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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 »

­­­­­Screenhead is proud to present Frank Beddor’s graphic novel, Hatter M, Vol. 2: Mad With Wonder and is available now. 

It’s a mad, mad, mad world as Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan’s maniacal quest to find Alyss continues! In Volume 2, Mad With Wonder, Hatter follows the Glow from London to the battlefields of America’s Civil War in search of the Princess who must someday be Queen. The America that Hatter encounters is a sprawling, wounded, boiling landscape of innocence and energy run amok. The war is tearing the country apart, yet Hatter must maintain his sanity in this maelstrom of holy rollers, child healers, prophetic snake handlers, deranged outlaws, and passionate southern belles. As Hatter searches he learns he is not the only Wonderland presence that has found its way to the Promised Land. Queen Redd’s black imagination is fueling the Civil War and threatening our world with her evil! 

If you would like your own a copy of Volume 2, Mad With Wonder, Hatter, post your name and we will pick the winner Tuesday, December 1, 2009.

Cecile de France, a Belgian actress, signed to star opposite Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood’s supernatural drama Hereafter.

Peter Morgan wrote the script that tells about three people who are touched by death in different ways. De France, whose credits include Russian Dolls and High Tension, will play a French journalist who has a near-death experience.

Eastwood started principal photography last month with filming taking place in San Francisco, London, Paris and Hawaii.

The film’s release date is set for December 2010.

A Single Man in HD

Trailer Park | MySpace Video

A Single Man, a romantic story interrupted, is both co-written and directed by American fashion designer Tom Ford, who makes his directorial debut with this film. David Scearce helped with the script, which is adapted from Christopher Isherwood ’s novel of the same name. The Weinstein Company is bringing A Single Man to limited theaters starting on December 17, 2009.

Colin Firt does an extraordinary job of playing an English professor, whose partner dies suddenly and he tries to live ha typical day, which is a struggle to say the least.  Will he find the meaning of life?

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire opened this weekend to $1.8 million from only 18 locations. That’s a record breaking location average of $100,000 for each movie theater. It is obvious people want to see this movie. 

Precious has been on the festival circuit, getting rave reviews with some strong backers: Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. It looks like the reviews and support from Winfrey and Perry paid off.

How can someone sit through Precious as entertainment because the subject matter is not upbeat or fanciful?  Even on talk shows like Ellen, it’s mentioned that the movie is not easy to watch because it’s very sad and emotionally draining.

With that said, I go to the movies to escape from problems of the world and not worry about the problems of society. Movies like Precious bring our awareness up to a point we can face the problems? Sure, something needs to be done about these types of social ills. Yet, they continue to exist. Does a movie resolve the problem or do we need to find workable solutions that really work not false successes? 

What do you think?

I’m aware that, chances are, after you read that headline above, you’re probably going to have a minor embolism.

Rest assured that you DID read that correctly, and by all accounts, someone, somewhere,  at Disney has greenlit a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

You may not, however, be aware that Who Framed Roger Rabbit was actually based on an old conspiracy theory proven terrifyingly accurate about how a coterie of companies came together to take down the Los Angeles streetcar system and replace it with a freeway, which is pretty much what happened in the original.

There are some rumors that say that we’ll have much the same thing in this one, with another conspiracy theory being targeted and analogized to fit into a ninety minute cartoon / live action hybrid film.  Naturally there’s no proof of this as the script hasn’t even been started on yet, but the concept remains, and in all honesty, I’m looking forward to it!

I loved that film when I was a kid, and have fond memories of going along with a group of childhood buddies to catch it.  It was downright amazing.  And I can only hope that a whole new generation of kids will have the same opportunity to laugh at a moron bunny that I did.

January Jones will be starting with Nicolas Cage in the thriller The Hungry Rabbit Jumps. Jones is known for her on AMC’s Mad Men.

Rabbit is schedule to start shooting around the beginning of December.

The film follows a man (Cage) who, after a crime is perpetrated on his wife, gets more than he bargained for when he enlists a vigilante group to help him settle the score. Jones will play the wife.

Reportedly, Jones’ role is very meaty and active.   

Roger Donaldson is attached to direct from Robert Tanen’s script.

What do Tom Cruise, Beck, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Giovanni Ribisi, Katie Holmes, and Paul Haggis all have in common? Why, they’re all members of the cult-I mean religion-called Scientology. That is, until this week when a letter written by Paul Haggis (director of Crash, writer of Million Dollar Baby and Casino Royale) to the “church” of Scientology was revealed.

Apparently, Haggis was infuriated by Scientology’s backing of California’s Proposition 8, which in 2008 made same-sex marriages illegal. Haggis wrote: “The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent [...] I refuse to consent”. Haggis also criticised Scientology for putting pressure on Haggis and his wife to “disconnect” their lives from her grandparents’. And so, Haggis has quit.

What’s far more astounding is how on earth people can buy into this ridiculous cult. It was created by a crazy sci-fi writer who wanted to abuse the tax-breaks handed out to religions. How can anyone associate themselves with an organisation who charge people up to thousands of dollars for “personality tests” (haven’t they heard of facebook applications?), deny the existence of autism (which John Travolta’s recently deceased teenage son had), and forbid a woman from screaming during childbirth? Not to mention their hatred for psychiatry, their use of legal waivers forced upon those who join, and their tendency to harass and torment those opposed to or investigating them. It’s a secretive, money-grabbing, dangerous cult. And anyone who disagrees with me need only check out the Simpsons episode called The Joy of Sect, in which Springfield is controlled by a group known as the Movementarians. So well done, Paul Haggis, let’s hope the millions of others see sense and follow suit.

Fans of the Che Guevara road movie The Motorcycle Diaries will be pleased with this news. Director Walter Salles and writer Jose Rivera will team up again, this time to adapt the modern American novel ‘American Rust’, penned by Philipp Meyer. Scott Stuber (The Break-Up, Role Models) will produce.

American Rust is Meyer’s first novel, and it tells the tale of two childhood friends, Isaac and Billy. Set in a dying steel town in Pennsylvania, a murder is committed that involves the boys, and through betrayal and arguments, leads to a split in the friendship that may affect the rest of their lives. The novel has been lauded by critics, with comparisons made with the likes of Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner.

While The Motorcycle Diaries was an entertaining film, many criticised it for distorting events to glorify and idealise the young Che, despite the reality being far from that (and of course the problem that the revolutionary became overly vicious in his later years). Meyer’s novel is praised for its ability to find drama in the drab and downbeat lives of a decaying community, and if a film adaptaion merely tries to replicate the main plot points, it may indeed miss the point of the tale. Regardless, it will be an interesting prospect so see how a Brazilian director and a Puerto Rican writer take on a story of an American community.

Sometimes pairings are so strange they just might work. Who would have thought sweet and sour could combine to make such a tasty Asian sauce? So what sort of film we will see with the combination of writer/director Gus Van Sant (pictured left) and cult novelist Brett Easton Ellis? Van Sant is known for a mix of engaging dramas (Good Will Hunting) and pretentious experimentations (Gerry), while Ellis is the oddball responsible for the darkly comic novel American Psycho and the socially critical Less Than Zero, both adapted already into films. And together they are working on an adaptation of a Vanity Fair article.

The article, entitled “Golden Suicides”, concerns New York artists Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake who separately commited suicide in 2007, after growing increasingly paranoid that they were being followed by Scientologists. Last year Ellis agreed to write a script but now Van Sant has come aboard as consultant and possible director. It’s great to see these two big names attached to the project. It’s also worth noting that when Van Sant deals with true stories, like Elephant (loosely based on the Columbine killings) and the biopic of Milk, he makes something very special.