 with DiCaprio and Damon? And can any movie “based upon” another ever achieve the frisson created by the original? In a word: yes. Skip “Infernal Affairs”; watch “The Departed” instead. I realize this may come as a shock to the fanboys and purists out there, but Hong Kong cinema can be just trashy and superficial, too. Sappy music, montages substituting for storytelling, sketchy backstories and obscure motivations—these are the province not only of American hacks. And “Infernal Affairs” takes advantage of every cheap technique pioneered in Hollywood. While “The Departed” is careful to establish the histories of its mirror-image leads—DiCaprio grew up between two Boston homes, one working class, the other genteel; Damon was raised by his grandmother in a tough neighborhood—”Infernal Affairs” merely alludes some hazy past, trying to outline Yau’s and Leung’s histories with a pair of scenes in which each acquires the assignment that will dictate his destiny. Where did these guys come from? And what is there to show us they’re grappling with the choices they’ve made? Leung, my favorite Hong Kong actor (he’s the George Clooney of Asia), knows how to appear weighed down by the past—but in this case it’s indistinct, all reaction and no action. DiCaprio, meanwhile, starts barroom brawls, threatens low-level drug dealers with handguns and takes risks that could expose his charade to the gangsters who surround him; when he complains of nightmares and sleeplessness to a therapist (who happens to be Damon’s girlfriend), we believe him. Yau, too, plays an archetype rather than a character. What does he hope to gain from his deception, other than a comfortable existence and high-end stereo equipment? The movie doesn’t bother to tell us; Yau is like every other cop in the movie, competent and bland, even though he’s working for the bad guys. Damon, however, is a creature of ambition: He buys an apartment with a view of Boston’s capital building, and nakedly climbs the rungs in the department, earning the enmity of many of his colleagues. All the while, he looks deeply uncomfortable with the life he’s built for himself, and even struggles with impotence. “Infernal Affairs” requires the viewer to supply all this. We’re supposed to take the basic structure—Cop (as gangster) vs. Gangster (as cop)—and imagine how it would feel to be each one. This extends even to the minor characters. Three different women circle Yau and Leung, with virtually no explanation of who they are (Yau has a hot girlfriend who’s a novelist, Leung sees a hot therapist and once runs into his hot ex on the street). “The Departed” wisely condenses these into one woman. The police captain (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) overseeing Leung is stoic but one-note, while DiCaprio’s captain (Martin Sheen) gets not only a religious fixation but a foul-mouthed sergeant (Mark Wahlberg) who turns out to be the only one Leo can trust. Finally, the head gangster in “Infernal Affairs” may be colorful and bad-tempered, but Eric Tsang is no Jack Nicholson, whose unstoppable insanity is fully realized and given an extra twist. (He’s an FBI informant!) Let’s not even get into “Infernal Affairs“‘s awkward ending, which plays as if the producers suddenly ran out of money, or its cheeseball music or swirling cameras or hastily sketched Buddhist/Taoist themes. It’s a clever movie, but poorly thought through, and you’re better off dropping $10.75 for two and a half hours with Scorsese’s la-*test*-('") opus. But does Marty deserve an Oscar? Apparently, yes. Matt Gross writes the “Frugal Traveler” column for the New York Times, and is TripmasterMonkey’s editor-at-large.

^ I agree with all the above in that article! I liked IA, but it's not nearly as good as TD.

Thanks Courtney But enough of the "maybe" projects lets have something definite. :evil: Arnzilla Infernal Affairs v The Departed.....no con-*test*-('") :lol:

Arnz Thanks for the article ...great read And...tell me.....Arnz ...is Matt Gross your alias ???? As his comments about so much of the background of Yan/Ming the viewer has to 'fill in' ...just 'assume' is IDENTICAL to the comments you posted long ago on on this board when you first saw the film :)