Rethinking Hollywood do-overs, from 'Scarface' and 'Straw Dogs' to 'The Lion King'

By Sarah Sluis

New York Magazine recently hired producer Gavin Polone (who has pretty solid IMDB credits) as a columnist. His first article's point? Hollywood is making so many bad remakes they're driving everyone away from the theatres. He cites specific movies as examples, concluding that it can be "good" or "understandable" to make remakes, as long as "the filmmaker brings something new to it." (Example: True Grit, Rise of the Planet of the Apes for its special effects). Isn't that self-evident? Yet he brings up movies where scripts have been recycled verbatim (The Omen), and the disappointment of last week's Straw Dogs, which tried to remake a classic.

Indeed, there's a certain irony that in the sea of remakes, a re-release like The Lion King can make $30 million in a weekend. Disney didn't have to reshoot or recast the movie, or turn it into CG animation. They didn't even have to show it in 3D (Disney's one upgrade), since many of the viewers chose to see it in 2D. People want to see a good, memorable movie. They want to be entertained. Yet the only way Hollywood can think of to do that is to make bad remakes of good movies? What about seeing the originals?

After reading Polone's article, I came across a short announcement in Variety. Universal plans to remake Scarface, that epic 1983 gangster movie. Will it contribute anything new? According to the article, it "will take elements from the 1932 Howard Hughes pic and 1983 Al Pacino version, wherein a refugee or immigrant rises the ranks of the criminal underworld to eventually become a kingpin." How much does a change of scenery actually mean? From a cultural perspective, it will be interesting to frame the violence in the context of another immigrant group's struggle, but it's not like we have our doors wide open to immigrants anymore, thanks to 9/11-related policies. If the first 1932 film centered on Italian immigrants and the second Cubans, where do we go after that?

It's also worth noting that 51 years elapsed between the first and second Scarfaces. If this project goes into development/production quickly, it will be around 30 years between the second and third films. The speed at which projects are recycled has increased to an untenable point. I can understand non-cinephiles not wanting to see the black-and-white Scarface with production code-level violence. But 1983's Scarface is still incredibly watchable, if a little heavy on the cheesy excess of the era. I just saw it for the first time last year! Taking an iconic, much-loved, still-watched movie and remaking it is a recipe for disaster. It didn't work for Straw Dogs, and it won't work for Scarface unless it dramatically overhauls the entire movie--and then, at that point, why do a remake? Why not just start fresh using different plot points? Because that, my friends, is how Hollywood works.

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.

May & June releases to watch: the ones that already have sequels

By Sarah Sluis

A comedy to watch for this summer will be The Hangover. Apparently it's funny enough that Warner Bros. asked the director to write the sequel before the first film even comes out. The trailer brought down

the house at ShoWest, and reports are, the movie's been testing off the charts. It has a bit of a Dude, Where's My Car? premise: men on a bachelor party in Vegas wake up with no memory of the night before, mayhem around them, and a missing groom. They go around reconstructing the night's events, which, from the trailer alone, seem to involve hospitals, weddings, Siegfried & Roy tigers, police officer impersonation, a baby, and a run-in with Mike Tyson. What seems fresh about the movie's snowball of implausible events is that the characters approach them from the standpoint of the past. They've already done all these things and suffered the immediate consequences. The movie seems as though it will focus on the men trying (and failing) to put things back together, and periodically marveling at how they got into the mess. Todd Phillips wrote/directed/produced the first film, but only participated in the re-write stage. For the sequel, he'll be scripting from the beginning. Stars Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Bradley Cooper have also committed to return, with production starting this fall. The first movie had an incredibly quick start-to-finish, with production starting just weeks after the news hit the press (SAG uncertainties cited as a reason for the scheduling), so it seems that Phillips, who has helmed Starsky & Hutch, Old School, and Road Trip, may be the studio comedy craftsman to beat in terms of efficiency and speed.

Another upcoming release that's already been green-lit is a second Star Trek. The trailer for the first (which comes out May 8) wowed me by featuring a dusty, desert car chase, enough of a change from the

space station set to catch my non-Trekkie attention. As a fan of "Lost," a television show with one of the most complicated story universes I've ever encountered, I expect that director (and "Lost" creator) J.J. Abrams nailed the ensemble cast and extensive backstory needed to make the movie appealing to Trek fans as well as those just interested in a good space story. Abrams has committed to produce, but not necessarily direct, the sequel. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are returning to write along with Damon Lindelof, who produced the first film.

The last remake worth mentioning (since according to this THR article, remakes or films based on existing properties are particularly in vogue right now) is A Nightmare on Elm Street. Jackie Earle Haley will star as Freddy Krueger, the killer who stalks and kills teenagers in their sleep. The actor

earned raves for his performance as Rorschach in Watchmen. With his face covered in an ink blot sack most of the movie, his performance was primarily vocal (always good for a horror film), and the few minutes he spent unmasked were considered the high points of an otherwise lackluster film. Haley will also appear in Martin Scorsese's October 2 release Shutter Island, a thriller about a criminally insane escaped woman who is hiding out on an island, and set in 1954. Michael Bay-led Platinum Dunes productions has revived franchises including Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and remade The Amityville Horror and The Hitcher, with plans to revive many more--including Hitchcock's The Birds. As the article notes, even the 1990s will soon be fair game for remakes, as teen horror fans may not be familiar with the originals, so get ready as Hollywood works through the 1980s and 1990s.