Film Junk » Remakes

The Orphanage Remake Loses Its Director

Sean — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:02:58 +0000

Larry Fessenden exits the redo, possibly due to a casting disagreement.

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Zhang Yimou’s Blood Simple Remake Trailer

Sean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:34:48 +0000

Ever since it was announced earlier this year, a lot of people have been wondering what the heck is up with Zhang Yimou's remake of The Coen Brothers' very first film Blood Simple. It was believed that he would be turning it into a comedy, and with the odd title Amazing Tales: Three Guns, it seems clear that we should probably expect something completely different. And wow... that's exactly what we're getting. The Playlist found the first trailer for the film on YouTube, and if you're familiar with Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, you won't be too shocked to see plenty of artistic slow-mo, thematic colours, extravagant costumes, and melodramatic acting. It looks like a Zhang Yimou film, except... what the heck does any of this have to do with Blood Simple?? Granted, the trailer is not in English (save for the voiceover) so it's a bit hard to piece together. It gets weirder though: according to Yahoo!, the movie features "a theme song rapped by the filmmaker himself"! Huh? Something tells me this may be the first Zhang Yimou film that Reed Farrington actually dislikes. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film here in North America sometime next year. Check out the wacky trailer after the jump and see what you think.

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William Peter Blatty and William Friedkin to Reteam for The Exorcist Remake?

Sean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:47:36 +0000

The duo may retell the story as a mini-series with more elements from the novel and a new ending.

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Young@Heart Doc Gets Fictional Remake

Sean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:02:35 +0000

I'm With Cancer author Will Reiser to adapt this touching true tale of punk rock seniors.

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Fright Night Remake Lands Buffy Writer

Sean — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:15:14 +0000

It's been a couple of years since we first heard mention of a Fright Night remake, but with vampires continuing to take over pop culture right now, Dreamworks has finally hired a writer to get the ball rolling. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they've brought former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel writer Marti Noxon on board to pen the script. Noxon's vamp experience obviously seems like a good fit, but it's interesting to note that she is currently a writer/producer for Mad Men, and has also worked on Prison Break and Grey's Anatomy. Back when rumours of this remake first surfaced, Sony Screen Gems was believed to be the studio and they reportedly wanted it to be nothing like the original. Now that Dreamworks has taken over, it seems that it may be headed for a more straightforward redo. The only clue we have about the direction being taken is that it will "keep the comedy-horror tone while modernizing the effects". Tom Holland's original 1985 film was about a teenager who suspects that his next door neighbour is a vampire. Do you think the concept still holds up today? Is this a movie that deserves to be remade at this point in time?

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Clash of the Titans Remake Trailer

Sean — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:19:09 +0000

Well if there's one thing they want us to know about Louis Leterrier's upcoming remake of the 1981 epic Clash of the Titans, it's that it's hip and cool and edgy! Since this is just a teaser trailer, they can get away with showing quick clips of action scenes and melding it together into a music video of sorts. It works fairly well, and I'm sure this is going to excite fans of 300, which is clearly their target audience. Still, I have to wonder, is this music indicative of what the actual soundtrack will be? Because if so, that's pretty lame. The movie stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Gemma Arterton, Ralph Fiennes, and of course, Pete Postlethwaite (among others). It looks like this will be sufficiently epic and the special effects certainly give a much-needed update to the original, but is it just me or do some of the creature designs seem like a rip off of Pan's Labyrinth? Clash of the Titans hits theatres on March 26th; check out the teaser trailer after the jump.

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Will Smith and Steven Spielberg Abandoning Oldboy Remake?

Sean — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:32:25 +0000

This should make more than a few people happy. After last year's announcement that Spielberg wanted to produce a remake of Chan-wook Park's Oldboy with Will Smith in the lead role, people freaked out insisting that this is one masterpiece that should not be marred by a watered-down American retelling. Eventually Smith tried to re-assure people by saying that it would be a different movie based on the original manga instead, but still doubts persisted. This week the folks over at Latino Review bring a pleasant update on the project indicating that it may be officially kaput. According to their source, Dreamworks and international distributor Mandate Pictures "didn't see eye to eye", and so Dreamworks simply walked away from the flick. It's unclear if they actually did acquire the rights to the original manga or not, but for the time being it looks like this is no longer happening. Does this make you want to jump for joy, or are you disappointed that we won't get to see what Spielberg and Smith could have brought to the story?

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David Fincher Reuniting with Writer of Seven for The Reincarnation of Peter Proud Remake

Sean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:30:13 +0000

I know a lot of people are still unsure about the fact that David Fincher's next project is a movie about Facebook, but if that's not your cup of tea, his follow-up project should put you at ease. For his next movie, it looks like Fincher will be bringing back together the same team that worked on his 1995 thriller Se7en starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, in order to remake the 1975 film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. According to Heat Vision, screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker will adapt the Max Ehrlich novel on which the movie was based, while Fincher will produce along with former New Line president of production Michael De Luca. The story centers on a college professor who begins to have visions of a previous life, and finds himself drawn to a woman and her daughter who are seemingly connected to his past. The original movie starred Michael Sarrazin and Margot Kidder, but this will not be a straight-up remake as they plan to rely on the novel for source material, moving it to a modern day setting. What do you think, will this be a return to form for Fincher or will he continue to branch out with his career?

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Alfonso Cuaron to Direct The Tourist Starring Johnny Depp

Sean — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:16:14 +0000

Although Y tu mamá también was Alfonso Cuaron's breakout film in terms of proving his talent and putting him on Hollywood's radar, it was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men that made him an instant favourite among fantasy and sci-fi fans. Of course, Children of Men was released back in 2006, and Cuaron hasn't really done much since then outside of producing. Now this week it looks like his next directorial gig may finally be falling into place, picking up the pieces of a potentially high-profile project that has gone through multiple changes to cast and crew. If all goes according to plan Cuaron will direct The Tourist, a remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer, about an American vacationer in France who is unwittingly used as a decoy for a French spy. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others) had previously been attached, as well as Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). Cuaron would be inheriting a cast that includes Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, who were recently brought on to replace Sam Worthington and Charlize Theron. (Tom Cruise was supposed to star at one point as well.) All in all, it sounds like they are potentially trading up here, no? Check out a trailer for the original film after the jump.

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Neil Marshall or Neill Blomkamp Might Replace Peter Berg on Dune

Sean — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:03:23 +0000

Hey Herbert heads... there's a pretty big story developing this week around Paramount's upcoming remake of Dune, which Peter Berg (Hancock, Friday Night Lights) has been attached to direct for the past couple of years. There's been plenty of debate over whether or not Berg might finally be able to get it right on the big screen, but the latest word is that he has now decided to walk away from the project, leaving Paramount in desperate need of a new director. Here's the good news: there are two very intriguing names currently being lined up to replace him. According to Pajiba, the studio is currently considering both Neill Blomkamp (District 9) and Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday) for the job. Believe it or not, producer Kevin Misher is leaning toward Marshall, but Paramount execs aren't entirely confident that he can handle a big budget tentpole. It is a little surprising that Marshall would be considered for this at all, especially after Doomsday received mixed reviews, but I'd be excited about having either one of these guys at the helm. What I'm less excited about is the fact that Robert Pattinson is also supposedly being courted for the lead role, but who knows, that possibility may have left with Peter Berg. What do you think, is this good news for Dune? Who would you rather see direct: Neil or Neill?

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Air Guitar Nation Gets Fictional Remake from the Writer of Tropic Thunder

Sean — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:45 +0000

As I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago, there have been a ton of documentaries related to heavy metal lately, and one that sort of fits into that category as well is Alexandra Lipsitz's Air Guitar Nation. Documenting the US and World Air Guitar Championships from a few years back, the movie is more about performance art than music specifically, but either way it's a lot of fun. Now it looks like the documentary is about to be brought to a wider audience as part of a fictional comedy as well. According to THR's Risky Business Blog, Tropic Thunder writer Justin Theroux has signed on to produce a movie for Paramount called simply Air Guitar, set in the world of competitive air guitar. He will not actually be the one writing the script however; those duties will fall to Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger (Just Shoot Me!). As long as they don't do it as a mockumentary I could see it being decent, although as the article points out, a lot of rock-themed comedies haven't done so well at the box office lately (The Rocker, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny). Either way, I doubt it will surpass the doc... just go watch that instead!

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Short Circuit Remake Gets Director of Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Sean — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:18:07 +0000

Let's get one thing straight: I don't think anyone has particularly high expectations for the upcoming remake of Short Circuit, and I don't think anyone is kidding themselves when it comes to the quality of the original 1986 comedy. It was pure fluff, but also a memorable cultural artifact from a previous era. Now that Dimension Films have named a director for the 2011 update, however, it's becoming painfully clear just how mediocre and pointless this thing might actually end up being. According to Variety, Paul Blart: Mall Cop director Steve Carr has signed on to helm the new Short Circuit. Carr's previous credits also include Dr. Doolittle 2, Daddy Day Care, and Are We Done Yet?, with not a single gem in the bunch. I know some people liked Blart, but I still can't imagine Carr bringing any real charm to this flick. Maybe there's still hope for the remake based on the fact that the script was written by Dan Milano (Robot Chicken), but somehow I doubt it. I think I'll just go and cry into my corn flakes now. Does this news make you angry, sad, or just plain confused?

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