Wait, I Think I Saw This Already: Remakes and Reboots

[ChelseaNH]

Robin McKinley wrote that each generation produces the Robin Hood story that it needs.  But as far as I'm concerned, the TV show Leverage was the Robin Hood story that we need today, so any film reboots are superfluous.

[methodwriter85]

On 5/13/2018 at 8:57 PM, dusang said:

There's a new Robin Hood starring Taron Egerton. I do love Taron but there's no need for a Robin Hood reinterpretation -- he's not an animated fox, Alan Rickman is not in this, and there are no men in tights. All other Robin Hoods are superfluous.

Taron just reads too boyish to play Robin Hood. Little John, yes. Robin Hood, no.

I would say Charlie Hunnam, but his King Arthur movie probably killed his chances of getting cast in a similar role.

[methodwriter85]

I'm watching Cocktail right now. I could totally see Ansel Elgort in a remake of it. The kid has the charisma to pull that role off.

I'm also really shocked at how good Cobra Kai was. They managed to stay true to the tone of the original movies, while updating it for modern sensibilities. They didn't try to go for some over-the-top gritty tone, which seems to be the buzzword for most remakes of 80's or 90's feel-good movies/t.v. shows. They made the characters feel real yet true to who they were in the original movie, just older.

Edited June 8, 2018 by methodwriter85

[starri]

Given our current fascination with the 90s, I'm a bit surprised no one has pitched a big screen Scream reboot.  I know there's the TV series (which, should a third season materialize is itself going to be rebooted), but it really seems like a natural.  The self-aware nature (and the fact that the original film was good even without that) just seems perfect to comment on our current zeitgeist about being obsessed with the past.

Given a good creative team, I think I would actually be on board with the idea.

[methodwriter85]

Scream 4 essentially sold itself as a reboot, but then they went ahead and

Spoiler

killed off all the teen characters they had.

I do think Scream 4 was a little early. If it had come out in 2016 or later, it would have done better, I think. It did basically meditate on the nature of remakes and I think the message of "Don't fuck with the original" would have resonated more now than it did back in 2011.

I'm kind of surprised neither Twister nor Speed got remakes. Their stories were timeless enough that you could work it into the present day with little difficulty.

[starri]

I think Speed would suffer comparisons to the F&F franchise.  And with the possible exception of Emma Stone, there isn't an actress working today that can project "likable girl next door" as well as young Sandra Bullock.

Twister doesn't really have a villain in the traditional sense, which I think kind of makes it a non-starter.

[methodwriter85]

I don't know, I think Zoe Deutch definitely has that likeable girl-next-door vibe to her.

Anyway, I'm really interested in seeing how they're going to cast the West Side Story remake, and whether or not they plan to update it to the present day. It sounds like it's up in priority for Spielberg. I'm guessing the current situation in Puerto Rico is really hard to resist doing commentary on.

[methodwriter85]

Watching Pretty in Pink's ending again. I honestly think it's the only one of out the Molly Ringwald/John Hughes trifecta that could work relatively easy as a modern-day adaption without gutting too much of the story. Sixteen Candles has too many problematic moments, and the Breakfast Club would literally be two hours of people playing on their phones. In Pretty in Pink's case, the only really dated aspect of the story would be the record shop, and even then there are still record stores around especially if this is supposed to be taking place in a big city like Chicago. Of course, it makes sense why the story has a relatively dateless aspect to it- the haves vs. the have-nots and Romeo/Juliet have been pretty endurable classic storylines.

C'mon Hollywood, we have 16-year old Molly Ringwald in the form of Sophia Lillis right now. Get going on it before she's too old!

On the other end, I know they tried doing a Cruel Intentions television continuation that failed. Too bad for SMG. And if they tried to do a full remake, that story in general and what Sebastian does could not fly in a modern day teen movie even if they still kept the R-rating. And that would questionable, because Hollywood doesn't really do R-rated teen movies if they do them at all.

Of course, it's really a remake of Dangerous Liaisons, just put to a high school. I'm sure you could do Dangerous Liaisons, just not in a teen setting. Lindsey Ellis did a great retrospective of Cruel Intentions and why it was so ridiculous to make it set in high school:

[shantown]

8 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Watching Pretty in Pink's ending again. I honestly think it's the only one of out the Molly Ringwald/John Hughes trifecta that could work relatively easy as a modern-day adaption without gutting too much of the story. Sixteen Candles has too many problematic moments, and the Breakfast Club would literally be two hours of people playing on their phones.

Just take their phones away! There's a reason why every tween/teen show does a Breakfast Club episode :) I'd love to see another BC!

[Browncoat]

Yeah!  It's detention!  They shouldn't have their phones with them anyway.

Pretty In Pink might work, but they'd have to give her a better dress at the end.  That dress was hideous.

[starri]

I'd be onboard with a Pretty in Pink remake if they went with Molly Ringwald's interpretation that Duckie is gay.  I rooted for him during my teenage years, but I think with 2018 eyes, he really does come across like a Nice Guy who feels like he's owed her affections.

8 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

On the other end, I know they tried doing a Cruel Intentions television continuation that failed.

TWICE!  They tried twice.  With that said, if they dialed it down a little, I don't know if the content is so much worse than your average CW show or Pretty Little Liars.

[methodwriter85]

I honestly never rooted for Duckie. I'm not wild about Blaine, either, but if that's what she wanted, then by all means. Especially since in the end he did stand up for her and he dumped Steff as a friend.

I'd go with gay angle for Duckie, too. He realizes that he's not in love with Andie, just the idea of being straight, and because she doesn't return those affections, she's "safe".  Hell, they could go with the gay angle for Steff as well, because I always thought Steff was really in love with Blaine.

[Irlandesa]

With Breakfast Club, they'd have to change the Bender storyline as well. Or at least the ending where, after spending the movie basically sexually harassing her, it's suggested they end up together. 

Even when I saw it as a kid, I knew it didn't work for me. It's not that I can't get into problematic relationships (adult fantasy: Andie and Steff in some edgier indie version) but that certainly wasn't supposed to be the takeaway. 

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I always thought Steff was really in love with Blaine.

Ooh.  Add this and create a polyamorous triangle. 

[HunterHunted]

On 7/22/2018 at 1:02 AM, methodwriter85 said:

On the other end, I know they tried doing a Cruel Intentions television continuation that failed.

Starring Amy Adams!

[methodwriter85]

Aaron Sorkin and Jesse Eisenberg have to be in talks right now about a Social Network sequel. Damn. Talk about a down fall.

[methodwriter85]

I was watching The Spy Who Dumped Me, and it made me think that it would be interesting to see a remake of Romancing the Stone. You know, young woman in a humdrum life who gets to lead a big swashbuckling adventure. I could see that being fun- maybe Emma Stone and Chris Pratt?

[tribeca]

I rooted for Duckie and never thought he was gay.  Lots of guys in the eighties acted and dressed like him. 

[starri]

If the Little Mermaid remake is still going forward, someone needs to send this to the director.  This is the only thing I've ever wanted, and I will see it in the theater multiple times.

[methodwriter85]

I've spent a lot of time bitching about how much I hated that the Hunger Games Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 adaption didn't show Haymitch's or Johanna's games like I thought they would. I just had the very cynical thought that they didn't do that precisely so they can turn that into a prequel franchise.

Wow, I feel so cynical.

[Archery]

I did not know how much I needed that Titus Burgess cover in my life!

[raezen]

On 2018-10-13 at 1:37 AM, methodwriter85 said:

I've spent a lot of time bitching about how much I hated that the Hunger Games Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 adaption didn't show Haymitch's or Johanna's games like I thought they would. I just had the very cynical thought that they didn't do that precisely so they can turn that into a prequel franchise.

Wow, I feel so cynical.

If that's the case could they not have just made MockingJay one frigging movie? A 200 page book in the juvenile section of my library did not warrant 2 movies that didn't  develope any characters but the leads.

So no,  I will give Lionsgate any of my money in the future for more Hunger Games movies.

Edited October 16, 2018 by raezen

[methodwriter85]

On 10/15/2018 at 5:30 PM, raezen said:

If that's the case could they not have just made MockingJay one frigging movie? A 200 page book in the juvenile section of my library did not warrant 2 movies that didn't  develope any characters but the leads.

So no,  I will give Lionsgate any of my money in the future for more Hunger Games movies.

Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. It's not like the Hunger Games was above adding in extra material to flesh out the characters in the movie series. I'm really starting to think that I'm right- everyone I remember talking to expected Johanna and Haymitch's stories to get fleshed out with the expansion and they didn't. They also didn't do anything with bringing Effie to District 13. I thought they were going to swap out the assistants getting beaten for her, but they didn't. I really don't get why the movie series that generally improved on the book series couldn't and didn't do that for the split final book.

Anyway, since I'm assuming a straight remake is probably out of the question in the Me, Too era, this looks like the Pretty Woman remake we'll be getting:

The reviews weren't especially kind but it's running to at least June so it has to have done okay. It also doesn't look like they paid for the rights for any of the movie soundtrack songs, including the title track as well as "It Must Have Been Love" or "King of Wishful Thinking." That's disappointing.

Samantha Banks killed it in Les Miserables, and it's nice to see her get a lead role in a musical regardless.

[Shannon L.]

I was watching When Harry Met Sally the other day and while I don't think it needs to be remade, I could really see Chris Pratt (although, he may be a bit too old now) and maybe Anna Kendrick in the lead roles.  Originally, I was thinking that if there had to be a film with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, it should have been a remake of this one instead of Passengers (which I didn't see, but heard about the bad reviews and backlash over the plot).  But, I'm not sure about Jennifer Lawrence in the Meg Ryan role.

[Browncoat]

I could see Jennifer Lawrence in the Carrie Fisher role before I could see her in the Meg Ryan role. 

[Chaos Theory]

Its official  Jordan Peele got the rights to remake Candyman.  On one hand I am ambivalent mostly because Candyman and its first sequel Farewell To the Flesh are STILL among my favorite horror movies on the other hand Jordan Peele might be one of the few producers who could do the story justice.  

[methodwriter85]

So Rita Moreno is apparently set to take on the Doc role in West Side Story, with a name change to Valentina. It does actually add an interesting dimension if Tony works in a Puerto Rican shop. She has been VERY vocal about the depiction of Puerto Ricans in the original.

[Captain Carrot]

So, they're going to ignore the reboot, and make a new Ghostbusters set in the original continuity. Does that count of a reboot of a reboot, or is it simply a sequel? My guess is that it will be a repeat of the original.

Which is a shame, because the first two movies make it clear that there's only enough ghosts to turn a profit immediately prior to an appearance of an entity like Gozer. I would like to see a movie about characters that are excited that a big bad is going to appear. (Although that might not be a tone that Reitman would go for).

 

https://news.avclub.com/ecto-1-stars-in-the-first-teaser-for-jason-reitmans-gho-1831806114

[methodwriter85]

I  will never for the life of me understand why the 2016 Ghostbusters decided to have the original actors appear but not as their characters. l generally liked the movie but I thought that was beyond stupid.

[magicdog]

My guess is TPTB wanted to show the audience that if the original actors appeared in it, then they were okay with the film.  

I also saw the film in theaters and it didn’t suck as much as I thought it would but I would have preferred the girls had been operating as a GB franchise in a different city in the same universe rather than what we ended up with.  

[Browncoat]

44 minutes ago, magicdog said:

I would have preferred the girls had been operating as a GB franchise in a different city in the same universe rather than what we ended up with.  

Agreed.  And maybe if they'd been daughters or nieces or some other relation to the original characters, too.

[methodwriter85]

Filming will begin in the fall on Sunset Boulevard, starring Glenn Close.

It's always kind of cool to see movies that have such a circular existence- movie, musical/play, back to movie based on the musical/play. Hairspray is one; sure there are others. (I guess Footloose, but the remake was based on the film, not musical.)

I am going to have to side-eye the line about Norma being 50 if they keep that in, but then again, 50 in 1949 is very different from 50 in 2019.

I do think the revival of interest in Glenn Close after her near-Oscar win pushed this ahead. Also, musicals in general seem like they're on an upswing in popularity.

[UYI]

On 1/25/2018 at 1:44 AM, methodwriter85 said:

If Ariana Grande didn't speak in that annoying faux-baby voice and give off that annoying "I'm a barely legal" sexpot deal, I would have rooted for her for Maria, but eh.

She's Italian-American, so that alone would've been a non-starter, anyway. 

[methodwriter85]

Yeah, I really thought Ariana was Latina but was wrong. They went with an unknown Colombian American teenager, so good for them for going appropriate and even taking a risk.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I guess this is the best place for this, as I can't imagine if I created a thread for it in the Main Movies forum, it would get much traffic.

It's always irked me that in the Dr. Doolittle franchise, that it wasn't Maya, Doolittle's younger daughter, who could also hear animals talk. After all, she's the one who loved animals and took care of strays, and "hatched" a baby alligator in the first one. But nooooo. It's Raven Symoné's character who starts hearing them at 16 in the sequel because I'm assuming she was more famous? Whatever.

And was the first movie with Eddie Murphy, the only time he and Chris Rock were "in" a movie together? I really would have liked to have seen them both sharing screen time in a movie together instead of Chris just providing the voice for an animal.

[Popples]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And was the first movie with Eddie Murphy, the only time he and Chris Rock were "in" a movie together? I really would have liked to have seen them both sharing screen time in a movie together instead of Chris just providing the voice for an animal.

Chris Rock was a minor character in Boomerang with Eddie Murphy. He played the guy that pushes the mail cart.

[QueerGirrl]

"First the Fat Boys break up, now this."

[methodwriter85]

Universal is set to do a Fear remake starring Amandla Stenberg. I'm sure she'll rock it, but I'm already feeling annoyance because I just do not think they'll go for an R-rating and the story needs that. Hoping I'm wrong, but Fame, Endless Love, and Die Hard would tell me I'm right.

Edited May 24, 2019 by methodwriter85

[PepSinger]

19 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Universal is set to do a Fear remake starring Amandla Stenberg. I'm sure she'll rock it, but I'm already feeling annoyance because I just do not think they'll go for an R-rating and the story needs that. Hoping I'm wrong, but Fame, Endless Love, and Die Hard would tell me I'm right.

Fear as in the Reese Witherspoon movie?

[methodwriter85]

3 hours ago, PepSinger said:

Fear as in the Reese Witherspoon movie?

Yes. It definitely worked for that R-rating back in the day.

Edited May 25, 2019 by methodwriter85

[PepSinger]

On 5/25/2019 at 1:55 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Yes. It definitely worked for that R-rating back in the day.

I knew what that link was gonna be before I even clicked on it.

[methodwriter85]

Child's Play was decent. I would say it was a fun popcorn horror movie that didn't try to be "gritty", which seems to happen a lot with these remakes.

[starri]

They're rebooting Look Who's Talking for...reasons.

Just, I beg you, leave this one in the past.

[methodwriter85]

5 hours ago, starri said:

They're rebooting Look Who's Talking for...reasons.

Just, I beg you, leave this one in the past.

I'm going to assume the jokes about Kristie's character being a "lesbo" because she told everyone she got artificially inseminated are going to be yanked.

[Kel Varnsen]

6 hours ago, starri said:

They're rebooting Look Who's Talking for...reasons.

Reasons being probably something to do with the original making something like $300 million dollars in 1989. The domestic gross adjusted for inflation is higher than the last Ant man movie. For how simple a movie idea it is, I am surprised it hasn't come back sooner.

[starri]

20 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Reasons being probably something to do with the original making something like $300 million dollars in 1989. The domestic gross adjusted for inflation is higher than the last Ant man movie. For how simple a movie idea it is, I am surprised it hasn't come back sooner.

I suppose, but is that a movie anyone thinks about any more?  The only reason it's crossed my mind in the last 25 years is because How Did This Get Made covered both Look Who's Talking Too and Look Who's Talking Now.

[Kel Varnsen]

6 hours ago, starri said:

I suppose, but is that a movie anyone thinks about any more?  The only reason it's crossed my mind in the last 25 years is because How Did This Get Made covered both Look Who's Talking Too and Look Who's Talking Now.

I am right there with you, the only reason I knew it made 300 million was How Did This get Made. As far as a remake, people not really thinking about it maybe works in its favour since people will have forgotten the dumb sequels.

Plus I imagine it would be a low risk high potential reward thing. Just get a basic script/ low budget, maybe with a CGI baby and get some hot comic to be the baby inner monologue like John Mulaney or Tiffany Haddish or (ugh) James Cordon. Then if it makes anything close  what the original madw it would be hugely profitable.

[BetterButter]

[Spartan Girl]

Cary Elwes had a very eloquent response. Mine is more along the lines of OVER MY DEAD BODY!

Seriously first the mess with Spider-Man and now this? Fuck you, Sony.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[Anduin]

I sometimes suspect that some ideas are leaked just to gauge interest from the public. See if there's actually an audience for a new take. Of course, sometimes execs have swelled heads and are convinced of their own genius.

[Dejana]

As long as the real Princess Bride isn't yanked from circulation, eh, let them try. It will probably go about as well as the shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, and if it's better than that, it's still unlikely to become a classic. In the meantime, a remake will drive more viewers to the 1986 version of TBP. Many younger viewers are extremely averse to "older" movies and Hollywood avoiding remakes won't change that. I tend to look at movie remakes as a bridge/connection to the past rather than an erasure of it.

The Look Who's Talking movies weren't considered particularly good to begin with, but maybe that's a case where a story is best left in the past.

More originality from studio films would be nice but as long as audiences treat them like something they'll catch on streaming eventually, more projects will be based on established IP.

Still, Hollywood has a long relationship with remakes: the silent version got redone with sound, a sanitized version of Pre-Code original, the black-and-white version remade in Technicolor, made-for-TV takes of classic films, etc.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Dejana