Pablo Lorrain, the Chilean director behind the acclaimed No, has reportedly been hired by Universal to direct its long-gestating Scarface reboot. Lorrain was tapped after negotiations with Harry Potter director David Yates didn’t go anywhere.
The news was first reported by TheWrap and also by Variety. Universal, which is producing the new remake with Marc Shmuger's Global Produce, has decided to make the third incarnation of Tony Montana a Mexican, transporting the story to Los Angeles. Like the 1932 and 1983 versions, Tony Montana will be chasing the American Dream, through the criminal underworld.
Paul Attanasio (Donnie Brasco) was hired to work on the latest script in October 2012. Marty Bregman, who produced Brian De Palma’s 1983 version, is co-producing with Schmuger.
Lorrain has never worked in Hollywood and a source for TheWrap said he really related to the outsider Tony Montana in the script. He replaces Yates, who will be working on Warner Bros.’ Tarzan instead.
Lorrain’s credits include No, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.