Once Upon a Time in Hollywood...

I’ve already made it known that Forbidden Planet is one of the few film do-overs that I am excited about. Well, last night I learned that the script for the remake had leaked to the internet. What is it about human nature that we have to ruin and spoil? (I, too, am guilty to a degree. But generally I have limitations on how much I am willing to uncover about a work. I certainly don’t understand leaking a whole script!) And so, the entire screenplay is being scrapped and started up from scratch.

J. Michael Straczynski had this to say:
Meanwhile, on a wholly different note…not of triumph but of annoyance….because so much of the Forbidden Planet screenplay was leaked out, Warners and I have decided to chuck the screenplay in its entirety and start over. This is the direct result of the leaks that showed up on the nets, including detailed script reviews of a project that was barely a week old, and which would effectively destroy any anticipation of the movie because by the time it finally reached the screen in 2010 or thereabouts, the story would be old news. So we're starting fresh, and we're going to keep a tight lid on the script this
time.

So to the sites that say, "Where's the harm, it's not like they're gonna toss out the script because we blew the contents of same all over the nets," well, yes, that's exactly what it's like, and it's precisely your responsibility that a year's worth of work was destroyed.

So we start anew, with the determined hope that the next draft will be even better, and far more secure, than the last one.

Let’s hope it’s for the better, eh? Come on now, InterWeb Info Stalkers, don’t cause another delay. I really want to see this movie!

Another remake with merit is A Nightmare on Elm Street. I spoke about this one briefly in this post. It’s rapidly becoming more than a dream project. The director (Samuel Bayer), script (Wesley Strick) and location (right here in Chicago!) are set. I read a little about the changes to this one. Just enough to whet my appetite, unlike those who have to devour the whole feast like FP. Elm Street is being “updated.” That can be a dirty word sometimes. Or at least hackneyed. But in this case it seems they are using their heads. For instance, in this day and age of instant access to info, it stands to reason that the likes of an event such as your parents as teenagers taking down a child molester/killer would not be a hushed up secret to the Elm Street kids. In other words, they might as well just look it up instead of dragging the riddles of the past out of their parents. One of the kids will now have a podcast. Sounds about right. Bring it on. [Currently April 16, 2010]

And the other horror remake which I guess I am on the fence about, but holding slight hopes for is Hellraiser. Recently, Gary Tunnicliffe took a stab at a redesign of Pinhead, the head honcho Cenobite. I didn’t think he did too bad a job. No, I didn’t love it, but I could “see” it. Apparently, I had been dead wrong. Hellraiser creator Clive Barker spoke out about it, citing his reasons why the new version entirely missed the point of the character. And having heard him explain, it became clear what part of it didn’t sit right. I’m not going to outline it here (nor is there a picture) for this character, his visage and details are certainly not for the faint of heart. Quite horrific. If you’re interested, it’s out there in the ‘net. I just rather enjoyed an author saying, ‘Nope. That’s not my character.’ Let’s hope they find a suitable re-design. (Or maybe Pinhead should remain the same? [It should be noted that Tunnicliffe had stated that Pinhead did not need reinvented but tried it for the sheer challenge.])

Lastly, Heroes will be back for another season after Fugitives.

Well, amen.

A Rose By Any Other?

I’ve been struck with one of those ideas which is either vaguely brilliant or alarmingly dreadful. The kind that both wants to be seen and also never come to light. At least I think so. Before I tell you what it is, please note that I do not intend to tackle any such project. I’m just as much on the fence about it as I suspect you will be.

Let me begin with a terse rant about the Hollywood remakes. Yes, they exist. And yes, they always have existed. Lately they seem to be dominant. Love them or hate them (generally I hate them) they are here to stay. Some have been good, most bad. But I’m not going to pontificate on those. Point being they do exist, for better or for worse. If you want to hear me rant more on this subject, you can find it here.

Sometimes, however, a good reason or outcome is included with the re-do of films. I’ll give you two examples. Oddly (or not so oddly), they both deal with horror movies. Not surprising, I suppose, taking into consideration that horror movies, especially, are getting remade. (Now that’s an entirely different subject of exploration: why are we bent on remaking horror?)

Clive Barker had been approached to remake Hellraiser. For those of you who do not know, the Hellraiser series, as it pertains to Barker, is more than initially appears. I’m not trying to convince you it’s good nor that you should like it. I’m just relating that a great deal of thought and inventive mythology went into its creation. (As well as the comics it spawned.) When approached, Barker declined. Told that the remake would be done with or without him, Barker responded (paraphrasing): “Okay then, I guess I could stand to revisit my work and see what I can come up with now…” I love that…an author “invited” to rework their own work.

Sam Raimi, before Spider-Man, had a big hit with the Evil Dead series. This series has its own inherent oddities of creation, but perhaps I’ll discuss those another time. When the prospect of an Evil Dead remake came up, Raimi gave his blessing! I love the reason why. He wants to be able to watch his story through the eyes of another director and creative team. Curious how else it might be done, he allowed it gracefully. Very cool. I have to say I had not been charmed to remaking Evil Dead. Until I read Raimi’s reaction.

Now I’d like to turn your attention to the comic book world. I’m the peripheral sort of comic book guy. I like them a lot and a know quite a bit about a great much of it. In other words, enough to get by. But one of the things that anyone can see is: character design evolves. It may be obvious that it would…but that doesn’t make it any less important. New artists draw the character differently. Or perhaps new elements are introduced. All in all, fresh styles and visions come about. There may be exact guidelines touching upon it, but it’s a new perception all the same.

It also applies to characters from other than the comics. It might seem that they are static at first thought, but even icons Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse have undergone changes throughout time and artists.

Another area that has benefited from re-imagining is video games. From "re-inventing" 2-D to 3-D to upgrades in character desgins and the like, there is no denying that the world of video gaming has had many guises under the same umbrella.

Let us not forget the stage. Re-staging is a common term and practice, one that is even desired.

The music industry is no stranger to the idea either. Songs are "covered" all the time. To both sweet and sour results. And it's not just the "mainstream" music. We are always delighted to hear a different orchestra's rendition and/or a noted conductor's take on classical pieces.

Wondering what my point is? What is this "big, crazy-enough-to-work but please don’t try it" idea? Remakes of Novels. An author who writes the same story of another author into his or her own style. All of the same story elements, characters (and names) would exist and the sequence would be the same…but written anew, with different language and words to tell the story. For instance, what if Stephen King “rewrote” Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Re-read Peter and Wendy written afresh by Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions).

I bet you can think of a great many “What Ifs?” along this vein. I’m trying not to…

(I’m sure someone will tell me that it’s already been done. If that is the case, then it’s mea culpa for not hearing about it. But it's just as well I not know.)