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Biggest Headline of '09: Remake Mayhem

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:30:00 PST

Everything old was new again in the entertainment world in 2009! The Hollywood powers that be decided that the past was the richest mine of inspiration, as evidenced by the scads of remakes in movies and TV.

The small screen has recycled '90s night soaps Melrose Place and 90210 to mixed results, while new ones were announced: look for a version of Charlie's Angels in the future. Some TV shows were mercifully declared dead in the water in the case of a US version of UK show Absolutely Fabulous.

In theaters, this year saw '70s and '80s flicks The Stepfather and Fame, but the list for planned movie remakes is long: Girls Just Want to Have Fun, The Neverending Story, Little Shop of Horrors, and Footloose are all in the works.

To read more about 2009's year in remakes, just

Some aim to freshen up successful franchises, like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Karate Kid, while others even have famous names of current stars attached to reinvigorate them, like Ashley Tisdale in Teen Witch, Rihanna and Channing Tatum possibly in a The Bodyguard remake, and Drop Dead Fred with Russell Brand in the title role.

As much as I love classics, there are some I won't mind a remake of; I'm interested in another take at East of Eden, while Adam Shankman, who made a pretty good updated Hairspray, will try his hand at Bye Bye Birdie.

They even cross genres, from movies remade from TV shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which went from movies to TV, and will go back to movies) to TV shows remade from movies (the Teen Wolf TV show and a Heathers show).

What remake news excited - or angered - you in 2009?

Don't forget to check out the rest of my Best of 2009 coverage!

Remember Drop Dead Fred? Yeah, They're Going to Remake It

BuzzSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:20:18 PDT

Ack! Hands off my childhood!

Sorry for the outburst, but, seriously, it's one thing, I suppose, to take successful '80s franchises like The Karate Kid and update them for a new generation. It's kind of another to just start randomly selecting one-off gems from my youth for the sole purpose of giving someone a starring vehicle.

When I first saw that Drop Dead Fred would be remade with Russell Brand in the lead, I immediately thought: "Oh, great. What's next, Beetlejuice?" And then I read this:

The first Fred was critically drubbed and commercially unsuccessful. But it did achieve a certain cult status and is considered a film that fell short of its full potential. The take for the new Fred is to make a film in the tone of Beetlejuice, building a universe around the concept of imaginary friends. Brand would play the trouble-making pal.

The original Drop Dead Fred was dark, weird, off-beat, and totally absorbing. Why remake it at all? Why not just write a movie for Russell Brand about a girl with a zany British guy for an imaginary friend? Is there anything good about this news, or does it just make you want to . . . well, you know, drop dead?

Source and Source

Remake News: Casting Mr. Miyagi and a Return to Eden

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:30:19 PST

Two remake-related items making news today:

The makers of The Karate Kid remake have found their Mr. Miyagi in Jackie Chan.
The remake of East of Eden is really happening, as evidenced by the hiring of a director (Tom Hooper, who directed John Adams) and a screenwriter (Christopher Hampton, who wrote the Atonement screenplay).

Some thoughts:

My feelings about a remake of The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith aside, Mr. Miyagi is many things Jackie Chan isn't: Calm, reasonable, wise, deliberate. Jackie Chan is an entertaining guy but let's face it, he's totally ~~spazzy~~ high energy. I mean, I might actually die of laughter if I find myself in a movie theater watching Jackie Chan seriously delivering the line, "Wax on. Wax off."
And East of Eden. I really like the book and I understand why a director would want to try his hand at bringing this tale to the big screen (again), but the original version, starring the beautiful James Dean, is pretty perfect. It's a little sad but totally expected from Hollywood at this point.

What do you think of this news? Disappointing? Exciting? A little of both?

Source and Source

Jaden Smith = The Next Karate Kid?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:30:32 PST

We all know that Hollywood is extremely remake-happy these days, so I'm not even going to resist the Karate Kid remake news because it was probably bound to happen, right? Now moving onto the casting: Jaden Smith is first in line to play the lead role, the Kid himself, in a new version of the 1984 pop culture staple. Variety has more info:

The script is being written by Chris Murphy, and the film will shoot next year in Beijing and other cities. While the new film will be set in that exotic locale, it will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.

The younger Smith, who next stars in The Day the Earth Stood Still, is a martial arts practitioner.

That little Jaden Smith is so adorable. Thoughts on the next Karate Kid? Are you annoyed this is being remade at all? If it has to happen, is Jaden a good fit?

Source and source

Which Is Better: A Remake or a Sequel?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:30:56 PST

In a recent interview, Natalie Portman pooh-poohed the idea of making movie sequels - in particular she never wants to do a sequel to The Professional. Remakes, on the other hand, appear to be a different thing according to Natalie, as she is currently filming Brothers, a remake of the Danish movie Brødre.

Her point was basically that if a movie is good enough as it is, there's no need to make a sequel. But this doesn't hold true for remakes? Or if it does, then that means the original Brothers wasn't good enough so Portman and the filmmakers have taken it upon themselves to remake it?

What do you think? Are remakes okay, but sequels are bad? Or vice versa? Or are they both acceptable or unacceptable?

Source

5 Actor Pairs Who Could Star in The Bodyguard Remake

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:30:40 PST

The big movie news today is once again about a remake, and this time, it's the 1992 romance The Bodyguard that's being redone. Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner star in the original as a pop star and the man hired to protect her, who of course fall in love along the way. This new version will update the story by making the leading man a former Iraq war veteran whose first job back is this bodyguard gig, while producers are seeking a young female singer to play opposite him. Since no one has been cast as the leads yet, I thought I'd play casting agent matchmaker and tell you who I'd love to see together.

Link Time - Jennifer Aniston's Hot Horrible Bosses Poster

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:55:34 PDT

See the pretty rad posters for Horrible Bosses - /Film
Why Parks and Recreation is one of TV's best shows - TV Squad
The best movies Jerry Bruckheimer has ever produced - Rotten Tomatoes
Six things you didn't know about Johnny Depp - Moviefone
See who joined The Hunger Games as stylists Portia and Octavia - Zap2It
Watch Jason Sudeikis's MTV Movie Awards spot with Leighton Meester - Vulture
How to get the sexy looks of the Pirates of the Caribbean mermaids - BellaSugar
There's a Carrie remake in the works - Movieline

Julianne Moore May Play Carrie's Mother

Becky Kirsch — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:31:24 PDT

Julianne Moore is close to nabbing a role in the Carrie remake - NextMovie
See when your favorite Summer shows like Suits will return to TV - BuddyTV
See which songs the Glee kids will sing for their graduation album - Zap2it
Check out the early reviews of The Lucky One - Rotten Tomatoes
63 reasons why boy bands were better in the '90s - BuzzFeed
Guess which TV show is coming to the big screen with Vince Vaughn? - HuffPost TV
The most awkward dates in the movies - Moviefone
Seven actors who played 007 - The Hollywood Reporter
Stars open up about shooting sex scenes - TrèsSugar

Rewind: A Happy Ending For Happy Endings

BuzzSugar — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 03:05:00 PDT

Happy Endings finished up its second season this week so we rounded up some of the funniest moments from a pretty outrageous season.
While one series ended for the year, another ended for good. To say farewell, we looked at One Tree Hill's series highlights.
Wedding season is officially under way, and to help you get the party started, we remembered Emily and Daniel's fairy-tale engagement on Revenge, brought out the album from American Wedding, and called out our favorite wedding crashers.
The new trailer for Rock of Ages got us thinking about memorable movie rock stars.
Summer can't come fast enough after getting a sneak peek at True Blood season five.
To celebrate his 47th birthday, we took a trip down memory lane with 47 hot pictures of Robert Downey Jr.
We're still talking about these moments from the Game of Thrones season premiere.
Ahead of the release of The Lucky One, we chatted with Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, and Nicholas Sparks.
It was a good week for trailers. We oohed and ahhed over Woody Allen's To Rome With Love preview, and giggled at Mark Wahlberg in the Ted trailer.
On the more dramatic side, we also got a look at Blake Lively's new flick, Savages, the Total Recall remake, and Whitney Houston's last film, Sparkle.
Scarlett Johansson brought badass back in a new clip from The Avengers. She might be the hottest girl in the superhero blockbuster, but we're wondering who's the hottest guy in The Avengers?

Total Recall Trailer: Colin Farrell Is a Futuristic Fugitive

Shannon Vestal — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:35:10 PDT

The remake of Total Recall is heading into theaters this Summer, with Colin Farrell taking on the role of Doug Quaid (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1990 original). Set in a futuristic society, the movie follows Doug, a factory worker who decides to check out a mysterious place called Rekall to get a break from his daily life and have his fantasies implanted as memories. His little mind vacation is interrupted when a white-haired John Cho freaks out and stops the procedure, suspecting Doug as a spy. Doug is confused, and even more so when he suddenly has super-spy skills, like wasting every soldier who tries to stop him. When he gets home to his lovely wife (Kate Beckinsale), it turns out that she's also different, and trying to kill Doug too.

I'm admittedly not a huge fan of the '90s sci-fi flick, but this trailer is so action-packed that I'm interested, and the special effects look absolutely fantastic in this preview. And it certainly does not hurt that Farrell looks great kicking butt and taking names. Watch the trailer to see what you think, and get a look at the rest of the cast, which also includes Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston after the jump.