'Downton Abbey' creator to adapt 'Gypsy'

Most Hollywood remakes and adaptations these days involve pretty familiar properties. Current Broadway hits, movies made in the 1980s--it seems like the window for remakes is getting shorter and shorter.So I'm happily surprised to report that Universal has a movie adaptation of Gypsy on the table. Based on a 1957 memoir, it first became a successful Broadway musical in 1959 and then a 1962 film starring Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell. A 2008 Broadway revival starring Patti LuPone won several Tonys. The remake will team up some of Hollywood's legends and newly renowned.

Fans of "Downton Abbey" may be a little surprised that the show's creator, 62-year-old Julian Fellowes, will write the adaptation of the musical. The writer/actor generally focuses on historical British pieces,  so writing a story about an American burlesque performer and her stage mom is quite a departure.

What really sells this adaptation is casting. Barbra Streisand will play the musical's legendary stage mom of all stage moms. The character is considered the gold standard of stage mom behavior, with plenty of negative qualities usually on display only during an episode of TLC's "Toddlers and Tiaras."

Universal is currently shepherding this project, though it previously had a home at Warner Bros. The adaptation was held up in the past due to the reservations of the writer of the book, Arthur Laurents. He passed away last May, so the producers will no longer have to deal with his opposition.

If Gypsy can reel in a new audience with material that's as compelling as its previous iterations, I think the movie will be a success. The backstage musical is one of the best ways to integrate music into a film, and audiences deserve better than dreck like Burlesque.

'Old Boy' isn't dead after all

By Sarah Sluis

Back in college, shortly after 2005's Old Boy was released, the movie was a certifiable word-of-mouth cult hit. Recommendations for the movie passed from one freaked-out viewer to another. At that time, I had no idea that the movie was the 2004 recipient of the Grand Prize Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival. I just knew that this odd, compelling movie that was heads and tails above most movies that ten times as many people had seen.

Shortly after the Cannes triumph, there was talk of Steven Spielberg producing, and Will Smith starring, in a remake of the original. Now Mandate plans to produce the film with Spike Lee in talks to direct. Lee last directed the box-office disappointment Miracle of St. Anna in 2008, but he's also shown surprising chops at directing thriller/heist/crime fare like Clockers, The 25th Hour, and Inside Man, a far cry from the kind of film that originally gave Lee his cach, Do the Right Thing. Lee would know how to handle this action/thriller/drama.

Old Boy works because of its story as well as its style. Director Chan-wook Park awes with his creativity, especially in this long-take fight scene that's become a YouTube favorite, judging by the amount of videos that capsuled the scene. Park's most recent film, Thirst, showed a similar panache for creating an unsettling tone and striking visual landscape.

Lee, an auteur in his own right, will have to come up with his own take on Old Boy in order to match Park's acheivement. I hope that Will Smith is still considering the role. Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, another Smith film) has written the adaptation of the original screenplay, based on a popular manga. The story centers on a man who is imprisoned in a hotel room without cause for fifteen years. When he's finally released, he goes on a search to find out who kidnapped and jailed him. But it turns out his enemy's revenge plot isn't finished. In this case, revenge goes deep, with punishment that wouldn't be unfamiliar to Greek playrights. Just saying. Mandate is known for its smart, quirky projects (Juno, Whip It) along with its horror fare (Drag Me to Hell, Passengers). Maybe Old Boy will be both.

Warner Bros. remaking sacred cow 'The Bodyguard'

By Sarah Sluis

When I heard Warner Bros. was remaking The Bodyguard, the first thing I thought was "Noooo! They can't do that." The second thing I did was pull up a YouTube video of Whitney Houston singing "I Will Always Love You."

After listening to the song (as it appeared in the movie), I can concede that the movie is a bit dated. The camera circling 360 degrees around Houston and Kevin Costner as they kiss? The saxophone playing in the background of the song? The fact that Whitney Houston's latest claim of fame is admitting her crack addiction on "Oprah"? But never mind. The Bodyguard is a sentimental, feel-good movie, a modern-day take on the "love from different social classes" variety of romance. And can we talk about the fact that this movie earned over $120 million? In 1992?

But how does one remake such an iconic film and its unforgettable song? The one thing that would pique interest in a remake is star power. Warner Bros. will have to cast a charismatic songstress (perhaps with a forte in a different genre of music?) that can attract viewers interested in seeing a movie about her, not a remake of The Bodyguard. Another key draw to The Bodyguard was its "backstage" view of a celebrity. In the age of celebrity Twitter accounts, TMZ, and reality shows centered on stars, a lot has changed, and including these details would make the script stand out. Dan Lin (Sherlock Holmes) is producing, and two newbie scribes with an action comedy script under their belt are rewriting. It turns out the original Bodyguard was conceived for Diana Ross and Steve McQueen, so perhaps the Costner/Houston version isn't the only way to tell this story. Is it time for the original Bodyguard to step aside? Here's the lyrical answer: If I should stay/ I would only be in your way./ So I'll go, but I know /I'll think of you every step of the way....

Shedding light on 'Dark Shadows'

By Sarah Sluis

Like cancelled single-season shows "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared," the 1960s soap opera "Dark Shadows" was on air for just six years, but achieved a cult following that still endures. The first I heard of the show was during an episode of radio program "This American Life," which followed someone attending a convention for fans of the series--a sure sign of its niche popularity. Now Tim Burton, the go-to guy for dark movies, is helming a feature version that's currently in casting.

The appeal of "Dark Shadows," as I understand, is two-fold. One, it is about vampires and the supernatural, a more unusual choice for daytime soap operas. Two, it was very, very low-budget, leading to rather extraordinary gaffes, like people walking on camera when they shouldn't, and actors continuing their lines even after pieces of the set fell down around them. Burton will surely seize upon the supernatural element of the show, but will he also dare to introduce camp into the movie? A hint might come from the screenwriter, Seth Grahame-Smith, author of the book (and screenplay) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. From a glance at the opening pages, it appears the book takes a tone of mock sincerity. "What follows, at last, is the truth," Grahame-Smith says in the introduction, purporting to have discovered lost documents revealing Lincoln was a revered vampire hunter. He's asking the readers to traverse the limits of believability to enjoy a story, the purview of comic book and talking animal movies--in other words, something not entirely unusual.

Johnny Depp will star as the vampire Barnabas, and Eva Green (The Dreamers) and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchman) have also been named to the cast. The latest (still rumored) addition is Michelle Pfeiffer, who would play a widowed recluse. Burton's longtime partner, Helena Bonham Carter, is also being considered for the role of Dr. Julia Hoffman. Between Dark Shadows and other gothic tales such as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Frankenweenie, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, it seems dark, quirky works are all the rage in Hollywood right now. But will any of them hit with audiences?

Will Smith and daughter Willow may remake 'Annie'

By Sarah Sluis

Will Smith is creating a family empire. Last summer, the box-office dynamo shepherded his son Jaden through his first solo starring role, the hit remake of The Karate Kid. Smith had previously starred in The Pursuit of Happyness with Jaden as his son, and now it appears he wants to take a similar route with his daughter, Willow. The ten-year-old would star with her father in a remake of Annie. She would play the titular orphan, and it's presumed Smith will take on the Daddy Warbucks role. Jay-Z, who
famously remixed "Hard Knock Life" a decade ago, plans to collaborate on the music.

The fact that Jay-Z plans to work on the music hints that this could be a new kind of musical with rap and pop influences. The actors would be able to hold their own: Smith had several hits as a rapper, and his daughter Willow recently released an album featuring the rap/pop single "Whip My Hair." Annie is one of my favorite musicals, but I'm not a purist: I would welcome the opportunity to see the story re-framed not as a Depression-era tale but one reflecting the struggles of another impoverished environment, such as an urban ghetto. I'm sure that the orphanage could be reimagined, as could the mission of the hucksters who want to game the system and reclaim Annie as their own for personal reward. I'd actually prefer if they kept the historical distance, however, perhaps setting the movie during the nadir of urban decay in the '80s (making a rap-influenced score much more plausible).

Musicals have a hard time in the marketplace, but there are some successes that bode well for the reboot of this movie. One has been the resurgence of the musical on TV with the success of "Glee," which puts well-known songs into the hand of a high school chorus/glee club. Second has been the success of the Step Up series, which is not so much a backstage musical as a backstage dance-off, with digressive dance numbers that audiences accept and enjoy, to the point that the series has spawned two sequels with one more in the making.

Annie may not be an original idea, but a remake under the supervision of Will Smith and Jay-Z has the chance to turn the story into an emblem of another zeitgeist and infuse the songs with the sounds of a modern era and "Tomorrow."

Casting underway for Coen Bros.' 'True Grit'

By Sarah Sluis

The Coen Bros.' remake of True Grit, a classic Western follow-up to their modern Western hit, No Country for Old Men, has lined up two more actors. Matt Damon is in talks to take on the Texas Ranger role, and Josh Brolin is in talks to play the hunted man. In the movie, a fourteen-year-old girl (who has not been cast) enlists the ranger and a U.S. Marshal to help her track down her father's killer. The role of the marshal, an Oscar-winning role for John Wayne in the 1969 original, will be taken on by Jeff Bridges (The Dude in The Big Lebowski). With top producers Scott Rudin and Steven Spielberg behind the film, and a fast-track from Paramount, this movie is scheduled to head into production this spring, for a release the following year.

Why has the 40-year-old film, based on the novel by Charles Portis, interested the filmmaking duo? Let's consult the archives.

1. Weird, affected dialogue. In Roger Ebert's review of the original, he notes that "Portis wrote his dialog in a formal, enchantingly archaic style that has been retained in Marguerite Roberts' screenplay." The Coen Bros. are known for utilizing accents and unusual speech, which is already present in the original work.

2. The Eye Patch. George Clooney has his pomade in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men has his bowl cut hairstyle. The Dude has his bathrobe and his white Russian in The Big Lebowski. This irresistible bit of costuming (working in tandem with Wayne's star image) just amplifies the characterization of Wayne as an "unwashed, sandpapered, roughshod, fat old rascal with a heart of gold well-covered by a hide of leather" (from Ebert's review).

3. Cash, Crime, Cover-ups and Complications. The U.S. Marshal and the Texas Ranger are both in it for the money. According to Ebert's review, the ranger "claims he has a reward for the killer (who also, it appears, plugged a state senator in Texas)." Sounds like an ulterior motive could come in play--a complication--in Coens' treatment.

Many of the Coen Bros.' films include journeys to either find the booty or hide it (the baby in Raising Arizona, the buried treasure in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the kidnapping/money in Fargo, the money in No Country for Old Men). Inevitably, things do not go according to plan, and Coen Bros. take pleasure in piling on the complications and twists to make things interesting.

The Challenge: According to many reviews, John Wayne makes the movie. The absence of Wayne's star presence could be a problem. In fact, both Roger Ebert and the Variety review use the same word, "tower," to describe Wayne's presence. Ebert notes that "one of the glories of True Grit is that it recognizes Wayne's special presence...He is not playing the same Western role he always plays. Instead, he

can play Rooster because of all the Western roles he has played. " He also mentions a parodic scene that works because of Wayne's star image. Making this movie without Wayne will require screenwriting and directing magic.

Remake special: 'The Tourist,' 'Harvey'

By Sarah Sluis

Soon-to-be A-lister Sam Worthington (I'll count him as one after Avatar comes out) has signed on to play opposite Charlize Theron in The Tourist, a remake of the 2005 French romantic thriller Anthony Zimmer. Worthington replaces Tom Cruise, who recently opted for a supernatural/Midwestern romance project with Cameron Diaz, to be directed by James Mangold.

Those hoping to find out the ending in advance by renting the French film will be disappointed, as there are hints that the script has changed. The French film's trailer heavily emphasizes romance and seduction, aided by the presence of Sophie Marceau (who has appeared in American films as well, including as a Bond girl). She's the mistress of a criminal so successful, the police don't even have a photo. To throw the police off track, she seduces a stranger on a train, leading them to believe that he is the criminal. The man (who's rather nerdy and less attractive than Marceau) finds himself pursued by both the police and by criminals seeking revenge. In the American script, Theron will play an Interpol agent who once had an affair with the criminal. If she's a government official, does that mean she will be a rogue agent, or will the ruse be a part of some master plan? The choice of director is also worth noting. Bharat Nalluri most recently directed Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, but most of his credits come from dark action movies like The Crow: Salvation and Resident Evil (where he was the second-unit director). Nalluri will have the chance to combine his action and screwball credentials in this film, which, if done right, could make for an exciting ride. The Spyglass Entertainment film will start shooting in January and release later in the year.

Yesterday, Steven Spielberg announced he will helm a remake of Harvey, the 1950 film starring Jimmy Stewart as a man with an imaginary, six-foot rabbit friend. Many suspect that Tom Hanks, who has starred in three Spielberg films, will play the Jimmy Stewart role, given his resemblance to Stewart as well as the similarity in their screen personas. I can't help but wonder if this action-free project (i.e., low budget) has anything to do with DreamWorks' financial situation. The studio had difficulty securing financing in the wake of the recession, and a low-budget, high-yield comedy could be a wise choice for the newly unaffiliated studio. As it is, the project will be co-financed by Fox, and fast-tracked into production early next year. The project also seems culturally relevant. The story brings to mind hot 2008 Black List project The Beaver, which will star Mel Gibson and be directed by Jodie Foster. Both involve delusional main characters accompanied by imaginary "friends." Spielberg would certainly be aware of the script, and its positive reception could indicate that the Harvey story is just as fresh as ever.

Like Terminators and vampires, a good franchise never dies

By Sarah Sluis

Today, the blogosphere is alight with Joss Whedon fans, whose gut reaction over the relaunch of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise, sans fan icon Whedon, is overwhelmingly negative. While it may seem a bit early to remake a film from the 1990's, the popularity of vampire titles such as Twilight and "True Blood" prompted the rightsholding couple Fran Rubel Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui (the originally credited producer) to reboot the film. It's a bit of a paradox in Hollywood that the most valuable ideas aren't the original ones, but the proven ones.

The proposed relaunch of the franchise, so far without Whedon or original stars Kristy Swanson (film version) or Sarah Michelle Gellar (television version), is the rule, not the exception. Terminator Salvation, for example, just opened to $53 million without its lead star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, since he's no longer an action performer but the governor of California.

How the fourth Terminator, Terminator Salvation, came about was the subject an LA Times story on producers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek, who bought the rights to the franchise for $25 million, while brushing off lawsuits before, after, and during the entire process. The duo learned of the "for sale" during a business lunch, and did a gutsy blind, you-have-24-hours-to-take-$25 million-or-leave-it deal--the kind that evokes Hollywood action films. The story gives unusual access into that funny world of intellectual property, where the ideas in a movie become a legal abstraction.

How were they able to pull it off? A few choice quotes lend some insight into the process:

Credentials: "...their entire producing experience consisted of one low-budget comedy that never made it into theaters." (The Cook-Off, a mockumentary)

Connections: "The pair were tipped off by Graves at their fateful lunch because they believed they had access to millions of dollars of financing from Dubai." (which never materialized)

Deal-making: "..on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2007 [they] got a commitment from Santa Barbara hedge fund Pacificor...even though his firm had never before, and hasn't since, invested in entertainment." (It doesn't say whether the deal was done in some nice box seats at the game)

Collegiality: "Borman [a producer], in the suit, accused them of "egregious fraud"..." (He will be credited in future films but not allowed to do anything)

While the LA Times seems to imply that the wake of lawsuits couldn't have occurred without reason, Anderson and Kubicek view their legal problems as a byproduct of their business. They've also locked up the current talent: director McG for one sequel and Christian Bale for two. While Terminator Salvation hasn't performed quite as well as expected, so far, just wait for the T1-T4 boxed sets to come out. As for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I hope the project is either stalled or propelled forward by the script. The franchise was surprising because the television series changed significantly from the movie, but still succeeded. With a vision to make a "darker, event-sized movie that would, of course, have franchise potential," and the idea that the movie might feature an offspring or heir of Buffy's slayer duties, the relaunch just might be able to offer a compelling new take on the fantastically rich premise of Buffy.

'Bye Bye Birdie' remake, care of Adam Shankman

By Sarah Sluis

Adam Shankman director of the Hairspray movie musical, has announced he will take on Columbia's long-circulating remake of Bye Bye Birdie. I haven't seen the original, so I headed over to YouTube to check out one of the musical numbers. The song "Telephone Hour," which borrows the split screen and bubble bath conferencing of Pillow Talk, also has extremely improbable sequences of people talking on rotary phones in soda fountains, libraries, showers, and cars. Kind of goofy and fake, I'm thinking, when it suddenly occurs to me that the remake won't have this problem: people talking in cars? in the (quiet section of the) library? restaurants? Why, that happens every day! I imagine the only problem is that nowadays teens will view some of the dialogue as unrealistic, because they totally would have texted the information.

For those who haven't seen the movie, the plot doesn't condense easily. A pop star, about to be drafted, somehow gets convinced to appear on a television show and kiss a high school girl who is one of his biggest fans, much to the chagrin of the girl's boyfriend.. I had a hard time picturing this plot (if they're setting up for a pop star-high schooler romance, isn't that a little May-December?) until I learned that the pop star was based on Elvis Presley, a music icon who could reliably create mass hysteria among teen girls. Originally, the girl was played by Ann-Margret (even I know about her), and the pop star a mid-twenties looking fellow, softening my age-related concerns. Still, I'm curious to see who they tap for casting choices. For now, I'll just keep humming along the "Telephone Hour."

Jaden Smith next 'Karate Kid'

By Sarah Sluis

The Karate Kid, the film that spawned a thousand martial arts studios in strip malls across America, is up for a remake.  Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith, who made his feature film debut in last December's The
Pursuit of Happyness, is attached to the film.  The film will not be a strict remake, but borrow elements from the original plot.  For those not raised on The Karate Kid, the film centered on a bullied youth who learns karate from a mentor.  In between training montages, the mentor teaches him the winning moves that will help him stave off bullies, land the Girl, and win gold at a karate competition.  Jaden Smith, 10, already practices martial arts, giving the production a head start--maybe he will have time to change the color of his belt before filming begins next year?  While the original film had the character moving from New Jersey to California, this film plans to shoot in Beijing, China, making me think that the rewrite will make the kid's move transcontinental.  Original producer Jerry Weintraub will reprise his role as a producer, along with China Film Group, which is co-producing the film.
  The original franchise consisted of four films--The Karate Kid, two sequels, and The Next Karate Kid, which started over and switched genders, launching the career of Hilary Swank and preparing her for her Oscar-winning role as a fighter in Million Dollar Baby.