Berlin 2012: Brian De Palma Directing Jason Statham in remake of 'Heat'

BERLIN -- Brian De Palma's remake of  the 1986 Burt Reynolds action movie Heat, with Jason Statham set to star, is stoking buyer fires on the eve of this year's European Film Market.

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L.A.-based sales and finance banner Sierra/Affinity is introducing the project to acquisitions executives in Berlin. Two-time Oscar winner William Goldman, who wrote the original film based on his novel of the same title, will be revising his '86 screenplay for the current project.

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Steven Chasman will produce alongside Statham. Heat  will begin principal photography in France late this year or in early 2013.

Billed as a tightly wound, fun action-thriller, the film tells the story of a tough, recovering gambling addict (Statham) who makes his living providing protection in the rough edges of the gambling world.

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Statham's character refuses to resort to gunplay. When a dear friend is brutally beaten up by a high-rolling mobster, he helps her get her revenge and ends up in more trouble than he ever imagined.

Sierra’s Nick Meyer described the project as based on great source material "from a rare combination of an acclaimed novelist who is also at the top of his game as a screenwriter."

The project is debuting here in Berlin's market, which kicks off Thursday. 

Statham will be seen in Sierra/Affinity and Incentive Filmed Entertainment’s rollout of Parker, in theaters Oct. 12. 

De Palma’s directing credits include Mission: Impossible, The Untouchables and Scarface.

Chasman's producer credits include the Statham films The Bank Job and The Transporter 1, 2 and 3.

Goldman won Oscars for All the President's Men and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and he also wrote such films as Absolute Power, Marathon Man, The Princess Bride and Dreamcatcher.

 Statham and Goldman are represented by CAA, De Palma by ICM.