Wicker Man Remake.

[Certex]

Looks like it's going to (cough) be a good one...


www.scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1921042005

G.

[Phil Hall]

To quote Darth Vader; NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[judex]

And to rub salt in the wound, it will probably have lots of CG and be rated PG13.

[eyeresist]

And why do people keep making allowances for Nick Cage? It must be that soulful, hangdog expression.

(I was going to do the Vader reference, thank you very much Mr Hall.)

[Phil Hall]

And to rub salt in the wound, it will probably have lots of CG and be rated PG13.

And there goes the Britt Ekland nude scene (or the Britt Ekland body double nude scene, since that was not the ex-Mrs. Sellers humping the wall).

I'd even wager Cage won't get burned to death in the remake.

John Waters was right: why in the world do people remake good movies? It is the bad movies that need to be remade since they weren't done correctly the first time. Leave the classics alone! :mad:

[Jeremy Knox]

What the hell is this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450345/combined)?

I've been hearing all sorts of weird rumours about it. That's it been changed from Pagans on an Island to Puritans on a remote American colony. Which doesn't make any sense if they keep the title.

Anyone hear about this at all?

[bronsonseven]

NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

What the fuck are you doing Neil La Bute? What the fuck are you doing? You've made such wonderful masterpieces (The Shape of Things, In The Company of Men), how come you've sunk so low?

I beg you please, to all things holy, to not do this.

See you Jesus fucks? Shit like this proves there is no god.

[The Baron]

Someone please just shoot me now.

No. Wait a minute...

Fuck them. I say we all stay home and watch our dvds of the real Wicker Man, and simply ignore this upstart of a movie.

[Action Jackson]

Why? Thats all I can say... why?

Is anything safe anymore?

[brady]

Fuck them. I say we all stay home and watch our dvds of the real Wicker Man, and simply ignore this upstart of a movie.

Yeah, whenever I hear about another remake, I have to go through a brief period of incredulous rage before I rememeber that it's not going to replace the original, so really, why should I give a shit? It's not like I'm going to see it anyway.

[Jeremy Knox]

I've been thinking about this for a while, remakes being my "thing", and I've come to the conclusion that they're partially responsible for the slump at the box office.

Your average movie viewer doesn't know a thing about movies and couldn't care less what he/she watches half the time. Remakes can be confusing to these people. They don't "get" that the new movie will be different or that so-and-so is making it. They have a vague concept of actors and actresses but only know the really famous ones; so unless it's one of their faves they don't much care who acts in it. So the inevitable happens, they wander into blockbuster and see something like Dukes of Hazzard to rent for 2$. Being geniuses, they either think it's already been released on DVD or figure that there's no real difference between the movie at the theatre and this one and that it's 8$ extra in their pockets to just grab it here.

So who's left to go see that crap? Kids who wanna get out of the house, couples (who tend to be picky) and film nerds (who usually are snobs about remakes) and various other cell-phone answering mouth breathers. That's not gonna be the backbone of the industry for long.

[drsweetscience]

You wouldn't believe an adult virgin in this age. "40 Year Old Virgin" is the premise for a comedy now. Adult virgin seems to be a comical exaggeration these days.

Two, TV is finally better than movies. Name a better movie of the last five years than Deadwood, Monk, Extras (Ricky Gervais new show), ... and on...

Plus, a bonus truth, don't cry for remakes. Would anyone really go back and look for the originals if they weren't a film geek? Except for film geeks is anyone interested in the original Wicker Man. Can you get any of your non-geek friends to watch the original King Kong? Beware, it's in black and white.

[dogbowl]

How can the community be puritans this time? This sounds more like Bizzarro Wicker Man. It's the opposite of the original. If the community is puritan, then the protagonist must be the pagan.

LaBute may be turning the tables in the remake. Perhaps he'll be doing some sort of thinly veiled indictment of current red state mentality where the puritans torch the liberal.

[Rory L. Aronsky]

LaBute may be turning the tables in the remake. Perhaps he'll be doing some sort of thinly veiled indictment of current red state mentality where the puritans torch the liberal.

"WE WANT THE REDHEAD!!...oh, uh, we mean...WE WANT THE REDHEAD TO DIE!!! SHE'S A LIBERAL!!! TORCH HER!!!"

[drsweetscience]

Maybe we could get Gus Van Sant to do a shot for shot remake in black and white.
Is Vince Vaughn busy?

[dogbowl]

I can't stand looking at him anymore. I think it was Gone in 60 Seconds that destroyed him. In the trailer he goes, "Wait!" then flaps his arms for a couple seconds and says, "Ok!" He holds up everything so he can flap his arms a bit?? WTF? It was the most awkward thing ever.

On second thought, if they are going to torch him maybe I do want to see this. Being burned alive is the only thing I would like to see with Nick Cage.

[Rory L. Aronsky]

Being burned alive is the only thing I would like to see with Nick Cage.

And I'm sure he'll be glad to buy the popcorn. :p

[dogbowl]

Maybe LaBute will be taking an entirely new direction like The Shining (redux).

The Shining (redux) (http://waxy.org/random/video/shining_redux.mov)

[jampes]

I can't stand looking at him anymore. I think it was Gone in 60 Seconds that destroyed him. In the trailer he goes, "Wait!" then flaps his arms for a couple seconds and says, "Ok!" He holds up everything so he can flap his arms a bit?? WTF? It was the most awkward thing ever.

On second thought, if they are going to torch him maybe I do want to see this. Being burned alive is the only thing I would like to see with Nick Cage.

I must compliment you on the obscure trailer reference. I vaguely remember that. How effin' weird! What was he doing? I never saw the film, so I don't know the context. Hmm...

[jampes]

I've been thinking about this for a while, remakes being my "thing", and I've come to the conclusion that they're partially responsible for the slump at the box office.

I've got to agree. I've been thinking the same thing lately. It seems like the justification of remaking TV shows and good films might be partly in the ease of development of the films. You have characters, plots, and situations already created and established as icons. So you can throw anyone in the writer's or director's chair. Possibly a director who could use some $$ so they can make another less mainstream film (eh, Neil LaBute?)? Maybe it's all cheaper? But are films like Bewitched recouping their $ in foreign markets?

Bottom line...not going to see it in the theater, unless it's a free screening, not even a matinee. Probably a rental, and only if it gets decent reviews. But not at the video store, only Netflix. But not at the top of the queue until I've seen everything else. So actually, I probably won't see it.

[colacola]

I thought the original Wicker Man had some fascinating moments but overall was close to unwatchable. Personally I welcome a LaBute directed remake. The story is ripe for a new interpretation.

as far as Cage goes, he's become as good as the directors that utilize his strengths. He was fucking amazing in Adaptation and Face-Off and very good in Matchstick Men and Lord Of War.

why write him off completely because he gave a couple of half-assed performances in movies made by music video directors.

[Baron_Blood]

Ugh. Another fine film remade. Someone mentioned that remakes don't tarnish the original films. That may be so, but remakes do trade on the good name of the original film. For example, take the remake of "Psycho": While other crappy films from 1998 will be justly forgotten, the remake of "Psycho" will be talked about for years simply because it is a remake of a great film. 'Regular' films either earn their posterity or don't. Remakes dubiously steal their posterity from earlier works.
Remake apologists often cite "Ben Hur" and "The Maltese Falcon" as justification for film remakes. I don't buy that argument for a few reasons:
1) Those films were made by John Huston and Willliam Wyler; great directors whose calibre just isn't around anymore.
2) Back in those days, remakes and sequels were more acceptable because once a film finished its theatrical run, remakes and sequels were often the only way audiences could revisit situations and characters from the earlier films they loved. Today, with movies on TV and video, that excuse is gone.

Needless to say, I won't be seeing the "Wicker Man" remake. LaBute and Cage should really know better. Maybe they do know better and they're just shameless whores. Someone mentioned that Cage probably won't die in the remake. HAHA! Yeah, he'll probably kick his way out and arrest everybody. Hollywood doesn't like an unhappy ending (Remember Hollywood's remake of "The Vanishing"?)
Movie remakes will go away once audiences stop buying tickets for them. Unfortunately, brain-dead teenagers with dubious tastes (just listen to the music they like) are the ones buying the tickets. Remember when remakes could be good films? ("The Thing"; "Sorcerer") Those days are long gone.

[Paul R]

Two, TV is finally better than movies. Name a better movie of the last five years than Deadwood, Monk, Extras (Ricky Gervais new show), ... and on...


Memento, In America, Bend it like Beckham, Confessions of a Dangerous mind, Lost in Translation?

[Certex]

really isn't all that great. It's pretty hit-and-miss and the humor is pretty formulaic: Gervais will talk himself into a hole on some controversial topic (race gets it a lot) and dig himself deeper and deeper...and that's it. Some genuinely funny stuff in there though.

G.

[Mormo Zine]

Yeah, whenever I hear about another remake, I have to go through a brief period of incredulous rage before I rememeber that it's not going to replace the original, so really, why should I give a shit? It's not like I'm going to see it anyway.

Remakes do replace the original. I wrote huge arguments against the DOTD remake and there is no doubt in my mind it has replaced the original. When people ask me what's my favorite movie I have to explain that it was the original DOTD until the remake came out and ruined it for me. In a horror movie discussion some one will say "What did you think of DOTD" and I have to go thru all the crap all over again. In "40 Year Old Virgin" the guy says "I'm watching DOTD" well no he was not watching DOTD he was watching the DOTD remake. I already wrote a hate mail to the stupid company doing the Wicker Man remake.

[brady]

Remakes do replace the original.

I was speaking literally. My copy of Dawn of the Dead is in no way damaged by the existence of another movie with the same title. I apologize if that wasn't clear.

I wrote huge arguments against the DOTD remake and there is no doubt in my mind it has replaced the original. When people ask me what's my favorite movie I have to explain that it was the original DOTD until the remake came out and ruined it for me. In a horror movie discussion some one will say "What did you think of DOTD" and I have to go thru all the crap all over again. In "40 Year Old Virgin" the guy says "I'm watching DOTD" well no he was not watching DOTD he was watching the DOTD remake.

Could you explain to me how it "ruined" it? I'm not sure I understand. Because it was referenced in another movie without specifying that it was the remake?

[Mormo Zine]

I love the original and hate the remake and that's way to much internal drama for me to deal with. I can't watch, think or talk about the original without remembering that no talent hacks and plagiarists exploited it by turning it into a mindless music video for the masses.

[Pete Vonder Haar]

Those fucking masses.

[El Duderino Diablo]

Damn them to hell.

[The Baron]

Those were my exact sentiments when my parents used to drag me to Masses on Sundays...

[El Duderino Diablo]

Puts me in mind of:

I don't believe you:
you had the whole damn thing all wrong --
He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.

[Paul R]

What about this upcoming remake?

The Evil Dead (2006)
produced by Sam Raimi and directed by someone else
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434020/
it may never happen, but if it does, what will you think? Is Raimi crazy to do a remake of his own movie and give it to someone else to direct? Will he as producer end up having so much influence on the young up and coming director that he may as well have just done it himself? Is he crazy to be remaking it at all?