LouCipherr
30-Dec-2010, 02:17 PM
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/movies/2010/12/28/16690961.html (http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/movies/2010/12/28/16690961.html)
LOS ANGELES -- Now that Hollywood has polished off Tron's light cycles and dug out Rooster Cogburn's eye-patch for True Grit, what's next?
Hint: you've probably already seen it.
Dozens more remakes, reboots, sequels and prequels are on deck -- from Firestarter to Escape from New York to The Crow. Think we're oversaturated with unoriginality? Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski, not unexpectedly, disagrees.
"There's a good mix out there now. You've got films like Inception, which is a completely original idea. And a film like ours, where there's a reason to go back and see what happened to these characters since the last time we saw them. We thought there was so much potential in where the first one left off."
And he says he understands the nostalgic appeal for audiences.
"There's something about seeing those movies as a kid. There's something about revisiting that world that gets you excited more than maybe taking a chance on something that's completely fresh."
For now the industry, which has enjoyed such hits as Clash of the Titans and The Karate Kid, concurs. Consider these 10 examples:
The Black Hole: Kosinski is developing a remake of Disney's 1979 science-fiction adventure about a long-missing space ship found orbiting the horizon of a black hole. Like Tron in 1982, it was considered a bit of a dud. There's no word on what the new film might look like, but in interviews Kosinski has suggested it will retain many of the design elements (including the towering blood-red robot Maximilian), while updating the science behind the titular phenomenon.
Mad Max: Fury Road, the long-delayed sequel to the Road Warrior trilogy, suffered more engine trouble in 2010 when production in Australia was pushed to 2012. For the time being, Tom Hardy (Inception) is still expected to take over the role that made Mel Gibson a superstar. Charlize Theron is also believed to have a role, with George Miller -- who directed the original films and went on to family-friendly Babe and Happy Feet -- back behind the wheel.
Alien: Ridley Scott, who directed the 1979 shockfest, is planning to re-launch the horror saga with a prequel about a new, non-Ripley heroine (possibly played by Noomi Rapace, star of the Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Plot details are clouded -- it depends on what website you believe -- but Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof did work on the script. Production could begin as early as this spring.
Footloose: Both Zac Efron and Chace Crawford once circled the role that made Kevin Bacon a star in the 1984 original. Instead, it's now gone to an unknown: Kenny Wormald, a one-time back-up dancer for Justin Timberlake. Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) is directing the 2011 version while Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars) and Dennis Quaid co-star.
The Thing: October's prequel to John Carpenter's thriller chronicles what happened to the doomed Norwegian scientific team that unearthed an alien being in Antarctic ice. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as an American unlucky enough to be have joined the expedition.
Straw Dogs: Rod Lurie (The Contender) directs James Marsden in September's revamp of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 controversial thriller. While the original, which starred Dustin Hoffman as an academic, took place in England, the 2011 version casts Marsden as a Hollywood screenwriter who relocates to the deep American south with his wife (Kate Bosworth) only to be harassed by the local wildlife (i.e.: rednecks).
Fright Night: In this reincarnation of the 1985 horror-comedy, Star Trek's Anton Yelchin plays a teenager who discovers his next-door neighbour (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. With his best friend (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and girlfriend (Imogen Poots), he enlists a Criss Angel-like magician to help destroy the charismatic demon.
Arthur: Russell Brand steps into Dudley Moore's 12-step program as a boozing billionaire playboy mentored by an unflappable British butler (Helen Mirren, replacing Sir John Geilgud).
Conan The Barbarian: In for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Momoa (TV's Stargate Atlantis) flexes his muscles as the sword-swinging Cimmerian. Marcus Nispel -- who remade both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th) -- directs.
Judge Dredd: 1995's Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone was a critical and commercial disaster, so this can only be improvement. Star Trek's Karl Urban plays the merciless futuristic lawman this time out, armed with a harder-edged script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later).
You guys already know how I feel about this shit, but I figured I'd post it to hear what others might think about some of these...
**edited to add: shit, posted in the wrong section. Well, at least some of these are horror flicks, so I got it partically right. :o
LOS ANGELES -- Now that Hollywood has polished off Tron's light cycles and dug out Rooster Cogburn's eye-patch for True Grit, what's next?
Hint: you've probably already seen it.
Dozens more remakes, reboots, sequels and prequels are on deck -- from Firestarter to Escape from New York to The Crow. Think we're oversaturated with unoriginality? Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski, not unexpectedly, disagrees.
"There's a good mix out there now. You've got films like Inception, which is a completely original idea. And a film like ours, where there's a reason to go back and see what happened to these characters since the last time we saw them. We thought there was so much potential in where the first one left off."
And he says he understands the nostalgic appeal for audiences.
"There's something about seeing those movies as a kid. There's something about revisiting that world that gets you excited more than maybe taking a chance on something that's completely fresh."
For now the industry, which has enjoyed such hits as Clash of the Titans and The Karate Kid, concurs. Consider these 10 examples:
The Black Hole: Kosinski is developing a remake of Disney's 1979 science-fiction adventure about a long-missing space ship found orbiting the horizon of a black hole. Like Tron in 1982, it was considered a bit of a dud. There's no word on what the new film might look like, but in interviews Kosinski has suggested it will retain many of the design elements (including the towering blood-red robot Maximilian), while updating the science behind the titular phenomenon.
Mad Max: Fury Road, the long-delayed sequel to the Road Warrior trilogy, suffered more engine trouble in 2010 when production in Australia was pushed to 2012. For the time being, Tom Hardy (Inception) is still expected to take over the role that made Mel Gibson a superstar. Charlize Theron is also believed to have a role, with George Miller -- who directed the original films and went on to family-friendly Babe and Happy Feet -- back behind the wheel.
Alien: Ridley Scott, who directed the 1979 shockfest, is planning to re-launch the horror saga with a prequel about a new, non-Ripley heroine (possibly played by Noomi Rapace, star of the Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Plot details are clouded -- it depends on what website you believe -- but Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof did work on the script. Production could begin as early as this spring.
Footloose: Both Zac Efron and Chace Crawford once circled the role that made Kevin Bacon a star in the 1984 original. Instead, it's now gone to an unknown: Kenny Wormald, a one-time back-up dancer for Justin Timberlake. Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) is directing the 2011 version while Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars) and Dennis Quaid co-star.
The Thing: October's prequel to John Carpenter's thriller chronicles what happened to the doomed Norwegian scientific team that unearthed an alien being in Antarctic ice. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as an American unlucky enough to be have joined the expedition.
Straw Dogs: Rod Lurie (The Contender) directs James Marsden in September's revamp of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 controversial thriller. While the original, which starred Dustin Hoffman as an academic, took place in England, the 2011 version casts Marsden as a Hollywood screenwriter who relocates to the deep American south with his wife (Kate Bosworth) only to be harassed by the local wildlife (i.e.: rednecks).
Fright Night: In this reincarnation of the 1985 horror-comedy, Star Trek's Anton Yelchin plays a teenager who discovers his next-door neighbour (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. With his best friend (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and girlfriend (Imogen Poots), he enlists a Criss Angel-like magician to help destroy the charismatic demon.
Arthur: Russell Brand steps into Dudley Moore's 12-step program as a boozing billionaire playboy mentored by an unflappable British butler (Helen Mirren, replacing Sir John Geilgud).
Conan The Barbarian: In for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Momoa (TV's Stargate Atlantis) flexes his muscles as the sword-swinging Cimmerian. Marcus Nispel -- who remade both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th) -- directs.
Judge Dredd: 1995's Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone was a critical and commercial disaster, so this can only be improvement. Star Trek's Karl Urban plays the merciless futuristic lawman this time out, armed with a harder-edged script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later).
You guys already know how I feel about this shit, but I figured I'd post it to hear what others might think about some of these...
**edited to add: shit, posted in the wrong section. Well, at least some of these are horror flicks, so I got it partically right. :o