Perhaps mindful that Fast & Furious 6 is almost with us, and with some news about Fast 7 breaking just this morning, Alcon Entertainment have piped up with some information to remind the world that their Point Break remake is still happening. In development for years, we already knew it had a screenplay by Salt's Kurt Wimmer, but the new version of the most bodacious surfing, skydiving, foot-chasing heist movie now has a director, in the form of the awesomely-named Ericson Core.
Core is a cinematographer, with credits on - here's that name again - The Fast And The Furious, Payback and Daredevil. As a director, he's helmed episodes of Family Law, and decent American football feature Invincible with Mark Wahlberg.
Core's currently attached to a mafia action thriller called Fair Trade, but its status is unclear (the IMDb lists it in pre-production, but there's no cast yet). If that one isn't moving ahead, then Point Break may immediately beckon. Alcon are keen to fast track the film, but with eighteen months in between reports on the its progress, they haven't managed to hit top speed so far.
Point Break, you'll need no reminding, is a Kathryn Bigelow macho classic that sees FBI man Keanu Reeves infiltrating a gang of adrenaline junkie bank robbers headed by zen philosopher action man Patrick Swayze. Gary Busey and Lori Petty provide solid support in a piece of truly glorious tosh that formed the template for - here's that name again - the Fast & Furious franchise and the lesser xXx, as well as being a touchstone for Hot Fuzz. Without Point Break, Nick Frost would never have got to fire his gun in the air and go aaaahhh.
The remake, it seems, "evolved" out of an earlier plan for a sequel, in which a new agent would have been on the trail of the not-dead Bodhi, last seen suicidally surfing the world's biggest wave. With the tragic loss of Swayze, that's obviously no longer possible. The new version, we're told, is "set in the world of international extreme sports" and, again involves a Fed under cover in a criminal ring. Otherwise, Alcon are keeping the details under wraps.
Can we, from that, infer a more organized sporting community to replace the beach-side surfer commune? Or a broader canvas from that "international"? That would be telling. The next job is to find a cast, and the film is currently pencilled in for shooting at the end of the year.