If you had the power to remake a sci-fi film, what would it be?

POSTED BY: OPPYH
UPDATED: Monday, August 17, 2009 13:57
VIEWED: 19001
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OPPYH

Monday, August 10, 2009 10:39 PM

So, if you were given the greenlight for a shot by shot remake(with slight alterations) of a science fiction film, which film would you choose, and what actors would you cast in the roles?

Here is my dream movie remake:

Planet of the Apes from 1968.
The cast:
Taylor......Brad Pitt
Nova......Megan Fox
Dr. Zaius...Gene Hackman
Cornelius....Simon Pegg
Zira......Naomi Watts

Light on the CGI, heavy on the drama/action.
Budget-$140 million. Updated version of the original film.

KWICKO

Monday, August 10, 2009 10:51 PM

I think I'd have to go with Silent Running, because I think it's more relevant now than ever before, and I don't think enough people ever saw it.

Don't know who I'd cast in it, though. Quite possibly Brad Pitt in the lead role, because he really CAN play "crazy" quite well, and does crazy-but-right even better.

Mike

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong!

CHRISISALL

Monday, August 10, 2009 10:55 PM

No way, not POTA! That's an iconic flick- a perfect cinematic time capsule.
Remake something that could have worked, but didn't quite. Or something you could actually improve upon...

Westworld!!! It was good, but now it could be GREAT!!!!

Vin Diesel ... Gunslinger
Ben Affleck ... Peter Martin
Josh Brolin ... John Blane

The laughing Chrisisall

OPPYH

Monday, August 10, 2009 10:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
I think I'd have to go with Silent Running, because I think it's more relevant now than ever before, and I don't think enough people ever saw it.

Don't know who I'd cast in it, though. Quite possibly Brad Pitt in the lead role, because he really CAN play "crazy" quite well, and does crazy-but-right even better.

Mike

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong!

Yeah, that would be something. I would love to see a modern rendition of such a powerful story.

KWICKO

Monday, August 10, 2009 10:59 PM

Oh, and by the way, THANK YOU for a really cool topic. I love seeing what others have to bring to this kind of discussion.

Thinking about it, you have to be careful, though - you might be better off sticking with movies that were kind of so-so as originally made. That way, you can improve them. Kinda hard to re-do a classic and make it better. Hopefully nobody wants to remake Star Wars or 2001.

Mike

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong!

CHRISISALL

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:

Thinking about it, you have to be careful, though - you might be better off sticking with movies that were kind of so-so as originally made. That way, you can improve them. Kinda hard to re-do a classic and make it better.

Did I say that? I thought I said that...

The laughing Chrisisall

KWICKO

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:10 PM

You did - while I was typing it!

Great minds think alike.

Or shared insanity.

Either way, I don't judge.

KWICKO

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by OPPYH:
Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
I think I'd have to go with Silent Running, because I think it's more relevant now than ever before, and I don't think enough people ever saw it.

Don't know who I'd cast in it, though. Quite possibly Brad Pitt in the lead role, because he really CAN play "crazy" quite well, and does crazy-but-right even better.

Mike

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong!

Yeah, that would be something. I would love to see a modern rendition of such a powerful story.

Ya know, it's been years and years since I've seen it, but it did leave a powerful impact on me when it first came out in '72. And if memory serves, the ships and space scenes are as good as any I can remember. Of course, it was directed by Douglas Trumbull, who did the space sequences and modeling for 2001: A Space Odyssey, so you'd expect them to be to a pretty high standard. And before there were R2D2 and C3PO, there were the "drones", Huey, Dewey, and Louie, aboard the Valley Forge.

WHOZIT

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:18 PM

"The Tingler", it's awful but alot of fun to watch. It's one of my 1950's "B" movie favs

Johnny Depp can star, it sould be shot in black and white to keep it looking cheap. They should use a stupid rubber "Tingler", not CGI.

CHRISISALL

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:

Ya know, it's been years and years since I've seen it,

Get the DVD, it's sweeeet, & holds up VERY well.

The laughing Chrisisall

KWICKO

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:

Ya know, it's been years and years since I've seen it,
Get the DVD, it's sweeeet, & holds up VERY well.

The laughing Chrisisall

Good to know! I'll be on the lookout for it!

Mike

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong!

CHRISISALL

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by whozit:
"The Tingler", it's awful but alot of fun to watch. It's one of my 1950's "B" movie favs

50's?
Remake The Incredible Shrinking Man!!!
But no BS happy Hollywood ending! Just make it LOOK real is all!

Brandon Routh ... Scott Carey
Scarlet Johanson ... Louise Carey

The laughing Chrisisall

ECGORDON

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:38 PM

Quatermass and the Pit

Professor Bernard Quatermass - Geoffrey Rush
Dr. Matthew Roney - Chiwetel Ejiofor
Barbara Judd - Jessica Hynes
Colonel Breen - Michael Palin

OPPYH

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
No way, not POTA! That's an iconic flick- a perfect cinematic time capsule.
Remake something that could have worked, but didn't quite. Or something you could actually improve upon...

I agree to a point. I would happily see a remake of a classic if it keeps the integrity of the original film. I thought Psycho with Vince Vaughn was pretty good.
There are a few friends of mine in their late 20's that won't watch Planet of the Apes because it is too "old". It's true, and it is sad. Thats not to mention the millions of teenagers who wouldn't be caught dead watching a film from the 60's. I'd hate to think of POTA, or Silent Running as forgotten films in 30 years.

Sometimes an update is needed. Not for us so much as the younger generation.

CHRISISALL

Monday, August 10, 2009 11:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by OPPYH:
Thats not to mention the millions of teenagers who wouldn't be caught dead watching a film from the 60's. I'd hate to think of POTA, or Silent Running as forgotten films in 30 years.

Sometimes an update is needed. Not for us so much as the younger generation.

Agreed.

However, in the future, to save costs, studios will just "facelift" their options, & re-release them. The remastered Trek was just a test.
Remember Back To The Future? "What's a re-run?"?
You have no idea.

The laughing Chrisisall

DEWRASTLER

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:24 AM

Alright, some of you might laugh at me for this and it’s more of an adventure Sci-fi as compared to the classic Sci-fi mentioned, but here’s one of my dream projects:

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers

Now let me defend myself. First, I’m 23, so I grew up with this show and loved it (not so much for the other incarnations, but Mighty Morphin’ was great). Also, I think it’s about time for a Power Rangers movie made for the original American Power Rangers audience, namely people around my age. Because I would make it for this audience, I would make it more mature. I’m not talking Dark Knight mature, but more like Iron Man. Grown up but still fun.

Also, there would be some things I would change. First off, it’s never really explained why the original 5 power rangers were chosen. I would like to know why it was those 5 and why they were all able to fight so well. Second, I would make the actors of college age,(-ish) mainly because I don’t like teenagers who look over 18 on film, and also because I don’t like having the fate of the world in the hands of teenagers.

The age thing also makes my cast choices easier. The first film would focus on Jason and his coming to terms with being a leader. Tommy, though he is my favorite ranger, wouldn’t appear until the sequel.

As for the cast, here it goes, and I haven‘t thought about this much so these are all first instincts:

Jason/Red Ranger: Chris Evans
Zack/Black Ranger: Columbus Short
Kimberly/Pink Ranger: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Billy/Blue Ranger: Kyle Gallner (he would have to bulk up a bit, cause he is the youngest on the cast)
Trini/Yellow Ranger: Jamie Chung

(I never realized how hard it was to cast a movie with younger actors/actresses. I’ve spent almost an hour on this, so these are the best choices but good first impressions, and yes, I did refuse to cast Megan Fox as Kimberly. It seems everyone wants her in everything, but not me.)

________________________________
People who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do

CONNOR

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:07 AM

Hmm, I'd have said Gattaca, just because it was a great film that not enough people saw with a few little pacing flaws, but to be perfectly honest, there's no point. There's not *much* to improve on.

So, in all honesty, I'm going to go with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Yes, it's been reimagined, countless times, but I'd love to see a shot-for-shot remake, especially with that powerful ending when Miles runs amongst the cars and screams at them about the aliens. Although I might cut out the bit where he looks at the camera and make him just address a motorist.

Dream cast for that? Ugh... I don't know. I'll write something up tomorrow morning, it's far too late right now. :P

KWICKO

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:22 AM

Ya know, it's not really a remake, since it's never been made as such, but Richard Foster's short story "A Nice Morning Drive" has always struck me as one that would make a decent little sci-fi action flick. It was the inspiration for the Rush song "Red Barchetta", and the story still feels too eerily prophetic, despite being over 35 years old now.

It's quite a short read. Here's a link:

http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/rush/drive.html

Mike

KWICKO

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:35 AM

Well, crap - that didn't work out like I hoped...

:(

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:44 AM

How about Metropolis?

The laughing Chrisisall

TDBROWN

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 2:39 AM

Metropolis as a Talkie? Yeah, that would be good. 1934's Things To Come Modernized for the 21st century might be fun, as would a remake of just about any Ray Harryhausen film from the 50s, like Earth Vs The Flying Saucers or The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

"Might have been the losing side, still not convinced it was the wrong one." -Mal

GWEK

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 3:09 AM

If a sequel to TRON weren't in the works, I'd probably say TRON.

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK with Vin Diesel? Or maybe Jason Statham?

Actually, maybe a high caliber, big budget remake of BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Not the greatest movie, but the concept is pretty cool. Not sure who I'd cast, but thinking of EfNY, maybe Kurt Russell in the George Peppard role...

Or else BRISCOE COUNTY, starring Nathan Fillion. :)

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

TRAVELER

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 3:13 AM

There is this Italian film that came out in the United States with the title "Battle of the Worlds". It stars Claude Rains, but the rest of the cast are Italian. I like the premise and the plot, but the acting is terrible. The special effects are not to bad for 1963. I think with a good cast and director a much better film could be made.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 3:14 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by GWEK:
Or else BRISCO COUNTY, starring Nathan Fillion. :)

Now THAT is high-concept!!!!

The laughing Chrisisall

FREMDFIRMA

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:17 AM

I would say Death Race 2000 - especially if you swung it round a'la The Running Man and used it as a hard bash on reality TV and threw in a lot of camp and over the top-ness.

Quote:
Actually, maybe a high caliber, big budget remake of BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Not the greatest movie, but the concept is pretty cool. Not sure who I'd cast, but thinking of EfNY, maybe Kurt Russell in the George Peppard role...

Agreed, couple good suggestions.

Shad - Matthew Lillard
Saint-Exmin - Lucy Lawless
Sador - Michael Ironsides
Gelt - Keanu Reeves, if he'd do it - there's a role that's SUPPOSED to be played "wooden" as Gelt is emotionally burnt out.

-F

THESOMNAMBULIST

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 8:45 AM

Chrisisall wrote:

Quote:
50's?
Remake The Incredible Shrinking Man!!!
But no BS happy Hollywood ending! Just make it LOOK real is all!

Nice one Bro'

(However, I'm dead against shot for shot remakes...

thems is bad.)

I'd like a remake of Flash Gordon. Not the 80's version which although I liked (Ornella Muti) was just too camp for it's own good, but no the Larry 'Buster' Crabbe one from the 30's and 40's. Those were great fun!

Flash Gordon - Nathan Fillion
Ming the Merciless - Jeff Bridges
Princess Aura - Natalie Imbrulia
Dale Arden - Morena Baccarin
Professor Zarkoff - Ron Glass

GEEZER

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:35 PM

I'd have to remake Starship Troopers, being sure that absolutely NO ONE involved in the original abortion would be allowed to get anywhere near the production. I'd actually use something more from Heinlein's book than the title; like the story, the MI suits (especially the suits), The interaction between Rico and his father, the actual interaction with Col. DuBois and the H&MP class - pretty much everything that made the book so great, and the absence of which made the movie so very sucky.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

GINOBIFFARONI

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
I'd have to remake Starship Troopers, being sure that absolutely NO ONE involved in the original abortion would be allowed to get anywhere near the production. I'd actually use something more from Heinlein's book than the title; like the story, the MI suits (especially the suits), The interaction between Rico and his father, the actual interaction with Col. DuBois and the H&MP class - pretty much everything that made the book so great, and the absence of which made the movie so very sucky.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

I'll second this one

the book kicks ass, the movie... not so much

KWICKO

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:40 PM

I'd go see a REAL adaptation of Starship Troopers.

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 8:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
I'd have to remake Starship Troopers

I'd have to see it.

The laughing Chrisisall

WASHNWEAR

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
I'd have to remake Starship Troopers, being sure that absolutely NO ONE involved in the original abortion would be allowed to get anywhere near the production. I'd actually use something more from Heinlein's book than the title; like the story, the MI suits (especially the suits), The interaction between Rico and his father, the actual interaction with Col. DuBois and the H&MP class - pretty much everything that made the book so great, and the absence of which made the movie so very sucky.

My name is WashNWear and I approve this message!

And in addition to the details you've already ID'd, Geezer, I'd recommend letting somebody besides Pretty People -R- Us do the casting (but let's keep Neil Patrick Harris, Clancy Brown...and Rue McClanahan ).

donttalkbackjustdrivethecarshutyourmouthiknowwhatyouaredontsaynothinkeepyourhandsonthewheeldontturnaroundthisisforreal

Still...what would Rorschach do?

IMNOTHERE

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 8:15 PM

I'd like to see "War of the Worlds" done faithfully, with tripods trashing Victorian England to the rousing strains of Jeff Wayne (ok, that last bit isn't particularly faithful...)

Then there's some films which I'd just like to change bits of.

E.g."AI" without the final chapter.

Or 2001, identical up to the point in the stargate sequence where the budget runs out and we spend forever flying over what are obviously just solarized terrestrial landscapes. The book describes what is meant to be happening (maybe the blobby orange thing is meant to be the red giant binary system, but I'm not convinced).

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ImNotHere:

E.g."AI" without the final chapter.

The final chapter defines that movie, you goofy Gus.

The laughing Chrisisall

ECGORDON

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by ImNotHere:

E.g."AI" without the final chapter.

The final chapter defines that movie, you goofy Gus.

Finally, someone else gets it!

ELBARTO

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 11:27 PM

I don't know who I would cast, but i would remake "Them" That old black and white movie about the giant ants.

I also agree with Geezer. Starship troopers is hands down my favorite book.

When you can't run you crawl. When you can't do that...well...you know the rest.

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 11:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:

Finally, someone else gets it!

I've heard so much ranting about that- if Kubrick himself had directed it it would be proclaimed genius, but since it was Spielberg who was at the helm, it's somehow suspect???
Why can't excellence be recognized apart from names?

The laughing Chrisisall

IMNOTHERE

Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:36 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
I've heard so much ranting about that- if Kubrick himself had directed it it would be proclaimed genius, but since it was Spielberg who was at the helm, it's somehow suspect???

I think its a great film... with too many endings.

I found the film quite disturbing and upsetting (in a good way) but I can see how, if you're not concentrating it could come over as schmaltz (especially if you're expecting schmaltz).

My problem was that I found the first "ending" (under the sea) pretty satisfying - and when the epilogue started I thought "oh god, here comes the tacked on Hollywood Deus Ex Machina resolution". So, the first time through, that was what I saw.

And, of course, if you don't "get" the epilogue it looks really, really contrived and implausible.

(That reminds me: remake "Total Recall" but at the end do a recap of the scene where the Rekall guy looks at the tape and says "Blue sky on Mars? That's a new one!" No, I don't mean that seriously

)

HUGHFF

Thursday, August 13, 2009 6:50 AM

Serenity as a 22 episode television series. I'd keep the same cast.

www.cpfc.org - my life

GWEK

Thursday, August 13, 2009 1:26 PM

Originally posted by hughff:
Serenity as a 22 episode television series. I'd keep the same cast.

www.cpfc.org - my life
]

Check out www.stillflying.net, where we did just that (well, scripts at least)...

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

PIRATECAT

Thursday, August 13, 2009 3:46 PM

Silent Running with Keanu Reeves and R2D2 as Huey.

"Battle of Serenity, Mal. Besides Zoe here, how many-" "I'm talkin at you! How many men in your platoon came out of their alive".

KWICKO

Friday, August 14, 2009 12:55 AM

How did your brain even learn human speech?

Mike

CALHOUN

Friday, August 14, 2009 2:29 AM

Battlefield Earth! One of my favourite books. I waited eagerly for about 25years for the movie.. the book actually had a little insert saying "soon to be a major motion picture"... anyway 25years later when it finally came out THEY BUTCHERED IT.

Biggest anti-climax ever.

JONGSSTRAW

Friday, August 14, 2009 12:25 PM

Any of these would be interesting remakes :

Colossus: The Forbin Project
Kronos The Planet Killer
Killers From Space
Angry Red Planet
Journey To The Seventh Planet
Brain From Planet Arous
When Worlds Collide
The Time Travellers
Beyond The Time Barrier
Galaxy Of Terror
Forbidden World
Galaxina
Mysterious Island
She Demons
Dark Star
Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun
Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
The Giant Behemoth
Things To Come
Time After Time
Somewhere In Time
The Final Countdown
Strange Invaders
The Indestructible Man
The Crawling Eye
The 27th Day
It Came From Outer Space
It, The Terror From Outer Space
Conquest Of Space
Robinson Crusoe On Mars
Queen Of Outer Space
Rodan

Sci-Fi remakes have a pretty awful track record, so I have little confidence that any of the above genre gems would ever be done right.

Remakes to date:

Invaders From Mars - Good
Planet Of The Apes - Bad
Time Machine - Good
War Of The Worlds - Bad
Battlefield Earth - Bad
Day The Earth Stood Still - Bad
Not Of This Earth - Good
Lost In Space - Bad
King Kong w/ Jessica Lange - Good
King Kong w/ Linda Hamilton - Bad
King Kong w/ Naomi Watts - Bad
Mighty Joe Young - Bad

DUG

Friday, August 14, 2009 3:37 PM

My vote is the same as it always is: the Black Hole.

Great concept and the Cygnus is hands down the best giant ship in sci-fi. Casting, sfx driving too many scenes and general crappiness drags down what should have been brilliant. Also having an ending in mind BEFORE you are filming is usually preferred.

CHRISISALL

Friday, August 14, 2009 5:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Any of these would be interesting remakes :

Colossus: The Forbin Project

Oh YEEEEEESSSSS!!!!
Quote:

Remakes to date:

Time Machine - Good
Almost good- not better than the original by a long shot IMO.
Quote:

King Kong w/ Jessica Lange - Good
Huh. And I thought I was the only one who liked that.

The laughing Chrisisall

JONGSSTRAW

Friday, August 14, 2009 7:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Any of these would be interesting remakes :

Colossus: The Forbin Project
Oh YEEEEEESSSSS!!!!
Quote:

Remakes to date:

Time Machine - Good
Almost good- not better than the original by a long shot IMO.
Quote:

King Kong w/ Jessica Lange - Good
Huh. And I thought I was the only one who liked that.

The laughing Chrisisall

Out of the 30+ movies I listed you picked The Forbin Project to get excited over. It wouldn't be that high on my list, although it could be done well with modern themes and antogonists. My number one would be When World Collide or possibly This Island Earth.

Time Machine remake...I was disappointed when I saw it in the theater, but it has grown on me watching it at home. Of course not even close to the original....nothing could match the charm, sweetness, and 1960-style Pal/Wah Chung teamwork effects of that wonderful classic.

Jessica Lange was smokin' hot in 76's Kong. It's a crime what age does to beautiful women. And I like Jeff Bridges movies.

KWICKO

Friday, August 14, 2009 8:05 PM

How's about Time After Time? It's kind of "proto-steampunk" - H.G. Wells has his actual time machine, and it's for real, and works - and Jack the Ripper (who is one of Wells's friends) steals it and heads off into the future - which, of course, is our modern day.

I remember it as being an imaginative flick.

Malcolm McDowell starred, along with David Warner (TRON), and Mary Steenburgen.

Mike

OPPYH

Friday, August 14, 2009 9:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by GWEK:
If a sequel to TRON weren't in the works, I'd probably say TRON.

When I first saw the trailer for the Tron sequel, I almost cried. I love the original very much, and judging from the trailer, the new one doesn't look to disappoint.

How about:
Somewhere in Time(1980)-Don't get me wrong, Christopher Reeve, and Jane Seymore simply can't be topped. I know this. But I would kill to see two other talented actors take a stab at the film.
-Johnny Depp. For cryin' out loud give this guy a quiet introspective film for a change he's a fantastic actor.
-Sean Young. Yup, you heard me. This actress was in everything in the 80's. She can act, and she is still attractive. This would be her comeback role.

KWICKO

Friday, August 14, 2009 10:17 PM

I would LOVE to see Somewhere in Time remade, and done well. Hell, as far as I care, they could just do a frame-for-frame reshoot using different actors, the way Van Sant did with Psycho.

Mike

CLJOHNSTON108

Saturday, August 15, 2009 10:50 AM

I can't believe y'all have totally ignored the most obvious choice for a remake...

And all of you complaining about Starship Troopers apparently never heard of Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roughnecks:_Starship_Troopers_Chronicles

You can watch the entire series in high quality on YouTube's Crackle channel.
(Can't post links to YouTube playlists or user pages here)

KWICKO

Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:50 PM

Fantastic Voyage? Didn't Coolio already remake that?

Mike

REGINAROADIE

Saturday, August 15, 2009 3:17 PM

Of the various sci-fi classics, the one that I honestly wouldn't mind seeing remade is FORBIDDEN PLANET. If only because in the final film, there's no shot of Morbius sacrificing himself to the Id. You see him run to the melting door, cuts to Leslie Nielsen and Ann Francis reacting, and then he's on the floor. That's it. I always felt that was a massive cop-out for a film with both action and brains. Plus, there are some other stuff in the film that doesn't hold up well.

If they ever do get the FORBIDDEN PLANET remake off the ground, I would not be nearly upset as I was with THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

OUT2THEBLACK

Saturday, August 15, 2009 5:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by PirateCat:
Silent Running with Keanu Reeves and R2D2 as Huey.

"Battle of Serenity, Mal. Besides Zoe here, how many-" "I'm talkin at you! How many men in your platoon came out of their alive".

I'd actually kinda hate to see Silent Running remade , because it was so finely done in the first place...

There's a great wiki entry about it , and I think it's probably the best film starring Bruce Dern...

Not a lot of folk are aware that the ship interiors were shot aboard a real carrier :

'...The interiors were filmed aboard the decommissioned WW2 aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge (CV-45), which was docked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in Long Beach, California. Shortly after filming was completed, the carrier was scrapped. The forest environments were originally intended to be filmed in the Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but the production budget forced the sequences to be shot in a newly-completed aircraft hangar in Van Nuys, California. Trumbull stated on the commentary accompanying the DVD release that the geodesic domes containing the last forests of Earth's future on the spaceship Valley Forge were also based on the Missouri Botanical Garden Climatron dome.

There are three freighters seen in the film, the Valley Forge, the Berkshire and the Sequoia. Five other ships that carried domes are also named, but do not appear on screen — they are the Yellowstone, Acadia, Blue Ridge, Glacier and Mojave. Each ship features a designation on the hull, which notes the area from which some of the flora and fauna samples were taken. The Valley Forge is listed as "Bahia Honda Subtropical," indicating at least some specimens were taken from this area of the Florida Keys.

The model of the Valley Forge Space Freighter was 26 feet (8 m) long, and took six months to build from a combination of custom castings and the contents of approximately 800 prefabricated model aircraft or tank kits. After filming was completed, American Airlines expressed an interest in sending the model on the tour circuit, but this was not feasible due to the fragile nature of the model (in fact, during filming, pieces of the model kept falling away). The ship was subsequently disassembled after several years sitting in Douglas Trumbull's personal storage facility. Several pieces, including the domes, wound up in the hands of collectors. Several domes survive, including one that now rests in the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, Washington, and another which was sold at auction in 2008.

The three "drones" were played by four double-amputees,[1] an idea inspired by Johnny Eck, a sideshow performer of the early 20th century who had been born without lower limbs.[citation needed] The 20 pound (9 kg) "drone suits" were custom tailored for the different actors. The suits still exist, and are in Douglas Trumbull's personal collection...

...The Starlost television series re-used and expanded on the environmental dome models and some of the feeling of the interiors. The original Battlestar Galactica series used stock footage of the space freighters in several episodes. On that show, they were called "Agro Ships," and were the source of all the food in the rag-tag fleet. Initially there were three of them, but two were destroyed by the Cylons. In the current incarnation of Galactica, there is a comparable "Botanical Cruiser" located in the fleet. Like many ships designed for the new show, the Botanical Cruiser was clearly inspired by the earlier design.

Joel Hodgson has claimed that the film influenced the premise of Mystery Science Theater 3000.[4] John Hodgman's compendium of fictional trivia makes several references to Dern's acting in The Areas of My Expertise. Doug Naylor, Rob Grant and Ed Bye cite Silent Running as an inspiration for the British science fiction-comedy television series of the 1980s and 1990s, Red Dwarf. The "oxygen garden" in the 2007 science fiction film Sunshine was inspired by t

KWICKO

Sunday, August 16, 2009 4:14 AM

If you like Silent Running, you should poke around on this site a bit:

http://www.lunadude.com/pet_proj/valley_forge/index.html

Pretty good stuff there.

Oh, and Trumbull said that Universal wanted to explore "experimental" movies in the wake of the success of Easy Rider, so they greenlit him - and gave him a budget of ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

How crazy is that?

I'd still like to see the movie remade, but only if they could address a couple of the niggling issues of the original, like how did the domes have gravity, etc. And update some of the controls and robotics a bit (not the drones so much as things like the robot-arm pool playing machine and things like that). I did love the commercialization aspects of it - the American Airlines and Coca-Cola logos on the freight containers, and things like that - because they felt more "real". I liked those aspects of 2001 as well (the Pan-Am shuttle, for instance).

The biggest shame about Silent Running, really, is that it never got a wider audience. It definitely deserved one, and I think it could have a real impact now. Heck, it impacted George Lucas enough that he talked to Trumbull while getting ready to do Star Wars, and he used John Dykstra for that movie based on his work on Silent Running. And it would be kind of nuts to think that R2D2 wasn't heavily influenced by the drones.

By the way, I just watched it again today. :)

Mike

CHRISISALL

Sunday, August 16, 2009 4:25 AM

Fantastic Voyage cannot be remade, anyone that thinks so is a moron. Was the Planet Of The Apes remake workin' for any here?

How about doing NEW stuff, like District 9? Or Serenity 2?????

The laughing Chrisisall

OPPYH

Sunday, August 16, 2009 6:29 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Was the Planet Of The Apes remake workin' for any here?

No, The Planet of the Apes reboot didn't resemble the original film in any way. Tim Burton's first epic failure. I F___NG hated that film.
If there were a Planet of the Apes remake(shot for shot) with a competent director and cast, it would be most welcome.

CLJOHNSTON108

Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Fantastic Voyage cannot be remade, anyone that thinks so is a moron.

Well, Roland Emmerich was gonna do it a couple years ago, with Cameron's Lightstorm Ent. producing, but I guess that fell through.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117970307.html?categoryid=10&cs=1

RIPWASH

Monday, August 17, 2009 1:57 PM

I wanna say I'd remake "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." I felt betrayed by that film on so many levels. Mos Def was good as Ford Prefect and I liked Zoe Deschanel, but the rest, especially how they handled Zaphod Beeblebrox was a mess.

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