Brad Pitt owns the rights to Internal Affairs, a Hong Kong thriller. He intended to rework it as an American film starring himself and Tom Cruise. The film evolved into The Departed, which he finally produced.
Andrew Lau directed the original Internal Affairs, which starred Tony Leung as an undercover police officer who becomes engaged in corruption within his department. The film was a great hit in Hong Kong, and Pitt saw an opportunity to adapt it for an American audience.Pitt had planned to co-star in the remake with Tom Cruise, but the project fell through.
Martin Scorsese's film The Departed, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, was partially inspired on Internal Affairs.Pitt worked as a producer on The Departed, which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. While not a literal copy of Internal Affairs, the film did share several parallels with the original, such as its focus on police corruption and utilisation of numerous views.