Too Original For Paramount? Josh Safdie Says Studio Passed On 48 Hrs. Remake

Josh Safdie is doing his own thing these days, and he just dropped a fun little Hollywood story while his next movie, Marty Supreme, lines up for a Christmas release.

Quick update on Marty Supreme

First, the new film: Marty Supreme is out at Christmas, and early word is loud. JoBlo's Chris Bumbray slapped a 10/10 on it and basically called it the movie of the year. His whole take boils down to this: the film is a relentless, heart-racing ride that makes you want to hit replay the second the credits roll, and Safdie’s doing the kind of big, electric filmmaking people claim we don’t get anymore.

The 48 Hrs movie that turned into something else

Now the behind-the-scenes nugget. Josh says he, his brother Benny, and longtime collaborator Ronald Bronstein were once set up at Paramount to remake 48 Hrs., with Jerrod Carmichael attached. Back in 2019, around the time Uncut Gems came out, he told The AV Club that their script kept drifting away from remake territory and into something new.

There’s a great detail in there: Walter Hill, the guy behind 48 Hrs. (and The Driver), showed up at an Uncut Gems screening. He’d seen Good Time and dug it, really liked Gems too. Josh told him straight up they weren’t remaking one of his movies. Hill basically said, yeah, you don’t seem like guys who need to do a remake anyway. The Safdies tried a few drafts for the studio, but it kept morphing. The bones were still buddy-action — a cop, an inmate — but the script was clearly its own thing.

• Set up at Paramount to remake 48 Hrs. with Jerrod Carmichael attached; Josh, Benny, and Ronald Bronstein writing
• By 2019, Josh says the script had evolved into an original story
• Walter Hill attends an Uncut Gems screening, is supportive; Josh calls The Driver one of his favorites and Hill’s masterpiece
• Several drafts later, the project is a spiritual cousin to 48 Hrs., not a remake
• On Deadline’s Crew Call podcast, Josh says Paramount passed once it became original

'This isn't a remake, what is this? This is an original film.'
'We're like, Sorry, we tried.'

It’s a very process-heavy peek at how these things happen: hire bold filmmakers for a remake, get something too fresh for the label, and the studio walks. The silver lining is we still might see that idea someday — just not with a 48 Hrs. logo slapped on it.