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Originally posted by HAKEN:
Hollywood has finally run out of ideas (how many times have people said that before?) because after making sequels after sequels, rebooting old TV shows into movies, and turning comic books into movie franchises, they are now tapping into their recent movies to be remade.

Next on the list, Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Total Recall.' It was announced today that Collin Farrell will lead the cast with Len Wiseman in the Director's chair.

Supposedly Wiseman will be more true to the Phillip K. Dick source material, but we'll see.

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So, by complaining about it, you are actually reinforcing it.

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Yeah, I was aware of the TV show, but aside from the name, it had/has little to do with the concept behind the films, so I don't see it as relevant.

And since the first film made huge changes to Dick's story, and was released over 20 years ago, I hardly see a more accurate adaptation being "too soon". The fact that Mars isn't involved in this remake seems to indicate that it'll be a rather huge difference from Verhoven's film, as Mars was pretty much the focus.

I agree Wiseman doesn't have a great track record, and is the biggest potential problem, but I try not to judge projects sight-unseen.

As for Wimmer, I take it as a good sign that he writes more than sci-fi. Makes it more likely to be a film with ideas, and not just a pastiche of beats from other films/stories.

I see it as a opprotunity to take an interesting concept and explore it in more depth than the original film, which became more of a muscle-head excersize in over-the-top violence than the thought-provoking story the premise had potential for. Maybe they'll blow it, but again... I'm not going to judge on such surface information.

And face it, when it comes to movies - the marketing guys run everything. This is no different.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Originally posted by jameron4eva:
Marketing guys DONT run everything, If you want proof, look at Star Wars.

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And this is slightly off-topic, but related, and is something that has started to bug me a little bit recently.
If they go back to PKD's source material for this film is it really a 'remake'? I noticed it more recently with True Grit and Let Me In with people saying they were remaking them, especially when folks say they are remaking the John Wayne film. If the Coens went back to the novel (which they did) then how could it be a remake of the Wayne version. Surely it's a alternate version, or whatever you want to call it.

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Agreed, Storymark and Haken, marketing rules the day. Take a look at Tron:Legacy, a SFX-laden (and a bit over produced IMHO in that aspect), 3D venture that had no story and no redeeming value (save Jeff Bridges) who was absolutely wasted in this sequel. You would think that after 28 years they would have a better end product.

But its all marketing. "Make it in 3D and then we could sit back and count the money. The fools will flock to anything with the Tron name attached to it." And so, I did. I watched the trailer a dozen times, I read the stories about how Pixar was asked to try and fix the storyline (I'm not sure if they did accept the assignment, but from the looks of it - apparently not). I bought my ticket (my son along as well) and sat there like a lump. Disappointment comes directly to mind.

I have lots of issues with the new Tron film, not that the first one was Dr. Zhivago (or Star Wars for that matter), but it had something. It was quirky fun, something never before seen, the precursor to The Matrix, if you will. But the new Tron was sour, devoid of fun. It made the same mistake that Lucas made with the Star Wars Pre-logy. Episodes 1,2, & 3 took itself too seriously and didn't have FUN. That's what made the first Tron such a cult classic, of course the cool cheesy graphics helped, but FUN. The story in Tron: L was just plain lame (the acting, particularly by Hedlund didn't help). What makes matters worse is that they built the whole story around the father/son relationship but they forgot to tell Hedlund to emote that. Poor direction? Who knows!

Basically, Tron kicks Tron: L's ass out of the park big time, and this without the help of 3D. So what good is it to remake or rehash a movie/tv series if you don't bring a good story along with it? The remake of True Grit was good, solid movie making with emphasis on story.
It was different, John Wayne's perf notwithstanding, than the original. With varying degrees, both were well-made. The tone and pacing were somewhat different. Having said that I like The Duke's version slightly better (call me old fashioned).

Remakes: It's not that H-wood is running out of ideas, it's H-wood wants to make money - first and foremost. So the marketing dudes say "why not appeal to the aging baby boomers and their children by remaking X." It's sort of what Disney does every 7 years, they pull out the old standards to resell to those who watched when they were kids and show it to their kids. Anything new and untried is too uncertain for LaLa Land's accountants. Unless your name is attached to H-wood's royalty (Spielberg, Hanks, Lucas, etc.).

How do we stop it? Don't go. Of course if it's well done how could u not.


SGG

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Originally posted by jameron4eva:


Marketing guys DONT run everything, If you want proof, look at Star Wars.

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Does making a movie from a movie make it any worse than making a movie from a book or short story, or even a play?

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Originally posted by HAKEN:
Hollywood has finally run out of ideas (how many times have people said that before?) because after making sequels after sequels, rebooting old TV shows into movies, and turning comic books into movie franchises, they are now tapping into their recent movies to be remade.

Next on the list, Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Total Recall.' It was announced today that Collin Farrell will lead the cast with Len Wiseman in the Director's chair.

Supposedly Wiseman will be more true to the Phillip K. Dick source material, but we'll see.

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Originally posted by lwaves:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Does making a movie from a movie make it any worse than making a movie from a book or short story, or even a play?

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In a word - Yes.
Although I don't think that all remakes, reboots etc are bad. Just most of them.

Going from a book to a movie is changing its presentation to the public. It is releasing it in a different way, even if they stuck religiously to the same story, it is still different. Any transfer between movie, written word, radio play, theatre play or whatever puts it in a way that opens it up to wider appeal to the public - which is who it is ultimately aimed at.
Shakespeare's works are a good example that cover written word, plays and movies. There are folks out there who would never go to the theatre or read one of his stories but they'll quite happily sit through a movie. Then there are those that wouldn't even glance at the movie but would read his works or see a play. In more modern times the same might be said for Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. I myself would never have considered watching Les Miserables or Phantom Of The Opera on a stage but I did see the movie versions.
Each presentation opens the story up to a different type of audience. Whether the transfer is any good or not is another issue.

As for Total Recall being remade then (as mentioned further up) it comes down to the point that they are remaking Total Recall not We Remember It For You Wholesale. They are re-doing a film that already exists as a film, not basing it on the source material or another format. Transferring between books and movies is one thing but there is already a movie that exists for Total Recall. It would be like someone rewriting a popular novel as another novel.

And if your comment that making a film from a novel (or whatever) is 'remaking' it then everything but the original idea in someone's head is a remake.



"The greatest invention ever is not the wheel. It's the second wheel." - Rich Hall

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Originally posted by lwaves:
They are re-doing a film that already exists as a film, not basing it on the source material or another format. Transferring between books and movies is one thing but there

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Originally posted by Storymark:

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Originally posted by lwaves:
They are re-doing a film that already exists as a film, not basing it on the source material or another format. Transferring between books and movies is one thing but there

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Actually, they are basing it more on the book, they're just keeping the more marketable title.

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Originally posted by Storymark:
Actually, they are basing it more on the book, they're just keeping the more marketable title.

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Originally posted by Anonymouse:
More often than not, the film would be a lot better if they simply stuck to the original book/story in the first place. By far the best examples are Total Recall, Battlefield Earth and, especially, Starship Troopers.

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