Nicolas Cage is The Bad Lieutenant

Nicolas Cage will star in an updated version of 1992's The Bad Lieutenant with Werner Herzog directing, Edward R. Pressman producing and Avi Lerner's Nu Image/Millenium Films financing, reports Variety.

The original film, also produced by Pressman, starred Harvey Keitel and was directed by Abel Ferrara from a screenplay by Ferrara and Zoe Lund. That film received an NC-17 rating with the depraved title character heavily involved in drugs, gambling, sex and stealing while a New York police officer.

The new script's written by Billy Finkelstein, a TV writer with credits on "Murder One," "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue."

Variety

Eva Mendes eyes 'Bad Lieutenant'

I'm not sure what to think of this Bad Lieutenant remake (or re-imagining) since the first one was so ridiculously off the charts that when news first broke about a re-do, most folks gave a look like they just stepped on a cockroach and the thing was still squirming around all half-squashed and whatnot. Translation: "Yuck ... really? They're remaking THAT film?" Nevertheless, if anyone can make this sucker shine, it's Werner Herzog, and Variety now tells us that Eva Mendes is eying a role opposite the already-cast Nicolas Cage.

Apparently they're straying quite a bit from the original, so all we know at this point is that Cage will play a corrupt cop who likes to play dirty. In the original, Harvey Keitel starred as a corrupt cop investigating a nun's rape, though there's no word on whether that storyline will remain in this new version. If so, will Mendes play the nun (originally played by Frankie Thorn)? Mendes and Cage last worked together on Ghost Rider aka Crap Rider, which I have seen and I wont comment(what?!? I'm speechless)... However, I've been waiting to see Mendes get a little nutty on screen since she usually plays it safe. This should be an interesting one to watch, whaddya think?