The Story: A New York cop is unwillingly recruited as an assassin for a top-secret government agency, Cure. Re-christened Remo Williams (Fred Ward), he’s sent on the trail of an unscrupulous weapons dealer, but first must survive his training with Chiun (Joel Grey) master of Sinanju.
The Players: Starring: Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Kate Mulgrew & Wilford Brimley. Music by Craig Safan. Directed by Guy Hamilton.
The History: The Adventure Begins…and ends, with this, the lone big-screen adventure of Remo Williams, the veteran of well over a hundred pulp novels (published as “The Destroyer” series – written by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir). This was an attempt by Dick Clark (of all people) and the then-fledgling Orion Pictures to launch their own James Bond-style series of adventures. While people may laugh at the attempt now, they definitely had reason to think this could work, with the brain trust at Orion the...
The Players: Starring: Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Kate Mulgrew & Wilford Brimley. Music by Craig Safan. Directed by Guy Hamilton.
The History: The Adventure Begins…and ends, with this, the lone big-screen adventure of Remo Williams, the veteran of well over a hundred pulp novels (published as “The Destroyer” series – written by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir). This was an attempt by Dick Clark (of all people) and the then-fledgling Orion Pictures to launch their own James Bond-style series of adventures. While people may laugh at the attempt now, they definitely had reason to think this could work, with the brain trust at Orion the...
- 3/23/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
In 1985, the late Fred Ward starred in a pulpy action movie called "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins," about a Brooklyn cop and Vietnam vet, who has his death faked and his face surgically altered to become a martial artist and government assassin. Based on the long-running "Destroyer" series of books by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, the film was meant to jumpstart a new franchise, with its title suggesting that Remo, like Batman, was just beginning his screen adventures and would enjoy many more of them.
Alas, "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" opened at #4 at the box office, to lackluster reviews. An official sequel never materialized, which left Remo's exploits confined to the status of a cult favorite until now. His remaining adventures have instead played out in over 150 novels—and one abortive TV series that never made it past the pilot episode in 1988.
Good news, though, Remo Williams fans:...
Alas, "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" opened at #4 at the box office, to lackluster reviews. An official sequel never materialized, which left Remo's exploits confined to the status of a cult favorite until now. His remaining adventures have instead played out in over 150 novels—and one abortive TV series that never made it past the pilot episode in 1988.
Good news, though, Remo Williams fans:...
- 12/9/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
Several decades ago, authors Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir teamed up to start a pulp paperback series called The Destroyer. The first book was titled Created, The Destroyer, and introduced a hero named Remo Williams. More than 150 novels in The Destroyer series have been published over the years, and in 1985 there was an attempt to bring the concept to the big screen in the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. That movie was a box office failure, so the adventure also ended right there. But nearly forty years later, Remo Williams is being revived by Sony Pictures Television – and Better Call Saul executive producer Gordon Smith is on board to write the Destroyer / Remo Williams TV series.
Smith will also executive produce the show alongside Adrian Askarieh of Prime Universe Films.
As Deadline reminds us, the Destroyer books center on a U.S. government operative named Remo Williams, a former...
Smith will also executive produce the show alongside Adrian Askarieh of Prime Universe Films.
As Deadline reminds us, the Destroyer books center on a U.S. government operative named Remo Williams, a former...
- 12/8/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Remo Williams is finally coming to television.
Sony Television Studios has acquired the rights to the mega-selling pulp series “The Destroyer” for development as a live-action series and has set “Better Call Saul” writer-producer Gordon Smith to write and executive produce, the company announced on Tuesday.
Prime Universe Films’ Adrian Askarieh will executive produce.
Originated by warren Murphy and Richard Sapir and first published in 1971, “The Destroyer” book series is about US government operative named Remo Williams, a former Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for Cure, a secret organization set up to defend the country by working outside the law.
Also Read:
‘Karate Kid’ Movie Set by Sony for June 2024
Smith closed an overall deal with Sony Television Studios in 2017. “The Destroyer” deal falls under that pact. Smith’s very first produced TV script,...
Sony Television Studios has acquired the rights to the mega-selling pulp series “The Destroyer” for development as a live-action series and has set “Better Call Saul” writer-producer Gordon Smith to write and executive produce, the company announced on Tuesday.
Prime Universe Films’ Adrian Askarieh will executive produce.
Originated by warren Murphy and Richard Sapir and first published in 1971, “The Destroyer” book series is about US government operative named Remo Williams, a former Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for Cure, a secret organization set up to defend the country by working outside the law.
Also Read:
‘Karate Kid’ Movie Set by Sony for June 2024
Smith closed an overall deal with Sony Television Studios in 2017. “The Destroyer” deal falls under that pact. Smith’s very first produced TV script,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Remo Williams, the cop sentenced framed and sentenced to death before becoming a trained assassin, is heading to the small screen.
Better Call Saul exec producer Gordon Smith is adapting The Destroyer book series, which was first published in 1971, for Sony Pictures Television with Prime Universe Films’ Adrian Askarieh, producer of Hitman: Agent 47, set to exec produce.
Originated by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, The Destroyer book series is about U.S. government operative named Remo Williams, a former Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for Cure, a secret organization set up to defend the country by working outside the law.
The books were previously adapted as a feature film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins in 1985. Shane Black was also previously attached to a feature reboot.
The Destroyer book series...
Better Call Saul exec producer Gordon Smith is adapting The Destroyer book series, which was first published in 1971, for Sony Pictures Television with Prime Universe Films’ Adrian Askarieh, producer of Hitman: Agent 47, set to exec produce.
Originated by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, The Destroyer book series is about U.S. government operative named Remo Williams, a former Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for Cure, a secret organization set up to defend the country by working outside the law.
The books were previously adapted as a feature film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins in 1985. Shane Black was also previously attached to a feature reboot.
The Destroyer book series...
- 12/8/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Pulp action hero Remo Williams is heading to the screen once again, this time to television.
Sony Pictures Television has picked up the rights to The Destroyer, the best-selling book series featuring the character, and has teamed up with multiple Emmy nominee Gordon Smith — one of the key creative voices behind Better Call Saul — to bring it to the screen.
Smith will write and executive produce the series. Adrian Askarieh of Prime Universe Films is also on board to executive produce.
The Destroyer books center on a government operative named Remo Williams, a former cop who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and then sentenced to death. But, plot twist, his death is faked by the government just so he can be trained in an obscure martial art and made an agent of an organization called Cure.
Working outside the law (don’t they always?...
Pulp action hero Remo Williams is heading to the screen once again, this time to television.
Sony Pictures Television has picked up the rights to The Destroyer, the best-selling book series featuring the character, and has teamed up with multiple Emmy nominee Gordon Smith — one of the key creative voices behind Better Call Saul — to bring it to the screen.
Smith will write and executive produce the series. Adrian Askarieh of Prime Universe Films is also on board to executive produce.
The Destroyer books center on a government operative named Remo Williams, a former cop who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and then sentenced to death. But, plot twist, his death is faked by the government just so he can be trained in an obscure martial art and made an agent of an organization called Cure.
Working outside the law (don’t they always?...
- 12/8/2022
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Hank Reineke
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit up front that Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s character, Remo Williams (aka “The Destroyer”) has played a small, but significant role in my life.
My older sister had been a high-school friend of one of the author’s daughters. Though the passing of time has made the chronology of events a bit hazy, I’m guessing it was through that friendship that I was first introduced to Warren Murphy’s teenage son. It was the son who – upon learning I was a big fan of his father’s pulp-paperback novels – graciously gifted me a personally autographed copy of The Destroyer #3: Chinese Puzzle (1972). This now-tattered paperback proudly sits on my book shelf to this very day. This, I guess, would have been about 1978. I was seventeen years old. I’m fifty-four now and admit I hadn’t...
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit up front that Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s character, Remo Williams (aka “The Destroyer”) has played a small, but significant role in my life.
My older sister had been a high-school friend of one of the author’s daughters. Though the passing of time has made the chronology of events a bit hazy, I’m guessing it was through that friendship that I was first introduced to Warren Murphy’s teenage son. It was the son who – upon learning I was a big fan of his father’s pulp-paperback novels – graciously gifted me a personally autographed copy of The Destroyer #3: Chinese Puzzle (1972). This now-tattered paperback proudly sits on my book shelf to this very day. This, I guess, would have been about 1978. I was seventeen years old. I’m fifty-four now and admit I hadn’t...
- 12/6/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Christopher Wood, a novelist who wrote the screenplays for the back-to-back James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, has died. He was 79.
Wood, who later adapted the work of novelists Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy for the screenplay for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), starring Fred Ward, died May 9 in his apartment in southwest France, his daughter, Caroline Wood, told The Hollywood Reporter.
She said his health had deteriorated after the death of her brother Ben, 48, who had died of cancer. His daughter, an agent and director at the U.K. literary agency Felicity Bryan Associates, added that her ...
Wood, who later adapted the work of novelists Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy for the screenplay for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), starring Fred Ward, died May 9 in his apartment in southwest France, his daughter, Caroline Wood, told The Hollywood Reporter.
She said his health had deteriorated after the death of her brother Ben, 48, who had died of cancer. His daughter, an agent and director at the U.K. literary agency Felicity Bryan Associates, added that her ...
- 10/23/2015
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Christopher Wood, a novelist who wrote the screenplays for the back-to-back James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, has died. He was 79.
Wood, who later adapted the work of novelists Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy for the screenplay for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), starring Fred Ward, died May 9 in his apartment in southwest France, his daughter, Caroline Wood, told The Hollywood Reporter.
She said his health had deteriorated after the death of her brother Ben, 48, who had died of cancer. His daughter, an agent and director at the U.K. literary agency Felicity Bryan Associates, added that her ...
Wood, who later adapted the work of novelists Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy for the screenplay for Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), starring Fred Ward, died May 9 in his apartment in southwest France, his daughter, Caroline Wood, told The Hollywood Reporter.
She said his health had deteriorated after the death of her brother Ben, 48, who had died of cancer. His daughter, an agent and director at the U.K. literary agency Felicity Bryan Associates, added that her ...
- 10/23/2015
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Shane Black has signed on to direct Sony Pictures' The Destroyer.
The Iron Man 3 director will bring the Remo Williams novels back to the big screen, reports Deadline.
Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir launched the long running series of novels about the secret Us operative in 1971.
The script was penned by Fight Club writer Jim Uhls in collaboration with James Mullaney. Mullaney has previously written books for the Destroyer series.
The series revolves around a Newark cop (Remo Williams), who is framed and sentenced to death. His execution is faked and he is enlisted as an assassin for Cure, a secret agency operating outside the law that was founded by President Kennedy.
Black is also working on the Doc Savage film, which is based on the classic stories of the pulp hero.
The Destroyer series was previous adapted into the 1985 film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
The Iron Man 3 director will bring the Remo Williams novels back to the big screen, reports Deadline.
Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir launched the long running series of novels about the secret Us operative in 1971.
The script was penned by Fight Club writer Jim Uhls in collaboration with James Mullaney. Mullaney has previously written books for the Destroyer series.
The series revolves around a Newark cop (Remo Williams), who is framed and sentenced to death. His execution is faked and he is enlisted as an assassin for Cure, a secret agency operating outside the law that was founded by President Kennedy.
Black is also working on the Doc Savage film, which is based on the classic stories of the pulp hero.
The Destroyer series was previous adapted into the 1985 film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
- 8/22/2014
- Digital Spy
Don't be confused by that headline. No, Iron Man 3 director Shane Black is not dipping back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a film focused on Asgard’s walking weapon, the one last seen destroying S.H.I.E.L.D. cars in Thor. Instead, he’s climbed aboard Sony’s planned adaptation of The Destroyer series of adventure novels.The book series, which currently numbers roughly 145, focuses on Remo Williams. He's a New Jersey cop who is framed for a crime, sentenced to death and then revived following a botched execution. He’s offered a second shot at life working for the clandestine Us government agency Cure, where he’s teamed with an assassin called Chiun to eliminate threats to America’s interests.Originally written by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir starting in 1971 (though the first tome’s manuscript was actually completed in 1963), the Destroyer books ran successfully for more than two decades,...
- 8/21/2014
- EmpireOnline
To mark the release of Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins on 7th July, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray.
First they faked his death and gave him a new identity. Now a top secret organisation is training a former New York cop to combat corrupt forces operating outside of the law. His mentor, Chiun, is an ageing Korean master of the martial arts who can run on water and dodge speeding bullets.
Born on the pages of Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s The Destroyer series of men’s adventure novels, Remo Williams was placed in the capable hands of Bond director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, The Man with the Golden Gun) for his big-screen outing. Fred Ward (Tremors) plays the trainee assassin, with Academy Award-winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) occupying the role of Chiun.
With its classic set-piece atop the Statue of Liberty, much-loved score by Craig Safan...
First they faked his death and gave him a new identity. Now a top secret organisation is training a former New York cop to combat corrupt forces operating outside of the law. His mentor, Chiun, is an ageing Korean master of the martial arts who can run on water and dodge speeding bullets.
Born on the pages of Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s The Destroyer series of men’s adventure novels, Remo Williams was placed in the capable hands of Bond director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, The Man with the Golden Gun) for his big-screen outing. Fred Ward (Tremors) plays the trainee assassin, with Academy Award-winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) occupying the role of Chiun.
With its classic set-piece atop the Statue of Liberty, much-loved score by Craig Safan...
- 7/7/2014
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Villains have always been and will always be some of the most fascinating and memorable characters in the world of genre film. Here we will take a look at the greatest villains of cinema from the 1990’s.
The criteria for this article is the same as in my previous articles Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1970’s and Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1980’s: the villains must be from live-action films-no animated features-and must pose some type of direct of indirect lethal threat. The villains can either be individuals or small groups that act as one unit.
The villains must be human or human in appearance. Also, individuals that are the central protagonists/antiheroes of their respective films were excluded.
Brad Dourif as The Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III (William Peter Blatty, 1990): Veteran actor Dourif is intense and unforgettable as an executed murderer inhabiting someone else’s body in...
The criteria for this article is the same as in my previous articles Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1970’s and Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1980’s: the villains must be from live-action films-no animated features-and must pose some type of direct of indirect lethal threat. The villains can either be individuals or small groups that act as one unit.
The villains must be human or human in appearance. Also, individuals that are the central protagonists/antiheroes of their respective films were excluded.
Brad Dourif as The Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III (William Peter Blatty, 1990): Veteran actor Dourif is intense and unforgettable as an executed murderer inhabiting someone else’s body in...
- 8/11/2013
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
Over this past weekend, hundreds of hungry (literally and figuratively) screenwriters arrived in Burbank, CA to pitch their life’s dream to studio execs. The event invites people far and wide to try to catch lightning in a bottle, that ephemeral feeling that everyone searches for, and rarely finds, in La. The Great American Pitchfest not only can open doors, but is massively educational, offering an opportunity to meet like minded writers and actors and directors who all want to do the same thing, and learn from the best in the process.
There were plenty of free classes and panels, of which we attended several. All of which were illuminating, inspiring, informative, and filled with influential writers and directors. There was also free cake. So yeah, go next year.
The big draw for FM was the fabled, star powered genre writing panel, which featured Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’S Play,...
There were plenty of free classes and panels, of which we attended several. All of which were illuminating, inspiring, informative, and filled with influential writers and directors. There was also free cake. So yeah, go next year.
The big draw for FM was the fabled, star powered genre writing panel, which featured Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’S Play,...
- 6/6/2013
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
So, does anyone out there remember Remo Williams? Granted, he wasn't a household name like John McClane or Snake Plissken (I mean, he didn't even make Scott's list of '80s action heroes worth resurrecting), but for fans of that decade, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins is a camp classic. But don't worry, because even if you don't remember the original, you're about to get another chance to meet the wisecracking secret agent thanks to Columbia Pictures. The Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business Blog has confirmed that producer Charles Roven (The Dark Knight) and Steve Chasman (Transporter) are setting up a reboot of the Remo Williams/Destroyer franchise with Sony and Atlas Entertainment.
The 1985 action-comedy originally starred Fred Ward as Sam Making, a street cop who is recruited into a secret government agency to take down an arms dealer and was based on the Destroyer series created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir.
The 1985 action-comedy originally starred Fred Ward as Sam Making, a street cop who is recruited into a secret government agency to take down an arms dealer and was based on the Destroyer series created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir.
- 7/12/2009
- by Jessica Barnes
- Cinematical
With all the sometimes disappointing and questionable remakes, reboots and do-overs coming out of Hollywood these days, sometimes its nice to get news of a reboot and actually be happy about it. What am I talking about? Well, according to The Risky Business Blog, The Dark Knight producer Charles Roven and Transporter producer Steve Chasman are teaming up to bring Remo Williams (aka “The Destroyer”) back to the big screen.
According to the report, the producers have enlisted Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, who are currently writing the action film War of Gods, to take on the screenplay based on the first book in the massive Destroyer novel catalog — which was written by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir in the 70s and 80s. In case you’re not familiar with The Destroyer, it concerns New Jersey cop Remo Williams, who’s convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.
Williams is sentenced to the electric chair,...
According to the report, the producers have enlisted Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, who are currently writing the action film War of Gods, to take on the screenplay based on the first book in the massive Destroyer novel catalog — which was written by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir in the 70s and 80s. In case you’re not familiar with The Destroyer, it concerns New Jersey cop Remo Williams, who’s convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.
Williams is sentenced to the electric chair,...
- 7/10/2009
- by Chris Ullrich
- The Flickcast
I'd love to take credit for this... I did after all call for a sequel to Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins three months ago in a post about movies that actually deserve a sequel. But apparently Fred Ward shouldn't be expecting a call just yet... The original movie was based on a series of books called "The Destroyer" from authors Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir (and others later on). Per THR, the first book in the series which introduces the Remo Williams character is heading back to the screen. Which I guess makes this more of a reboot anyway. The movie is being scripted by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides (War of Gods) with the hope that it will be the beginning of a new franchise. There are currently over one hundred titles in the book series... Can it top the Fred Ward/Joel Grey original in the fun department? Doubtful.
- 7/10/2009
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
To most of us in the UK, Remo Williams is a single cheesy action movie from the mid-80s: Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous. But in the States it's a massive franchise of paperback novels, and Charles Roven and Steve Chasman, producers, respectively, of The Dark Knight and the Transporter films, are aiming to bring Remo back. THR's Risky Business blog reports that the project is being set up between Columbia and Sony.Incredibly there are, to date, about 150 novels in the Destroyer series, which was begun in the early 70s by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, and continued by multiple authors. The overall concept is that Remo Williams, a cop from Newark, is framed and sentenced to death, and then rescued and turned into a super ninja spy by a secret society begun by President Kennedy. A bit like Torchwood but without the aliens. He is trained in a mental...
- 7/10/2009
- EmpireOnline
Action hero Remo Williams will be revived in new Columbia Picture project The Destroyer, says The Hollywood Reporter. Originating in Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir's adventure novels, the character is a New Jersey police officer who is sent down for a crime he didn't commit. He fakes his own death in the electric chair and reinvents himself as a vigilante named the Destroyer. Fred Ward played the character in the 1985 film Remo Williams: The Adventure (more)...
- 7/9/2009
- by By Simon Reynolds
- Digital Spy
Risky Biz Blog reports that The Dark Knight producer Charles Roven and Transporter producer Steve Chasman are teaming up to produce The Destroyer , a Columbia Pictures project that brings back '80s action hero Remo Williams. Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, who are penning the action epic War of Gods for Relativity, are on board to write the screenplay. Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir wrote the initial batch of "Destroyer" adventure novels, which centered on Williams, a New Jersey cop convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Williams is sentenced to the electric chair, but his death is faked so he can be reborn as the vigilante character the Destroyer, joining a top-secret assassin squad set up by the government to operate outside the bounds of the law. With the...
- 7/9/2009
- Comingsoon.net
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