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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

read more. 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

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds Team Up For a Biopic

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:40:34 PST

Find out which indie biopic may pair Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds - NextMovie
See which reality show Lea Michele will pop up on - BuddyTV
The 10 best survival movies - Rotten Tomatoes
See which American Idol winner will guest on Hart of Dixie - HuffPost TV
Get a sneak peek of the wedding scene in The Vow - Moviefone
Fans of Star Wars remake the entire film frame by frame - Geek.com
Is one of The Walking Dead stars leaving for a new TV series? - Zap2It
Watch Jim Carrey's daughter compete on American Idol - The Hollywood Reporter
Will CGI make movie makeup unnecessary? - BellaSugar

The Artist Leads the BAFTA Nominations

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:50 PST

See which movies scored BAFTA nominations - /Film
Quentin Tarantino reveals his favorite films of 2011 - NextMovie
11 films that didn't need a remake - Newser
Watch the trailer for Finding Nemo in 3D – Rotten Tomatoes
See which Real Housewife of Beverly Hills might be getting fired - HuffPost TV
Get a sneak peek at upcoming episodes of Fringe - BuddyTV
See who will be directing the sequel to The Hunger Games - Moviefone
The Glee Project gets a second season - Zap2it
A honey badger TV show is in the works - The Hollywood Reporter
Betty White's funniest quotes - TrèsSugar

Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Keira Knightley Compares and Contrasts Costars Jude Law and Michael Fassbender

Allie Merriam — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:12:00 PST

Keira Knightley stars as patient-turned-psychiatrist Sabina Spielrein in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, which expands into theaters across the country this week. The film came out in limited release last Fall, and quickly earned notoriety for the racy sex scenes Keira shares with her hot costar Michael Fassbender, who plays Carl Jung.

Yesterday, Keira spoke about working with both Michael and David. Keira shared excitement for the critical acclaim Michael's earned for another daring performance in Shame, a movie she liked quite a bit. She also spoke about her other upcoming projects, Seeking a Friend at the End of the World, the directorial debut from Lorene Scafaria featuring Steve Carell, and a remake of Anna Karenina. The later film sees Keira paired up with director Joe Wright for the third time, after Atonement and Pride & Prejudice, as well as leading man Jude Law. Keira said:

On having reservations about the spanking scenes in DM: "I was 95% going to say yes as soon as my agent said, 'Look, David Cronenberg is going to offer you a film.' . . . I did have reservations about the masochistic scenes. I actually spoke to him about it and said, 'I love the script, but I'm not sure I can do this because of these scenes. I'm not quite sure I want to go there.' And he said, 'If that stops you playing the part, that would be a tragedy so let's just take them out.' And I thought that was an amazing thing for him offer. We just talked and talked, and once he's made it clear he didn't want it to be voyeuristic and sexy, he wanted them to be kind of more clinical, I thought I might as well go for it."
On similarities between Jude and Michael: "No! No. Jude's a proper actor - he's wonderful to work with. He's a proper actor, I mean they all are . . . Michael works in a much more muscular way. Everything turns into muscle memory. He works a script, and works a script. Jude does a lot of theater so he comes from the preparation side - like a rehearsal room. He's really open to it, and he asks a lot of questions on that day. He's just phenomenal. So no there aren't any similarities, but they're all very good actors."
On first-time director Lorene: "She's just fab - she's great. She's completely the reason I think everybody signed up to do the movie. The script was wonderful. It was one of the best scripts I've ever read. The dialogue was brilliant, and the concept behind it was amazing. I haven't seen the finished article yet. I'm seeing it [today] so that's really exciting. She's an amazing woman, an amazing talent. On set, to think it was her first film - you'd never have guessed it. She was so cool, she knew exactly what she wanted, she was unbelievably fast, she was completely amazing. So hopefully it will work!"
On what she's excited to see succeed during award season: "I was really excited about Shame, because given the nature of it and the subject matter of it, quite often those ones get passed by. I think Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. That performance was amazing. That was very good. I haven't seen The Artist yet, but I'm really looking forward to seeing that."

To read Keira's thoughts on Michael in Shame, working with the "lovely" Steve Carell, and wrapping Anna Karenina, just keep reading.