‘American Psycho’ Team Reacts to Luca Guadagnino’s Planned New Film: “They Have Their Work Cut Out”

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As director Mary Harron’s iconic movie “American Psycho” reaches its 25th anniversary, the creators of the beloved film share with The Hollywood Reporter their first thoughts on Luca Guadagnino’s proposed remake.

Debuting in cinemas by Lionsgate on April 14, 2000, the film American Psycho features Christian Bale portraying Patrick Bateman, a banker with hidden murderous inclinations, based on the best-selling novel of the same name written by Bret Easton Ellis. The story satirically explores 1980s yuppie culture. Lionsgate has recently confirmed that Guadagnino will direct a fresh interpretation of the book, with a screenplay penned by Scott Z. Burns. At CinemaCon this month, Guadagnino himself shared a sneak peek of the upcoming project via video.

Actor Matt Ross, who portrayed Bateman’s colleague in the 2000 film and also works as a director, admits he’s often disappointed by remakes. In fact, he’s declined such opportunities in the past due to his belief that they often represent nothing more than greedy capitalism with no real artistic merit. However, Lionsgate has shared that Guadagnino’s project aims to provide a fresh perspective on the book, rather than simply replicating the movie.

In the continuation of his thoughts, Ross praises Guadagnino as an outstanding director and notes that using a book as the basis for the new film opens up possibilities similar to how Shakespearean adaptations offer fresh opportunities for young actors to excel. “While it primarily seems like a commercial endeavor,” he adds, “given its roots in literature, there’s room for diverse interpretations, so why not?” Ross further expresses his belief that the team responsible for the film has a challenging task ahead due to the exceptional performance delivered by Christian.

Chris Hanley, the creator of the 2000 film, observes that revisiting well-known works is what Hollywood is all about these days. Specifically, he’s still aiming to create a sequel for the 2012 crime film, “Spring Breakers”, which he owns the rights to, even though its director, Harmony Korine, has no interest in being part of it. Hanley comments, “People are asking me, ‘Why make [another movie like] American Psycho?’ I’m not that type.” He further states, “Luca is a fantastic director. He’s never made a bad film.

As a passionate gamer, I’ve got to say that Guadagnino’s revelation during CinemaCon really stirred up some excitement within me. He mentioned that Ellis’ 1991 book is one that has deeply resonated with him, something that significantly influenced his work, like the stories behind my favorite video games. He even hinted that the script for this project is shaping up nicely. Unfortunately, he didn’t share any details about casting, but last year there were whispers about Austin Butler being considered for the main role. I sure hope it’s true!

Casting director Kerry Barden believes Austin Butler could be more suited for the character Paul Allen, previously portrayed by Jared Leto in Harron’s movie. According to Barden, “I would choose Austin for Jared’s role because he possesses that striking beauty, and that was the reason we chose Jared too – for his beauty. Jared is undeniably a talented actor, as is Austin, but not everyone has that exceptional beauty.

Alessandro Camon, a co-producer of the film starring Bale, shares the same sentiment as his previous associates regarding Guadagnino’s talent and expresses interest in his future endeavors.

According to Camon, taking on a legendary role or remaking an iconic movie can be quite daunting. However, for some actors, this can also be thrilling. For instance, Lawrence Olivier is synonymous with the character Hamlet, yet it’s not about surpassing him, but rather about discovering one’s own interpretation of Hamlet.

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2025-04-26 19:24