The Audition director follows in the footsteps of Abel Ferrara and Werner Herzog as he prepares for his upcoming corrupt cop caper.
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo is go, with 13 Assassins and Ichi the Killer director Takashi Miike taking up the reins for Neon. In what promises to be a tough watch, Godzilla vs. Kong‘s Shun Oguri stars in the titular role as a corrupt cop drawn into Tokyo’s seedy underbelly as he searches for a politician’s daughter who has gone missing. WWE star Liv Morgan is on board as the daughter in question, while Lily James (Pam and Tommy) crops up as a a mysterious FBI agent. Daisuke Tengan, who wrote Audition and 13 Assassins for Miike, is on script duties.
In a statement, the wildly prolific Miike said, “A team of incredibly talented actors and crew has gathered in Tokyo. Now. I’m about to throw a fastball straight down the middle of your strike zone – no tricks, no gimmicks. I’m confident we are about to break through every limit, to create unforgettable entertainment. Get ready for the ride with us.”
Miike, a cult filmmaker in the West off the back of the shocking and confronting Audition, is a perfect fit for what must be the unlikeliest franchise ever (only Jarhead, whose Oscar bait first film spawned a DTV action franchise, comes close).
The original Bad Lieutenant, directed by NYC sleaze king Abel Ferrara and released in 1992, saw Harvey Keitel as a doomed and drug-addled cop trying to redeem himself by solving the brutal rape of a nun (it’s all very Catholic). Then in 2009, German laugh machine Werner Herzog gave us Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. With no connecting tissue with the original apart from the title, the film gave us none other than manic Nicolas Cage as another dirty cop, prowling the post-Katrina streets of N’awlins. Now we have Miike’s take to look forward to. Given his predilection for graphic sex and violence, plus the pedigree of the previous films, we’re in for a wild ride.
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo is kicking off production in Japan this month. In the mean time, refresh your memory:
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