Kamen writing U.S. remake of ‘District B13′

Robert Mark Kamen, the screenwriter behind box office hits THE KARATE KID, THE FIFTH ELEMENT and THE TRANSPORTER is working on an American remake of French parkour actioner DISTRICT B13 for producer Luc Besson.

The news came as little more than a footnote to a Los Angeles Times article on Kamen’s successful partnership with Besson which most recently spawned the hit thriller TAKEN, starring Liam Neeson. The article also mentions that a sequel to TAKEN is in the works.

The original DISTRICT B13 had a limited theatrical run in the U.S. in 2006 courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. It was subsequently put out on DVD. A sequel with original leads, David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli, was released last month in France.

Regarding the DISTRICT B13 remake, Twitch Film contributor Al Young made a good point when he asked, “Where the hell are they going to find an actor in Hollywood who is willing to jump across one building to the next and perform other crazy parkour feats?”

Not only will a parkour artist be needed to fill the shoes of parkour co-founder David Belle, someone will also have to fill in for highly skilled stunt actor and martial artist Cyril Raffaelli. I’m sure they could find some good candidates if they looked hard enough but Hollywood craves name recognition to sell tickets and that usually means green screens and wirework.

I’m not against the idea of a remake actually. DISTRICT B13 was a fun actioner yet it left plenty of room for refinement. Kamen is a competent writer who knows how to craft a good story to showcase action. I think he could definitely come up with a better story for the American version. Here’s hoping that the producers are smart and use some fresh actors with real physical skills for the leads and reserve any celebrities for the mostly non-fighting villain roles.

One gentleman I wouldn’t mind seeing in Belle’s role is British free runner Chase Armitage.

For Raffaelli, perhaps a trip to Loopkicks Camp in San Jose, California could produce a worthy candidate. Loopkicks is an annual gathering of tricking artists, tricking being a flashy, performance-oriented form of martial arts similar to what Raffaelli showcases in DISTRICT B13.

Loopkicks Main Battle from Neil Tan on Vimeo.

Source: Los Angeles Times via Twitch Film