Remake Hell

[Northman]

So apparently there is a slew of movies lined up for possible remakes with a few that have already been done or in the process of finishing production as we speak. Ive basically have selected a few and grouped them into 4 lists of how i feel about said ideas.

http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/remakes/36637/108-movie-remakes-and-reboots-currently-in-the-works


Movies to me that should be left alone......

Ace Ventura
Big Trouble in Little China
Blade
Bloodsport
The Crow
Death Wish
Escape from New York
Cube
The Grudge
Hellraiser
Highlander
The Howling
Jacobs Ladder
Major League
Pet Semetary
Predator
Pumpkinhead
Roadhouse (Rhonda Rousey)
Scarface
The Seven Samurai
Starship Troopers
Suspiria
The Warriors
Weird Science


Yep, i would prefer it if Hollywood just wouldnt go there. A lot of these are just so damn good the way they are that i just cant understand the thinking behind trying to remake them. If they want to add sequels to them than by all means but straight up remakes is a bad idea in my opinion.



Movies that im just not sure need to even be remade:

The Chronicles of Narnia
Car Wash
The Blach Hole
Alien Nation
Cliffhanger
The Entity
Men in Black
Red Sonja
Toxic Avenger
Van Helsing

Im not really following the logic of why anyone would want to remake these as they are not barn burners of any sort. While Men in Black, Cliffhanger, and Narnia did pretty well im just not understanding the desire to remake them as they dont seem to stand out all that much. Most of the list didnt even do well in theaters.




Movies that have really good potential of being a great remake:

Five Fingers of Death
Flash Gordon
Akira
The Birds
The Blob
Blue Thunder
The Craft
Dont Look Now
Ghost in the Shell
Green Lantern
It
Kickboxer (aleady in the works)
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Legend of Conan
The Magnificent Seven
Mortal Kombat
Police Academy
Timecop


I know that Kickboxer, It, and The Magnificent Seven are already in the works but the rest of the list i can see being pretty interesting if done right. Stuff like Mortal Kombat and Flash Gordon are in real desperate need of some quality work given the subject matter.




Movies that have already been rebooted, do we need them again?..

Friday the 13th
A Nightmare on Elm St
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

These movies have all been rebooted within the last 5 or so years, i dont understand the need to hurry up and reboot them again. I have a feeling we will be seeing a reboot of Ghostbusters on this list in a couple of years.

[MOtorboat]

I'm confused. Are remakes in the works for these?

[MasterShake]

Honestly I never had a problem with remakes. Some movies are sacred to me, but just because they are remade doesn't mean the original ceases to exist. I read a really good book on the subject years ago when I used to do A LOT more creative writing (damn you responsibilities!) but essentially there are only 7 basic stories that we can tell:

1.Overcoming the Monster
2.Rags to Riches
3.The Quest
4.Voyage and Return
5.Comedies
6.Tragedies
7.Rebirth

These are updated versions of the originals from Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch which consisted of:

1.man against man
2.man against nature
3.man against himself
4.man against God
5.man against society
6.man caught in the middle
7.man and woman

You can even read further into this theory if you want by looking at the 4 essential story structures: http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/4-story-structures-that-dominate-novels

The point is at the end of the day we are hardwired to respond most positively to a certain ebb and flow when it comes to storytelling. The thing that movies can do that other mediums can't is apply sound, music, and imagery to these basic structures in such a way that they can capture our imagination and speak to us in different ways. You can even take the best elements of a story such as Rebirth and remake a movie that originally used that thematic element and have the new one convey a new meaning to the audience. The best example I can think of this recently is Robocop and its subsequent reboot.

In the first Robocop, we get a tale that director Paul Verhoeven admits was an analogy for Jesus as well as subverting things like capitalism: http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/paul-verhoeven-robocop-was-a-jesus-metaphor/ right down to some imagery that is meant to evoke images of religious figures that we are familiar with such as the crucifixion and walking on water:

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u14/Kenobi1_bucket/tumblr_lni758yktt1qlxvoqo1_1280_zpsibyjuw9h.jpg

In the reboot, we have essentially the same story elements but it was more of a critique of our use of drones as well as the humanity and morality of using machines to do our "dirty work".

So yes the reboots and sequels suck in a way, but personally sometimes I think reboots and sequels get it right or shine a new light on something we are already familiar with. Would I like to see more original movies even though the stories would be similar? Sure, but I don't see an issue with taking a known franchise to garner interest and try a new spin on it. Just off the top of my head I can list these remakes that are better than the originals:

The Thing (1982 remake of the 1951 film)
The Fly
Dredd
Heat
True Grit
Oceans Eleven
Dawn of the Dead
Let Me In
The Departed

[Magnificent Seven]

I hope they won't remake "Back to the Future" movies.

A few years ago, there were some rumors about remaking Back to the Future. Starring Zac Efron or Justin Bieber as Marty McFly and Jim Carrey as Doc Brown.

[MasterShake]

I hope they won't remake "Back to the Future" movies.

A few years ago, there were some rumors about remaking Back to the Future. Starring Zac Efron or Justin Bieber as Marty McFly and Jim Carrey as Doc Brown.

Good news everyone!



A 'Back to the Future' remake will happen over Robert Zemeckis' dead body

Jurassic World, Mad Max, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... It feels like Hollywood has stepped through a time machine -- which is why its ironic that the one '80s classic you can count on being saved from rebootmania is Back to the Future.

At least if you want to remake Back to the Future, you're going to have to kill director Robert Zemeckis first. The 63-year-old director of the first three Back to the Future movies told The Telegraph that he would stop any effort to remake his beloved 1985 time travel movie starring Michael J. Fox.
“That can’t happen until both (co-writer) Bob (Gale) and I are dead. And then I’m sure they’ll do it, unless there’s a way our estates can stop it.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2015/06/30/back-to-the-future-remake-will-never-happen/77531184/

[Northman]

Just off the top of my head I can list these remakes that are better than the originals:

The Thing (1982 remake of the 1951 film)
The Fly
Dredd
Heat
True Grit
Oceans Eleven
Dawn of the Dead
Let Me In
The Departed

These are good but in the sea of remakes they are but a small part of what i feel is just a senseless need of overdoing things and being lazy in film making. Lets face it, with most remakes they are not even doing much to improve on the stories.

[Magnificent Seven]

I would be super damned if they going to remake/reboot Star Wars movies. Yikes!

[MasterShake]

I would be super damned if they going to remake/reboot Star Wars movies. Yikes!

Some would argue that is exactly what happened with Episode VII... I feel like it was a soft reboot myself.

[BroncoJoe]

Some would argue that is exactly what happened with Episode VII... I feel like it was a soft reboot myself.

Because it basically was? Just with different actors (mostly).

But, that's OK. I enjoyed it.

[weazel]

meh, it (new Star Wars) was entertaining. I felt kind of ripped off as I was watching it the first time but that's passed now, in the end I still found it entertaining. I watched it on Netflix a few weeks ago but I don't think it will be one of those shows I can watch over and over.

[MasterShake]

These are good but in the sea of remakes they are but a small part of what i feel is just a senseless need of overdoing things and being lazy in film making. Lets face it, with most remakes they are not even doing much to improve on the stories.

I'll agree that in principle there is no reason for a majority of remakes. I'd say on the whole most are pretty harmless though. I just never bought into the "this movie is SACRED" argument. If people want original characters and franchises they need to pay to see them instead of pirating everything or just waiting for it to come to Netflix/Amazon Prime. Hollywood needs to go with the safe bet and reboot and sequelize everything because we have a whole generation of people that get it for free or at low cost on something like Netflix. There is a trend now that most people won't even give a show a chance unless there are at least 2 seasons available for them to binge. How can a movie compete with that with an original property? They really need to rethink their model. Maybe start franchises as a TV show then make a movie based on them? I could see this working with something like Game of Thrones. Get the story and characters setup on the small screen and get people hooked, then finish it off in one big 3 hour epic movie. Would people go to it? I would!

[MasterShake]

Because it basically was? Just with different actors (mostly).

But, that's OK. I enjoyed it.

Yup same here. It was a good movie that had to do a lot to set up the new stories while genuflecting to the old ones. They better not phase Luke out in the next one! I want to see him for another full movie at least.

[MOtorboat]

Yup same here. It was a good movie that had to do a lot to set up the new stories while genuflecting to the old ones. They better not phase Luke out in the next one! I want to see him for another full movie at least.

I'll preface this with that I'm excited for all these Star War movies coming out.

That said, I am more intrigued with Rogue One and the Han Solo origin story than I am with 8 and 9. Like I said, I want to see the story continue, but I'm really interested in the expanded universe now. Which, I suppose, is ironic, because of how I feel about comic book movies.

[MasterShake]

I'll preface this with that I'm excited for all these Star War movies coming out.

That said, I am more intrigued with Rogue One and the Han Solo origin story than I am with 8 and 9. Like I said, I want to see the story continue, but I'm really interested in the expanded universe now. Which, I suppose, is ironic, because of how I feel about comic book movies.

I'll have to know more about the Han Solo movie before I get too excited. I just hope they aren't checking off the boxes of meeting Lando, winning the Falcon, meeting Chewbacca, etc. I'd like the movies to expand the mythology, not just rehash it.

[MOtorboat]

I'll have to know more about the Han Solo movie before I get too excited. I just hope they aren't checking off the boxes of meeting Lando, winning the Falcon, meeting Chewbacca, etc. I'd like the movies to expand the mythology, not just rehash it.

That's fair. A certain part of me wants to see those things happen in front of me, though.

Amazingly, Buff made me think of an expanded set of Middle Earth movies last week that I'd never thought of before. I responded with there are no hobbit stories left, although there is one you could tell with the Took family. I'd love to see the Fall of Numenor on the big screen, or the first battle against Sauron or some of the First Age stories as movies. I doubt anyone does it because of the sheer scale and cost that Peter Jackson's movies took on. But they'd be good movies.

[MasterShake]

That's fair. A certain part of me wants to see those things happen in front of me, though.

Amazingly, Buff made me think of an expanded set of Middle Earth movies last week that I'd never thought of before. I responded with there are no hobbit stories left, although there is one you could tell with the Took family. I'd love to see the Fall of Numenor on the big screen, or the first battle against Sauron or some of the First Age stories as movies. I doubt anyone does it because of the sheer scale and cost that Peter Jackson's movies took on. But they'd be good movies.

They could do a Neflix series just based off small stories in Middle Earth. So much material to pull from.

[MOtorboat]

They could do a Neflix series just based off small stories in Middle Earth. So much material to pull from.

Id be afraid it would turn into what was done to Shannara and The Sword of Truth series, which were just total shit.