Here’s a good idea!
I was a fan of Tron. And the article below from the Hollywood Reporter details the news that the “cult classic” is primed for a re-do from Disney.
With my last blog describing the problems of reviving a Western from the 1950’s like 3:10 To Yuma for today’s audiences fresh in our minds, what sequel or remake would we like to see?
But here’s the rub!
I need you to not just provide a gut response to this question and a list of your own personal movie favorites, but why a re-make would also be a smart idea for any studio or rights holder attempting a revival of a cherished film.
What is your budget, marketing, and casting plan? And can you prove with more than by showing your good taste in movies why your sequel or re-make would be a winner for the filmmakers who undertake it.
Let’s hear some brilliance from the Cat! base — remember the studios may be (are) listening, so let’s be smart!
Go ahead and pitch your best candidates for Re-do-itis! in the Comments section below!
TORONTO — Commercial director Joseph Kosinski is in final negotiations to develop and direct “Tron,” described as “the next chapter” of Disney’s 1982 cult classic. Sean Bailey is producing via the Live Planet banner, as is Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film.
Kosinski, who last month signed on to helm the remake of “Logan’s Run” for Warner Bros. Pictures, will oversee the visual development of the project and have input on the script, which is being written by “Lost” scribes Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Story details are being kept secret.
The original, about a computer programr thrust into a computer and forced to fight in games he helped create, is remembered for its sci-fi gladiator-style battles and groundbreaking special effects. It was the first movie to use computer-generated images instead of models and other optical effects in conjunction with live action. The arcade game based on the movie was so popular that it earned more than the movie.
When making the original, in order to convince the studio to take a chance on a first-time director, Lisberger shot a test reel, financed by the studio, involving the deadly Frisbee battle. In a case of historical synchronicity, sources said one of the things Kosinski will be doing is working on a sequence involving the movie’s Light Cycles to work out his vision for the movie. Sources also said visual effects personnel, for many of whom “Tron” was an inspiration to enter the business, already are jockeying for pole position to work on the sequence.
Brigham Taylor is overseeing for Disney.
Kosinski is a former architect whose specs caught the attention of director David Fincher, who convinced Kosinski to move to Los Angeles, where he joined the director at commercial house Anonymous Content. Kosinski then moved quickly up the ladder, eventually directing award-winning spots for Nike, Apple and Nintendo that gained notice for their use of computer technology that erased the lines between reality and CGI.
Kosinski is repped by Endeavor and Michael Sugar and Bard Dorros at Anonymous Content.
50 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
“The Tijuana Redemption”
Authorities in Mexico catch up with Tim Robbins, throw him in jail, where he gets raped by a gang of gay Mexicans. Tim eventually tunnels out of the prison and crosses the border back to the U.S. where authorities catch up to him and send him back to Shawshank.
But seriously, I do think a sequel of Shawshank would work simply because it’s one of the most popular movies to NOT have a sequel made. In addition, Tim Robbins is now the age that Andy was when he escaped.
Brett Slater
(Writer – Reinvented, Tapout)
Reinvented Myspace
A very popular action/adventure/comedy that hasn’t had a sequel is “Midnight Run.” Audiences are already familiar with the product as the original is shown almost constantly on cable tv.
Brett Slater
Tapout Myspace
Great idea, Brett. Who’s in your sequel? The original stars? Do we set it in America? Europe? Mexico? And if we put new stars in the same story, who would they be?
The first Hollywood blockbuster ever was a little film about a shark. There’s no question that “Jaws” possesses one of the most primal concepts of all times. The story of three men alone in a boat, facing a relentless, remorseless predator whose element they are intruding upon still inspires — 30+ years after the film’s original release, any real-life struggle with a shark at sea still makes international news.
Suspense films market well with the 18-34 crowd, and the ones that do well are the ones which strike a primal chord. “Saw” comes to mind. This film would be in the middle-to-low budget range.
I’d rewrite very little of the original script, and focus the effort on updated special effects and on casting. I’d do away with implausible devices (submerging the marker barrels, and blowing the shark up by shooting a SCUBA tank lodged in its mouth) and replace them with updated ideas for today’s audiences.
I’d cast Jim Carrey as Chief Brody, both for his box office appeal, and because he’s shown he has the acting chops for playing a man desperately outside of his element.
As the marine scientist Matt Hooper, I’d cast Leonardo DiCaprio, another smart, talented actor who is good-looking enough to make you believe that Mrs. Brody would meet him down the coast for a roll in the hay (something not in the ’75 movie, but in the book).
Finally, as Quint…I’d cast Richard Dreyfus. Not only would he bring his natural credibility to the role, but his presence on the cast would make a nice nod to the original.
In the summer of ’75, everyone watched this movie and no one went into the water. I think we should do it again.
Kurt
Kurt brilliant! Is anyone listening over at Universal? Can we GET Brett Ratner to direct??
Of course, I missed ther whole point of the question, which was “seee-quellll”.
I’m diving back into my own screenplay now.
Kurt
I’ve updated the request to inlcude remakes too, Kurt! I really like this idea. Now back to work!!
That article mentioned a sequel to Logan’s Run. I thought that’s what I was watching when saw The Island.
I’d remake (not necessarily sequel-ize) The Apartment. Great rom coms – turns out – are hard to write, so why not update this highly regarded one for the current generation? It’s 47 years old – !
Set it in NYC or San Francisco – or for a different spin, Chicago, Seattle, Denver or Dallas. A guy rising up the ranks in some career (more interesting than insurance) who lets executives have his apartment for trysts, etc. Keep the same story. Just update the milieu.
Did I mention this would be cheap to shoot? A couple of offices, some city locations and an apartment. Maybe a condo?
(You could even call it, the Condo. Ha Ha. No, just kidding. Save it for a funny line. “Can I use your apartment tonight?” “Um, it’s actually a condo…but yeah.”)
Why? Male rom coms have done well at the box office lately, i.e., Knocked Up, Virgin, High Fidelity, About a Boy… This would slide right in, a male rom com, a “dick” flick. And, you’d get some of the older set that are fond of the original.
I see someone using this as a breakout role, someone like… Justin Timberlake. (He proved he can act in Alpha Dog.) Or an everyday guy like Seth Rogen. Someone fragile but witty in the Shirley Maclaine role. Maybe Michelle Williams, or Zooey Deschanel?
Note: I think Loser (2000 dir: Amy Heckerling) was kind of an informal remake of the Apartment, but the movie didn’t engage me. There’s a better, more faithful remake out there.
How about doing ths idea for teenagers, Christina? Is this maybe a take that could make a Disturbia-like hit out of a same-period classic like Rear Window?
Alrighty, I HAD to get in here and add my 10 pesos to the proceedings. As for sequel, I have a beauty of one for The Karate Kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Macchio is 147 years old and Johnny, a.k.a. William Zabka, is directing music videos now (shameless plug for “Sweep the Leg” by No More Kings) but I could imagine, now that Miyagi has passed on (R.I.P. Pat Morita), Daniel and Johnny make nice. However, Daniel has a son who’s getting into trouble at school and it just so happens to be with Johnny’s son. Eventually, everything comes full circle back at the good ol’ All Valley Tournament. Seems everyone wants to see a rematch with Johnny and Daniel as well as watch Daniel’s son fight Johnny’s son in a tournament bout. Daniel has to train his son much in the way Miyagi trained him. But he fails in so many ways and gets his kid in even deeper trouble…. just an idea I’ve been throwing around. :)
As for remakes, I dunno, I’m aiming for an 8s theme here so let’s go with either Police Academy or Bachelor Party. :) That is all. Carry on…
I like that idea. Billy Wilder meets (serious) John Hughes. It could work!
Blake, simple.
Streets of Fire, 1984.
Transplant the cast of High School Musical and Harry Potter into the roles in Streets of Fire, which boasts one of the most impressive Show Don’t Tell openings in film history. The entire universe is laid out in the first 12 mins with about 2 lines of dialogue and plenty of action.
Zac Efron takes the place of Michael Pare, AKA Tom Cody. Vanessa Hudgens plays Ellen Aim (Diane Lane). Daniel Radcliff plays the part of Willem Defoe, AKA Raven Shaddock, Bombers Leader.
Martin Campbell and Hal Hartley to Co-Direct. JJ Abrams to produce, just because.
It’s the 1950’s set in futuristic America with singing, dancing, and lots of punching.
It’s High School Muscial with switchblades. Er, or is it just West Side Story??????
And Brett, I can’t take you seriously with Craig Kukuk on your MySpace Page. Do yourself a favor and do not give Craig the same respect you give Renzo.
Cheers.
Opps, sorry, BRET. MY APOLOGIES. it’s a link from the Tapout page to Kukuk. My fault. Nevermind, Craig was a dirt bag.
Cheers!
Comment by Blake Snyder
September 11, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
Great idea, Brett. Who’s in your sequel? The original stars? Do we set it in America? Europe? Mexico? And if we put new stars in the same story, who would they be?
_____________
Thanks for the props, Blake.
I think De Niro and Grodin are a bit long in the tooth for action/adventure. In the Grodin part, I’d go with Dax Sheppard. He’s good at being annoying, and for the De Niro part, why not his “Employee of the Month” co-star: Dane Cook?
As far as location, you’re right that they can’t repeat the NY/LA gauntlet. I’d go with Mexico. It’s easier for a fugitive to get there from the U.S., and, I’m guessing it would be cheaper to film.
Brett
Christina: You need to trademark “dick flick” before the phrase catches on in the trades.
Russell: How about… The Karate Grandkid?
Blake, how about a remake of The Graduate??…
we’ll dial it back four years to be about a recent high school graduate who is a hotly recruited prep star quarterback…
The title of our modernized classic is, “The Scholarship.”
Brett Benjamin is the handsome QB who is signed as the young stud predicted to return State U to gridiron glory…the story takes off at Brett’s HS graduation party hosted by his very proud parents and attended by State U’s head coach, Bucky Mitchell and his sexy wife, Becky…
Brett is a shy, vulnerable superstar whose passion for the game does not come close to matching his talent, or the love that his father and many of Brett’s supporters have for football.
Brett’s life take a complicated turn when he becomes embroiled in an affair with Mrs. Mitchell, the coach’s wife, and becomes impossible when he falls in love with the coach’s daughter, Molly.
*****
Blake talks about “permission based” writing….do you want to know more??? would you want to see this??
do I have your interest and permission to go on??
operators are standing by to take your phone calls….and if you order in the next 15 minutes we’ll throw in the Dean Martin Roast of Blake Snyder! :)
Another blog that will have us posting long after we know what we’re posting about!
I love some of the choices here, Streets of Fire was so underrated IMHO.
My choice for reboot is: Seven Days in May.
Believing America is weary of war and in need of an economic boost the newly elected President seeks to draw down the armed forces to pre-WWII size. But it’s not the Joint Chiefs seeking to stop him, it’s the defense contractors that are at odds whose desires for terminal war feed their coup attempt.
Marketing: This is certainly topical, there are tons of groups wishing right now for a coup d’ etat so exploring what might happen, good and bad, should be a big draw. A movie with the overthrow of the U.S Government using the original tagline, “There’s a plot to take over the government of the United States, next Sunday” would still work.
The budget needs to bring in star power for an ensemble cast, AND I’m still learning how to budget, however off the cuff I’d say 45 million.
My badguy, General Scott, would be a civilian, Brian Dennehy, head of the largest defense contractor in the world and a man of incredible global influence. He plans to get his puppet, the Secretary of State, into the Presidency position by orchestrating an intricate terror attack at the U.N. killing the President and Vice, and showing the world why the U.S. Military needs to not be reduced, but enlarged.
George Clooney would be my pick for Marine Colonel Casey. The Colonel is a PRO-war guy not just because he’s a Marine, but his journalist daughter’s violent killing was broadcast via the web by terrorists only a year before. Yet he sees this coup as the first step to ending America’s power and influence for good around the world.
President Lyman could be Sigourney Weaver.
James Mangold directing.
And for sequels: Grease, The Reunion. It’s 1987 Danny and Sandy’s son is a teacher at Rydell who’s also a stick in the mud and has banished music and dancing from the school. The parents put together New Year’s Eve Reunion and party so grand that Dick Clark is sure to notice! And they’ve invited their son’s only true love Emelia, who left and found fame on Broadway in a new show called Phantom of the Opera.
Of course the cast would be Travolta and Newton-John again, with today’s hottest stars as the students that look for every reason and place to sing and dance despite principal Zuko. The original High School Musical!
As for “Midnight Run,” you have now tapped into one of the most common pitches in the industry… “Midnight Run” meets (fill in the blank). Not only did George Gallo write “Midnight Run,” he directed an urban version called “Double Take” and now has a Renny Harlin directed script called “14 Hours,” which is described as “Midnight Run” meets “Bad Boys.”
As a genius author once said, “Give me the same thing only different.” And that is exactly what has happened to all these movies, and it will continue to happen. “Jaws” has been set in space (Alien) and remade differently in Deep Blue Sea. Isn’t “Jaws” itself just a take on “Moby Dick?”
Anyway, the film I think needs to be updated, redone, reimagined is “Weird Science.” The kids from Superbad make the perfect woman.
Robert
While it’s not a super, well loved classic, I think “The Window” is a shoe-in!
a kid sees a murder and nobody believes him. I think this could get the interest of kids that are usually interested in ‘R’ horror AND kids who aren’t AND the parents who need to drive them.
the original is a lot of fun for the time it was made. I think what’s exciting about a remake would be all the loverly technology that present day youngsters enjoy and use these dramatically in the story.
many different ages and walks of life make for different movies. I think it could be a lot of fun.
the old Ray Milland groaner “The Big Clock” always struck me as a swell set-up.
picture your favorite movie star as a John Walsh type that solves murders on t.v. “Mark my words, The Big Clock is running out!!” one of his corporate masters frames him and slowly our favorite movie star realizes he is well on the road to catching himself.
I think star quality and suspense could make a winning combination especially since the bad guy part could be a real showboat.
A couple of ideas come to mind, I think one of which I mentioned to you before, Blake:
Part sequel, part re-boot, revisit “Bullitt” with a focus not on Bullitt himself, but the widowed detective he leaves behind:
“Still having trouble coping with the void in her life since her husband’s death, (“Ms.”) Bullitt is intent on leaving the force herself, until a murder investigation leads her to the doorstep of her late husband’s nemesis–Walter Chalmers (now a U.S. Senator), who hounded McQueen (and kept him down) until his dying day.”
Part action movie, part political intrigue, part romance/drama, part tribute to McQueen, the project could play on the recently renewed interest in McQueen (e.g., “Thomas Crown Affair (and sequel),” announced Steve McQueen biopic). Might also be a chance to revisit the grittier cop genre of the 1970’s-80’s (speaking of which, what about: “Dirty Harry in his 70’s–does he still shoot first and ask questions later?”).
We always imagined Michelle Yeoh as Bullitt’s widow–she’s tough enough to be a detective, easily imaginable as a match for Bullitt, and casting her might allow for a SF-Chinatown angle storywise, not to mention a draw to Asian audiences marketingwise. (Brad Pitt can still be in the film–maybe as Bullitt’s detective son from his first marriage.)
Another revisitation: “The Last Starfighter,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter), kind of a lower profile sci-fi actioner from the early 80’s, where basically:
“What appears to be an arcade space invaders shoot’em up video game is actually a recruiting tool used to locate potential starfighters from all around the galaxy.”
With video games (and the video game industry) being what they are today, I think there may be plenty of story and marketing angles here.
Karate Grandkid… cute. :)
Actually, I’ll tell you guys a little about one book that’s trying to get made but there are studio problems mucking it up (like that’s a surprise).
I haven’t read the book but I know people who have and they’ve said it was scarier than Jaws and that is MEG Steve Alten has been trying his darnedest to get this one made about a prehistoric shark that has resurfaced and, erm, seems to be hungry. :)
I’ve seen come conceptual art from the “film” and it even gives ME the heebies. A GIANT shark jumping out of the water and grabbing onto the rudder of a helicopter and hanging on, a giant wave with a surfer riding and then there’s MEG inside the wave dwarfing the surfer about to have himself a snack. Frakin’ wild! There are several books in the series that could make this one helluva great franchise. New Line was going to do it but their deal fell through. I’ll bet this is going to be another Star Wars situation where nobody wanted it and then one studio picked it up and the rest is history.
MEG could be even scarier than both Jaws AND Deep Blue Sea. Steve has more info on his site – http://www.stevealten.com – for those who might be curious.
Oh why not give it a try? What the Hay. 25 comments. Good one, Blake.
The Parent Trap is a (1998) family film remake of 1961’s The Parent Trap. How about a modern day version? (Based on a movie I wrote a few years ago.)
Parent TRAPPED
Twins pretend to be one to win an American teen idol contest. They do it to win the grand prize and bring their parents back together. It takes thousands of dollars to train and support a child on the road to stardom. It’s a parent trap, no doubt. The twins learn how two get both parents wrapped around their little fingers and forced to fall back in love. The girls are the grandchildren of Hayly Mills and her real secret sister — that no one knows about. Details revealed in the sequel. Budget is 3 million. Shot in Chicago next summer.
Create generation maxation…I asked my mother in-law to pick up Parent Trap for my daughter for Christmas back in 1998 and the 1961 version arrived in time for the holidays. Go figure!
Damn, some great ideas, here.
IMO, a good candidate for a re-make is a film that was powerful in its day but has become somewhat dated. I believe a film that falls into this catagory is “Midnight Cowboy.”
Edward Norton is an easy choice for Ratso, and perhaps Ashton Kutcher in the Voight role.
Reinvented Myspace
Brett,
Love that Midnight Cowboy reboot idea, especially with your casting suggestions!
What about “Elmer Gantry” set today in a megachurch ?
It’s about time for a re-do of this ’60s classic, updated for today’s sensibilities. It’s hard to envisage anyone replacing Burt Lancaster, but I would suggest Kevin Spacey as he’s the right age, not over-exposed already and could definitely pull it off.
My $0.0199
The Wizard of Oz with Special FX. The Witches, Streep and Close. Cedric the Entertainer as The Cowardly Lion, Tin Man – Kevin James, Scarecrow -Ben Stiller and Dakota Fanning as Dorothea.
I still think Dreyfuss would make a Great OZ.
Blake,
If only for selfish reasons, I’d love to see a remake of a little French film called “Diva” from 1981. It’s about a young opera addict who secretly brings a tape recorder into a performance of his favorite opera star – one who’s never allowed her voice to be recorded. He gets the recording, but is seen by a couple of hoods who want to steal the tape from him – he, on the other hand, has no desire to let the tape reach the public, he only wants it for himself. At the same time, a woman who was trying to turn evidence against a corrupt police chief is being persued by other thugs, who are after a cassette tape on which she’s recorded her evidence – but before they can get her (and they do – with an ice pick, no less…) she drops the cassette into our Hero’s saddlebag on his moped, unbeknownst to him. Now our Hero is being chased by two sets of thugs and mayhem ensues.
It’s a great little film, I recommend it.
That being said – I would put someone like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the hero role (loved him in “Brick”) and look for a sassy new-comer to play the “Alba” role, Kevin Spacey as the cool philosopher “mentor” of our hero…
Again, I don’t know how well this would play to the gen-pub, but I’d sure like to see it.
:)
jw
I know Diva well Joe!! Good choice. Lots of good thought on the board today. LoveThe Big Clock idea, a great movie in the original, also check out the Kevin Costner version set at the Pentagon in No Way Out, a thrillah! Also love the Elmer Gantry and Graduate ideas. Still my favorite is Jaws. Love to hear some pitches on how to freshen or re-tell that fish tale for current audiences, I for one would sign up in a flash. I think one smart thing to consider in remakes is the cross-generational appeal of this summer’s Transformers, though not a remake, was marketed at those of us who remember the original toy, and new ticket buyers too. The result was one of the 2007’s bigger hits!
Keep the ideas coming, this is good stuff everyone!
One of my favorite fighting films, and one that I watched, again, when doing to the prep work for “Tapout” was “Hard Times” with Charles Bronson and James Coburn. Considering the recent surge in the popularity of Ultimate Fighting (250 Million in PPV in 2006), I believe a remake of that film could work. Maybe, Vin Diesel in the lead role.
Wow, Brett!! Really interesting! Are you listening all you rights holders out there?
I would want to see a sequel to FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF.
Matthew Broderick reprises Ferris, now a hot shot defense lawyer at a big firm. On the eve of the biggest case in his career, he finds out Sloane (who he had blown it with years ago) will be in town for one day before heading to Paris to get married. So Ferris decides to play hooky from court to pursue and woo Sloane, all while being hunted down by the zealous state prosecutor, played by Stephen Colbert.
Or Ferris finds out that it is ditch day at his son’s high school. He makes his son (Jonah Hill) promise not to ditch. He promises, then ditches anyway, or so Ferris senses. Irate, Ferris skips out on work to catch his son in the act, and we see a masterful chess game in the art of playing hooky.
a) Ben is a genius.
b) Combine them. Ferris the lawyer and Sloane are the A story. Ferris’s son ditching school is the B story.
My first big thought was CLASH OF THE TITANS. The specials effects back then were revolutionary, but man would it make a great film nowadays! But then I IMDB’d it and it seems there might be one coming in 2010.
I recently watched Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat” and the whole time I was thinking that it would be ripe for a remake. Just about every detail in the story is relevant to today’s troubles. Even the character quirks are translatable. Poker, tattoos, the media, a rich captain of industry, etc.
Change the German to a terrorist, bang – you’re contemporary.
It would be a great character study with today’s issues in the focus.
I would love to script the a re-write for a third remake of “Imitation of Life”, but I will save the logistics for my pitch meeting.
I have to give Ben B an assist, as his Ferris idea inspired this one:
“Almost Famous” sequel:
William Miller is now a successful, veteran Rock Journalist, the Lester Bangs of his time. However, his world is turned upside down when he starts receiving threats from a musician he trashed in an article. The problem is that Miller has trashed so many that he has no idea who is making the threats.
The same as “The Player,” but different.
That Ferris Bueller idea; WoW! I would say definately combine them BUT, instead of Ferris trying to catch his son ditching school, he’s trying to make sure he does skip!
In this age of technology and the battles between Mac and PC and reboot and mashup storylines I have an old idea that maybe new again: the dual reboot. Home Alone with the Terminator. Little Karla McAllister is accidently left home alone and it’s not thieves that threaten the home, it’s a first generation terminator looking to break up the budding romance between Karla and Teddy Reece, future parents of Sarah Conner’s time traveling husband and saviour Kyle Reece. Vin Deisel is a threatening, but malfunctioning terminator and Jack Black is Uncle Jimmy Reece, more than happy to be sent back from the first fews years of the apocolypse to protect the tweens.
Blake:
Cheap to make springboard into 12 sequels if it works —
Remake Twelve Angry Men (1957)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/
only today it’s Twelve Angry Women
Twelve women sit on a jury in a case of (whatever sort of murder is popular on the news) – rape, killing your own children, child porn, election fraud or scandal, one of those cases that push everything else aside.
This remake would be commercial simply because of the obsessive interest in a) gossip news about crime, b) reality TV, c) OJ Simpson at it again! d) general ignorance about the Law and the Constitution.
Recently the ex-Attorney General of Florida was in the jury pool for a case where she had hired the prosecuting attorney.
The dramatic potential of the original script (sans smoke filled room; with video evidence replayed and air conditioning working) should be easy to reproduce — especially if you cast some celebs who have actually been making scandal-news lately as jurors (Brittany comes to mind; Hilton).
As we have learned from OJ, the jury verdict isn’t THE END.
Sequels can be generated from the civil case trials, and from the impact of this event on the lives of the jurors, judge, prosecutor, defender.
CAT! rule is “keep the press out” — do you think this Remake would allow for putting the Press in with the sequels?
Personally, I would have scandal rag reporters breaking into the jury room — generating more court cases for sequels.
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://www.simegen.com/jl/
Love the idea J! The “keep the press out ” rule doesn’t apply if the press is integral to the story and introduced early. xxoo
Blake:
Thanks for the quick note.
But I just thought of this in response to your challenge — I’ve no idea what to do with it!
And thank you! I learned something. Press can work if integral to the plot.
That’s good because shots of TV News and later Media at a crime scene are part of a script I really think I can make “work.”
Looking forward to the new book.
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://www.simegen.com/jl/
Not even a chuckle for Home Alone with the Terminator?
Had an enjoyable meeting in NYC last night with Jackie Brown and Co. as we used STC to shape some loglines. And we’re all working on the BS2. Good times…
There are two kinds of remakes, in one sense you can just lift a plot that has once been made into a screenplay and make it into another screenplay.
I think “3:10 to Yuma” fits in here, there is almost no original audience constituency or continuity other than a story retold, recast, and reshot.
I think with almost every film beyond a 20-15 year old horizon you are doing this. Unless its Wizard of Oz or some other iconographic piece of cinema.
Older plot lines that fit great to older forms of screenwriting are so tempting because people who love movies, like myself, sit down and say this is such a good story!
But I think the real payoff for remakes is the semi-recent past. Tron was beloved and occupies a nostalgic moment that people will want to experience again. And it was very enjoyable, but not really great, there is something you can do there. Retread a movie like “Jaws” and you had better offer people something the didn’t get the first time, whatever that is.
I think of it as managing these existing, partially undefined audiences and remodelling the idea for greater impact and value, or is some cases just make more. I want more Tron, I’ll pay to see it.
That said-
I deny my own logic, I really want to remake Billy Jack. Trade the commune for a group of troubled kids sent to the middle of nowhere, similar to “Holes”, to ostensibly get away from violence.
The revenge movie market is strong and here’s a movie where we can get a likeable, off beat male lead to switch to some explosive violence- though i don’t know who- it think its completely doable- and the rest of the movie is budget-minded- kids and bad guys in the middle of nowhere.
Is anyone still interested in outlaw biker karate westerns where pacifism is challenged? Please let me know.
It would probably just end up with the Rock in it.:)
I would remake Dumbo!
Without the drunk/hallucination sequence. And turn the two crows into a magpie and a bluejay (less racist analogy). The sweetness of the freak kid who just wants to be with his mother, and the protectiveness of that mother — that’s classic.
And with new computer animation, the flying sequences would be breathtaking.
All right, one more for the road.
How about a sequel to “Being John Malkowich”? However, instead of JM, it could be someone else, perhaps a woman: “Being Julia Stiles.”
Hey Blake,
Thanks again for the feline approach to scripting. You’ve done something no other mentor could do… made me RELAX and ENJOY my work.
On to the task at hand… the perfect remake/sequel. First off, I have to say, this very topic makes me squirm simply because Hollyweird’s lust for the safety of the tried and true has caused the cinema to devour itself whole.
Now, that said, I have a dream project. Remake Preminger’s “Anatomy of a Murder.” Even though it could be argued that it’s remade weekly on television with all the CSI, Law and Order rubbish, there’s something quite compelling about that film that resonates to this day. Perhaps its the small town Michigan setting or the quirkiness of Stewart’s character, a jazz-playing, fishing-obsessed attorney, or perhaps the fact that, for the first time, there’s no easy answers in American Law and Justice…
I think most exciting for me about that film is the prevalance of losers as main characters. Stewart’s law practice is ramshackle by choice, his only chance for a sidekick is a washed-up souse, and his only real companionship from the opposite sex is matronly Eve Arden. And look at the case! Gazarra is an absolute slug, Lee Grant is a scintillating dumpster of sleaze, and everyone surrounding the events are hopeless, hapless, and just all around undesirable.
This, to me, would be a bold choice because of the celebration of losers, something Hollywood is, of course, more than leery to do. I’d amplify the desperation of the characters and continue to keep it in small town USA, simply because, economically, small towns are worse off than ever. The added element of a town folding in on itself would make the proceedings more compelling, I think.
Casting? That’s tough. Who to fill James Stewart’s shoes… unconventional casting here, I believe. Steve Carrell? He’s already proven his dramatic chops (Little Miss Sunsine) and he, like Stewart, is astoundingly likeable. Arthur O’Connell’s role… Perhaps Arkin? (another Little Miss Sunshine alumni, I know) How ’bout Carl Reiner? Best of all, the Lee Grant role… hold on to your hat… Britney Spears! A classic comeback of an ex-superstar and the added PLUS of major marketing push for our smartly written legal drama. (plus the trashiness of the role would be a classic example of typecasting)
Holy cow, this was long. Sorry about that. Got too excited by this concept, I guess.
I’m ready to roll, Blake! Call my agent! (whoever he or she may be!)