GERARD BUTLER - BUTLER WITHDRAWS FROM ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK REMAKE

Scottish actor GERARD BUTLER has pulled out of upcoming remake ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK due to "creative differences". Butler's casting in the update caused controversy earlier this year (07) when Kurt Russell, the star of director John Carpenter's original 1981 movie, demanded an American, not a Scot, take on the role of Snake Plissken. Speaking earlier this year (07), Russell said, "When I was told, my initial reaction was, 'Oh man.' I do think that character was quintessentially one thing - and that's American."