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Earlier this year, the French comedy The Intouchables became one of the country's biggest hits, grossing over $400 million globally while introducing the world to the hilarious comic timing of Omar Sy, who won a César award for his performance.
In that movie, Sy plays a fun-loving ex-con who takes on the care of a quadriplegic millionaire, played by François Cluzet, despite not having the background or skills for the job.
The Weinstein Company picked up the U.S. distribution rights and released it earlier this year and it's grossed nearly $10 million, making it one of the Top 5 highest-grossing French films. Even before they released the movie, they had bought the rights for an English language remake with Colin Firth attached to play Cluzet's role, while they looked for an American actor to play Sy's part. Bridesmaids director Paul Feig was attached earlier this year to write and direct the remake.
Wilson Morales of BlackFilm interviewed Chris Tucker earlier this week for David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook and was smart enough to ask him if he might be interested in co-starring in that remake opposite Firth.
This is what Tucker told him when asked if he'd seen the movie:
"I’ve seen it and yes, I have been talking with them (producers) about doing it. I hope something will come out of it because I really like the movie and they are in the process of getting it together. So there’s a possibility that it might happen."
In the meantime, The Intouchables is France's entry in the Foreign Language category at the Oscars, and if the Academy loves the movie as much as the rest of the world, we can only imagine that this remake would get fast-tracked.
