According to Variety, MGM has found a director capable of handling the philosophical brutality of the Ronda Rousey-starring Road House remake: Nick Cassavetes, the director of the beloved romantic drama The Notebook. Now, that may seem like a gag, like we’re specifically referencing The Notebook because it is so completely different from the original Road House, but apparently it’s actually The Notebook that helped Cassavetes get this job. Variety’s report says that the MGM executives were impressed with his “skill of writing strong roles for women” in movies like The Notebook, and it was a “major selling point” in terms of giving him the job.
In addition to directing, Cassavetes will also be writing the Road House remake, so all of this might be a little alarming to diehard fans of the original movie. After all, nobody expects to see “From the director of The Notebook” on the Road House poster. Really, though, writing and directing a Road House remake can’t be too hard. All the movie needs to do in order to be a success is to have Rousey say “pain don’t hurt” and rip out a dude’s throat after roundhouse-kicking him into a lake. That’ll be easy to manage.