In case you’d forgotten, The Weinstein Company’s genre wing TWC-Dimension is making a remaking “The Six Million Dollar Man” TV series into a movie starring Mark Wahlberg. And perhaps strangely enough, at least for cinephiles, the writer/director is Oscar-nominated Argentinian filmmaker Damián Szifron who helmed last year’s comedic dark anthology film “Wild Tales” with different vignettes centered around revenge and social indignation. He had previously been tapped to to write the movie, but today it has been revealed that he’s now landed the gig in the director’s chair too.
Updated as “The Six Billion Dollar Man” — I supposed millions aren’t so huge in 2015 — TWC-Dimension has just dated the film for December 22, 2017. And they’re really planning ahead since principal photography won’t commence until September 2016. Here’s TWC-Dimension’s press release:
THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN is based on the classic television series “The Six Million Dollar Man” and the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin. The story follows military officer, Steve Austin, who becomes part of a top secret government program after a horrific accident leaves him near death. With the help of cutting edge technology, Steve is brought back to life with extraordinary abilities, making him the world’s first truly bionic man.
“I’m thrilled to assemble THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN for the big screen with the likes of Bob Weinstein and Damián Szifron,” said Wahlberg. "We look forward to creating a Steve Austin for the 21st century.”
“Writing the screenplay was such a fantastic ride and embarking on this journey with Mark, Bob and Stephen to take this story to a whole new level is simply spectacular," said Szifron. "Growing up, these kind of films left an indelible mark on me and now it feels so good to be making one.”
"Damián’s unique vision and longtime passion for this story will usher in a new take on this series for a new generation," said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films. "We are excited to release the film during the holidays to bring audiences an explosive reimagining of this cultural icon.”