Screenhead

We have a resistence to the remake. And it’s understandable, considering most of us only look forward to a remake because of the original. Yet the problem is that deep down we feel that the remake can never live up to the original, and thus nit-pick. But it’s rare to see a remake that isn’t so much an inferior rehash of the original’s premise, rather a remake whose philosophy is a complete reversal of the original, so much so that it’s a downright insult. The new miniseries remake of cult classic The Prisoner has managed to achieve that, by prioritising conformity above individualism.

The original The Prisoner was a TV anomaly. Lead actor in successful spy series Danger Man, Patrick McGoohan was tried of acting in un-enlightening adventures, and set out to make a show that appeared on the surface to be a spy show, but was actually a critique on modern society and its need to repress the rights of the individual and increases the level of governmental surveillance. And while the show is certainly a product of its time (with bright, almost garish colours, and psychadelic moments) in some ways, it was also incredibly important in the evolution of TV. For it was a show that was unafriad to make political commentary without being heavy-handed about it. Its final episodes were also left open for interpretation, another brave move by McGoohan that had members of the public in uproar at the time. One could argue that if it wasn’t for The Prisoner, we wouldn’t have Lost, Twin Peaks, or even the open ending of The Sopranos.

In this era of remakes, it was only a matter of time until they got around to The Prisoner. McGoohan wasn’t interested in being involved, having said everything he wanted to. For a while Christopher Nolan was interested in a feature film version, but that faded away. Instead, AMC and UK network ITV pooled resources to make a six-part miniseries starring Ian McKellan and Jim Caviezel.

Now, I’m all in favour of a remake of The Prisoner. Just like it dealt with social concerns of its own time, there was scope to do the very same with ours. An impressive cast also contributed to the hope that this could succeed. But oh how it didn’t. Read the rest of this entry »

Excuse me while I recover from the paroxysm of hilarious laughter I just had.  My stomach hurts SO bad right now.

But anyway, apparently, Michael Bay’s huge embarrassing failure that was the Friday the 13th remake is toes up.  So much so that word is already out saying that Friday the 13th two is going to be Jason’s last dance. For good.  In perpetuity throughout the universe.

Now you see why I was just laughing my ass off.  Seriously, what are you going to do to Jason Voorhees that hasn’t already been done DOZENS of times?  Stage it in Florida, get him to walk under a space shuttle booster?  Hurl him into the sun?

…okay, that might work.  Marcus Nispel, call me–I’ll write Jason an ending like no one’s ever seen before!

But seriously–considering that Jason’s already had two “final” movies, I kind of doubt that this one will be his REALLY final movie.  Especially with fans actively clamoring for a second Freddy Vs. Jason installment.

Well here’s a chunk of news guaranteed to baffle and unsettle all at once.  Apparently, J.J. Abrams was working on converting the Stephen King novel series The Dark Tower into a series of films, when suddenly he realized that this was going to be a VASTLY bigger job than he’d realized and pushed the whole thing aside.

This means at the very least there will be a delay, because it’s as yet unclear whether Abrams is just taking a break, is killing the whole thing off, or handing off to another director / writer / team of same.

In all honesty, this is a deeply disturbing sign.  While it’s good to see that Abrams understands his limitations, this means probably nothing but trouble for King fans who wanted to see the Dark Tower movie make the same nigh-miraculous comeback as the book line did.

But with Abrams either temporarily abdicated or out of action for good, the progress of the Dark Tower movie is likely halted with him.

On behalf of Overture Films, Screenhead presents a new production still featuring Radha Mitchell from The Crazies, starring Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker and Joe Anderson.  Quite a bit has been posted here about The Crazies, which opens February 26, 2010. 

The story is about a small town where everything is safe and happy…until suddenly it isn’t. In a terrifying tale of the “American Dream” gone horribly wrong, four friends find themselves trapped in their hometown in The Crazies, a reinvention of the George Romero classic directed by Breck Eisner from a screenplay by Ray Wright (Pulse, Case 39) and Scott Kosar (The Amityville Horror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

Johnny Depp may join Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, a film that is experiencing many, many casting and directing changes – yet is set for production this February.   

If Depp joined Jolie, he would play an American tourist drawn into a web of intrigue and danger by a female Interpol agent (Jolie) as she attempts to locate a criminal who was once her lover.

You may be asking yourself, wait…I thought Sam Worthington was playing this part or Tom Cruise.  You’re thoughts are correct but changes happen in the film biz fast and furious.  Even Charlize Theron was attached to play Jolie’s part.

I am not sure about all the directors, but Alfonso Curaron is at the head of the line to take on this juicy and plum gig.

I like the idea of Depp and Jolie working together on a spy thriller. Don’t you?

(Source)

Sam Worthington is looking good in a collection of posters.  First Showing has a whole collection of them and they are worth a look.  Some sites have had to take them off their site because Warner Bros. made a strong request to do so. 

Apparently, they are not the official posters, but creative mock-ups for decision makers, I suspect.

I don’t know how long these will be available to see, but check them out while you can.  Does any one know when the movie opens in the theaters?

Ridley Scott is one BUSY individual.  But let’s face facts–the man’s got like thirty hojillion projects in the works right now, so his announcement that he’s considering an Alien prequel needs to be taken with a grain of salt.  A grain of salt about, say, the size of a Buick.

But he’s clearly been thinking it over, and even has some possible strategies.  Dig the word:

“It’s a brand new box of tricks. We know what the road map is, and the screenplay is now being put on paper. The prequel will be a while ago. It’s very difficult to put a year on Alien, but [for example] if Alien was towards the end of this century, then the prequel story will take place thirty years prior.”

There are possibilities here.  After all, I seem to remember that one of the earliest parts of Alien described an alien ship that crash-landed on LV 426.  Checking Wikipedia confirms my scattered memories, so a great point for an Alien prequel would be, what is that ship, and how did it get jam-packed with xenomorphs?

Of course, it’s a fair bet that that’s a Predator ship that was seeding the planet for use as a hunting ground, so they may have already kinda sorta covered that already.  Still though, I find myself plenty interested in where they’re looking to go with this one.

So maybe Peter Berg wasn’t the best choice to handle the upcoming remake of Dune.  He walked off the project very recently, leaving Paramount to fill in the hole as best it could, and man, do they ever have an option.

They’ve sent out scripts to two new director possibilities, and you won’t believe who they are.

Neill Blomkamp and Neil Marshall.

Oh yeah.  District 9 and Doomsday themselves are going after Dune.

And even better, chances are Berg took Robert Pattinson with him back when R-Pattz was thinking about tackling Paul Atriedes.

Between two prime directors with actual sci-fi cred now possibly handling the Dune remake, and the fact that Rob Pattinson likely now has nothing to do with Dune, suddenly I’m feeling like getting into a happy dance out here.  There’s so much joy and win in this news post that I may well faint from the sheer happiness of it all.

Matt Damon and Josh Brolin are talking with Joel and Ethan Coen to hitch a ride with Jeff Bridges in True Grit. A remake or redesign or re-imaging of the iconic 1969 Western tale that Paramount Pictures plans to start production next March for late 2010 release. 

Bridges will play U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn with Damon talking about playing the lawman (played by Glen Campbell in the original) who teams up with Cogburn and a 14-year old girl to track her father’s killer into hostile Indian territory.

Brolin is talking about playing the killer. Jeff Corey played the killer in the original, and Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper also played outlaws.

Coen brothers haven’t cast the young girl yet.