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If you’ve never seen the 1973 version of PAPILLON starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, try to remedy that soon. As far as prison escape stories go, it’s one of the most impressive ever filmed. It’s adapted from Henri Charrière’s 1969 autobiography, which some still the validity of. The new version of PAPILLON follows the same story, and actually looks to have lines of dialogue and scenes identical to the original. Directed by Denmark’s Michael Noer, the remake stars Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek as the two leads hoping to break out of the harrowing prison on Devil’s Island. The trailer looks quite good, though Hunnam hasn’t had the best luck in the film world so far. Maybe this will change things. That said, I wonder why they didn’t go after Daniel Craig for the McQueen role, as (if you’ve seen the original) Craig today is the spitting image of McQueen in that film. Take a look at the trailer and tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
Based on the international best-selling autobiographic books “Papillon” and “Banco”, the film follows the epic story of Henri “Papillon” Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), a safecracker from the Parisian underworld who is framed for murder and condemned to life in the notorious penal colony on Devil’s Island. Determined to regain his freedom, Papillon forms an unlikely alliance with a convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek), who in exchange for protection, agrees to finance Papillon’s escape.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
