Joan Allen revs up for Death Race

According to Hollywood Reporter, actress John allen has signed on to star in Paul W. S. Anderson’s remake of the 1970s cult classic DEATH RACE 2000. Also in the cast are Jason Statham, Ian McShane, and Tyrese Gibson.
Produced by Roger Corman, the original was an obvious rip-off of the more expensive studio production, ROLLERBALL, yet the Corman effort was probably the better film thanks to fast pace (78 minutes) and deft satire.
Story portrayed a future where a national cross-country road race was less about crossing the finish line than mowing down pedestrians in order to score points. Plot complications arise when a revolutionary group plots to terminate the government-sanctioned gore-fest. David Carradine starred as “Frankenstein,” a winning racer so named because of all the spare parts he had acquired in surgery after his many crashes. Pic was also notable for an early appearance by Sylvester Stallone as Machine Gun Joe, Frankenstein’s chief racing rival.
New version, which sounds considerably different, has Allen as a prison warden who coerces Statham into joining the race.
Tom Cruise and Paul Wanger are producing. Filming will start this year for a Fall 2008 release.

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