More than 35 years after he last wandered the American West, "Kung Fu" master Caine is heading for the big screen.
Bill Paxton is in talks to direct the feature-film adaptation of "Kung Fu," reported Deadline. The original series ran from 1972 to 1975, and followed a Shaolin monk named Kwai Chang Caine who is forced to flee China with a price on his head and roams the Old West in search of his long-lost half-brother.
Best known for his recent run as ther star of "Big Love," Paxton has previously directed two films, "Frailty" and "The Greatest Game Ever Played," but it was his brilliant "Saturday Night Live" short "Fish Heads that earned him his greatest acclaim. The script is being written by "Black Swan" scribe John McLaughlin.
Caine was played in the original series by the late David Carradine, a role that inspired Quentin Tarantino (who was clearly a "Kung Fu" fan) to cast him in the "Kill Bill" films, which of course renewed interest in "Kung Fu." This is exactly the type of show that should be adapted to film--timeless concept, a great story behind it, but one that isn't to restrictive, and long past its cancellation.
Unfortunately, this new project comes about two years after Carradine's untimely death while shooting a film in Bangkok.
