Remake Bits: Nate Parker Joins 'Oldboy', 'Carrie' And 'The Evil Dead' Get Synopses, José Padilha Responds To 'Robocop' Rumors

Spike Lee is turning to some familiar faces to help round out the cast of his Oldboy remake. After adding his Do the Right Thing star Samuel L. Jackson a few weeks back, Lee is turning to his Red Hook Summer actor Nate Parker for another supporting role. The up-and-comer's other credits include Arbitrage, Red Tails and The Secret Life of Bees.

A remake of Chan-wook Park's hit South Korean thriller, Oldboy centers around a man (Josh Brolin) out to exact revenge on the person who kidnapped and imprisoned him for mysterious reasons. Sharlto Copley plays the villain, while Elizabeth Olsen co-stars as a woman who aids and romances Brolin's character. Parker is in talks to play a doctor colleague of Olsen's. Oldboy will shoot this fall, likely for a 2013 release. [Variety]

After the jump, Carrie and The Evil Dead get synopses, and José Padilha responds to talk of Robocop difficulties.

In the much anticipated remake of the 1981 cult-hit horror film, five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin. When they discover a Book of the Dead, they unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore star in the film, which opens April 13, 2013.

And here's what we can expect from Kimberly Peirce's Carrie, which has been described as less a remake of Brian De Palma's 1976 movie than a "re-interpretation" of Stephen King's 1974 novel:

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore), who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.

Shooting on Carrie is underway now, with an opening scheduled for March 15, 2013. Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Gabriella Wilde, and Ansel Elgort also appear.

José Padilha's Robocop remake got a bit of bad buzz lately when his colleague Fernando Meirelles spoke to press about Padilha's behind-the-scenes difficulties. However, Padilha himself says the situation isn't quite so dire. Asked by a Brazilian paper about rumors of a problematic pre-production, Padilha responded (roughly translated), "We deal with those difficulties with coolness and familiarity."

He also told the publication, "I have a script I'm happy with and I got the cast I have picked. The director of photography is Lula Carvalho, my editor is Daniel Rezende (City of God, Elite Squad, The Tree of Life). I was even consulted for the selection of the producers."

So were previous reports of Padilha's stresses untrue, or is Padilha just trying to save face now? Most likely, there's some truth to both versions of the story. We'll see how things shake out when Robocop opens August 9, 2013 with Joel Kinnaman as the titular cyborg. [Cinema em Cena via Latino Review]