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New remake possibilities include ‘Buffy,’ ‘Navigator’ |
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Written by Branden Hart
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Tuesday, 26 May 2009 |
Remakes of old movies are a staple of cinema, whether they be reimaginations of source material for the original (as in Tim Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), shot-by-shot translations of a foreign film (such as last year’s “Funny Games”) or a modern reimagining of the original (see last year’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still”).
Both films have significant barriers to overcome before achieving critical success...Now, two more classics are slated for remakes, Reuters reports. First up could be a new “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” movie from Fran Rubel Kuzui, director of the 1992 original. The problem with a new “Buffy” is that, while the original movie may not have stood the test of time, the character lived on in Joss Whedon’s “Buffy” TV series. That series went on to spin off another series (“Angel”) and spawned countless comics, novels and video games. According to Reuters, however, Whedon is not currently involved with the project, as Kuzui and her production company still hold the rights to the character, and the new movie would not involve the characters from the TV show. I can’t imagine fans of the series being pleased with further adulteration of the character who has become a cult legend.
This leaves many to wonder why filmmakers bother with them.Next up is a remake of Disney’s classic, “Flight of the Navigator.” In the 1986 original, a boy ends up 8 years in the future due to one of the most awesome alien ships of all time, then actually gets to drive the thing around for the better part of an hour, making him the envy of every boy who saw the movie. I wonder, however, if the charm of the original – a story about a young boy dealing with technological wonders beyond the imagination – would be lost on the technologically savvy youth of today. In the original, we were wowed by talking computers and unique interaction with electronics; less than two decades later, talking to machines (think automated phone systems) isn’t just common, it’s a mundane task seen as more of an annoyance than an exciting feat of modern technology.
Both films have significant barriers to overcome before achieving critical success, the most important being this: Most remakes never quite capture the success or capitalize on the redeeming qualities of the original. This leaves many to wonder why filmmakers bother with them. The answer is, of course, that they often do bring in money, and nothing is more important in Hollywood than cold, hard cash.
[Reuters1, Reuters2]
Branden Hart, TheSequitur.com's managing editor, works as an editor in San Antonio.
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