If you were under the illusion that the Hollywood studio system had completely given up on originality I have to assume this one article should take care of that in one fell swoop as a trio of remakes were announced in one day and while I typically don’t mind remakes the three up for consideration beg the question, “Why?”
First up is Fox assigning Daniel McDermott to write a remake of the 1984 Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner adventurous rom-com Romancing the Stone. The original was a big hit that ultimately sent the careers of both Douglas and Turner as well as co-star Danny DeVito and director Robert Zemeckis into the big time. I actually enjoy the original pic and it still holds up as a solid ’80s flick telling the story of a romantic adventure involving a jewel and some baddies. There is no word on what kind of, if any, changes will take place to the original story.
Next is a proposed remake of John Carpenter’s They Live at Universal. The 1988 sci-fi thriller tells the story of a down-on-his-luck construction worker (Roddy Piper) who discovers glasses that let him see aliens walking among us and controlling humanity. The man races against the clock to find a way to stop them. I have actually never seen the film and I guess, out of the three announced, it would be the one I would be most interested in seeing, but that isn’t saying a lot. This one is in the very early stages and is without a writer or director as negotiations are underway for the rights to the project.
Finally we have Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) set to step into the shoes of the late Dudley Moore in a remake of Arthur, the 1981 comedy. The pic is expected to be set up at Warner Bros. and Brand is behind the whole idea and is currently looking for screenwriters for the project. The original movie followed a boozy playboy rascal who is set to inherit a fortune if he marries an heiress his family thinks will make something out of him. However, he falls in love with a working-class woman and turns to his valet for help when his family makes him choose between money and love.
