Remaking Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is an exercise in futility* but so is railing against remakes. They're going to happen, and they're probably not going to be as good as the original, but you'll always have that original. The Weinstein Company is remaking Seven Samurai but that doesn't mean Harvey Weinstein is coming to my house and confiscating my Criterion Collection Blu-ray. Variety reports that the studio has hired Scott Mann to helm the remake (written by Young Guns screenwriter John Fusco). The new Seven Samurai will have a $60 million budget, reset the action from feudal Japan to modern-day Thailand, and replace the samurai with paramilitary contractors. It's a smart update because as we all know, the age of the paramilitary contractor is coming to an end and those mercenaries who work for companies like Blackwater are truly noble and tragic figures.

Mann's been receiving some attention for his recent film The Tournament, but The Playlist says the flick is "pretty turgid overall." For those who've never seen Seven Samurai, I've included a synopsis for the film after the jump, but I want you to promise me you'll see the movie ASAP. Deal?

Here's the synopsis for Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai:

One of the most thrilling movie epics of all time, Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride from Akira Kurosawa—featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura—seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action, into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope. [Criterion]

*They're not all terrible, but no one would argue that The Magnificent Seven is a superior film.