Dave - Usually the first response when you about a show or movie you like being remade is "Why????" I have to agree with that response for the most part. Especially if it’s something more recent. Something older, you can kinda see. We have the technology to expand, make it more marketable. But when it’s been more recent, the DVD’s are almost always readily available. There is no need to make a new version when the old version is most likely streaming somewhere or available at several different retailers. Case in point-- the new Charmed series. You can always make a show about magic and witches, but the story of the Charmed Ones and sisters has been told, told well, and told pretty recently. It isn’t old enough to warrant a retelling. Melanie - UGH I am not even going to get started on the new Charmed series - that can just stay a HUGE pass from me! I'll stick with the original! Dave - The Spider-Man saga is the same way. After 3 movies with Tobey Maguire, they rebooted and retold the origin story with Andrew Garfield. It hadn't been that long! And that origin story is one of the most famous origins in the history of comics. It doesn’t need to be retold after a few years. And don’t even get me started on the issues I have with "Homecoming". It’s like they took everything from the comics and threw it against the wall. Arrrrgh!
Dave - Someone said, “why try to remake a successful movie when there are movies that underperformed that have room to be improved upon?” I try to go into the remakes and reboots with as much of an open mind as I possibly can. Sometimes they can be good. It doesn’t mean they needed to be made though. Rob Zombie's Halloween delved into Michael Myers childhood and expanded on that a little more. The Friday the 13th reboot trimmed the Mrs. Vorhees history and focused on Jason, giving a little more psychological input and introduced the mask much earlier. The Nightmare on Elm Street remake got a little into the original storyline of Freddy's background. A lot of people when they watch them, they don’t like them but give odd reasons. "The first one was original and unique. This one isn’t." Ummm, it’s a remake. How is it supposed to be original? It’s a double-edged sword. If they make it too much like the original (like the shot-for-shot "Psycho" remake), the question is asked "Why bother?" If they change too much, they don’t like the changes that are made and say "It's different". You can't win with them. Melanie - I see what you mean here but I can think of a few examples that have done a really good job. Fright Night is one that immediately springs to mind. I will admit - having David Tennant prancing about in leather, dressed as a Cris Angel wanna be WAS extremely tempting in itself .... but the movie was actually a really good version. It updated to make it more relevant, whilst still playing a good homage to the original - even having a cameo from Chris Saranden himself! So this proves that it CAN be done - sadly it just usually isn't!  Dave - They even tried remaking movies but gave them different names. "The Roommate" had the same exact plot as "Single White Female". "Due Date" was basically the same as "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" except it wasn’t at Thanksgiving. Melanie - Yup with you on that one! Stealing the plot from a movie and remaking it with a new name is a total cop out! Dave - Even the current hits, what if someone gets the idea to remake them 10-20 years down the line? Imagine them trying to remake the Harry Potter films at some point? The only way I can see that being successful is if they make it exactly like the books where the movies strayed a little-- or a lot in the later ones-- and go animated. But then again, that could lead to some long movies!!! Could we sit through or 4-5 hour movie? Everything from Goblet of Fire and after would be at least 2 parts. Melanie - I would totally watch the completely unedited - as the books were - versions of the Harry Potter movies in animated forms. That being said there are a couple of examples where I think TV / Movie adaptations are better. Twilight is the first one - yes I know - haters keep your hate because I don't care .... not a fan of the books (mainly the writing style but Midnight Sun was awesome), but the movies were great. 50 Shades of Grey too - and most recently Discovery of Witches. A lot of text was cut from the Discovery of Witches TV adaptation and in my opinion it improved the overall flow exponentially. Dave - To finish with I will say that my conclusion is that I am afraid we are forever doomed to be living in a world of remakes. Hollywood has become a drone. Churning out copy after copy with the logic of "it was popular before, so we should make another one". Lightning in a bottle can rarely be caught twice. It takes a special magic to make it work the first time. It won't always work the second time around.
About The Authors -
Dave Christy loves horror, music, documentaries and more. He is also the co-runner of several fan based groups including Morningstars (THE Lucifer fan group also run by Melanie), and now is a member of the VIPers Spotlight Lounge team for Melanie's Muses. Other than "In The Spotlight" Features -check out his "31 Days Of Halloween Movies" Melanie Newton - Founder of Melanie's Muses - You should know who I am lol If not click - All about Melanie! |
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