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Whenever you remake a revered Hollywood film, there’s bound to be controversy, but going right to the original material is certainly an interesting approach. Warner Bros is in early talks with Robert Zemeckis to direct a live-action remake of the The Wizard of Oz and plans to use the original script from the 1939 classic. Warner Bros owns the screenplay because Ted Turner bought it along with the MGM library before Warner Bros bought Turner’s empire. This latest Oz twist comes as Disney is trying very hard to mount Oz: The Great And Powerful. Sam Raimi is developing that film while he simultaneously develops World of Warcraft for Warner Bros and Legendary. Disney and Raimi want Robert Downey Jr as their star. The original Wizard of Oz script had a total of 19 writers (seems not much has changed in Hollywood) with many of them uncredited, including Bert Lahr who played the film’s Cowardly Lion. This wouldn’t be the first hugely high-profile remake for Zemeckis; he’s in the middle of a Yellow Submarine animated redux for Disney, scheduled for a 2012 release. Also, after working for years in performance-capture animation, Zemeckis has been moving toward a return to a live-action films, attaching himself to Timeless also at Warner Bros.
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Seriously? We’re so hard up for original ideas that we have to remake the Wizard of Oz??? Is absolutely nothing respected enough to be left alone?
Great…Maybe the WB will mix it up a bit a cast Daniel Radcliffe as Dorothy.
Great idea. Dannyboy would be a marvelous Dorothy; he sings well too. He loves trannies; here he could act that out.
Evil cannot create; it can only destroy.
Hahahaha…that’s hysterical!
Good suggestion. I would add David Hasselhoff as the slightly inebriated Cowardly Werewolf and Christian Bale as the fowl-mouthed, tirade prone Scarecrow.
Also, just to freshen it up, throw in some munchkin sized zombies!
Susan Boyle as Dorthy
Four words, people… “Lindsay Lohan as Dorothy.” ‘Nuff said.
“Nuff said”?????? Really, Jimmy Boy? You also realize that the Y2K virus was a scam, right? 2000 seems so long ago.
Good one, I can see Justin Bieber or Sean Hayes playing the role.
How about Nancy Pelosi as the wicked witch, Joe Biden as the scarecrow, Harry Reid as the tinman, and last but not least . . . Joy behar as Toto !
OMG, is there nothing we cannot discuss without some jerk wanting to make political hay of it. Give it a rest, I don’t care which party you belong to, enough!!!!
Yes, it would appear, so, if it were not so, right, great casting skills, by the way, I like it, I like it a lot, LOL, and you know what they say let no hay come to rest on the field.
I totally agree, some movies such as this one should just be left alone. That’s why it’s a “CLASSIC”. This is my all time favorite movie and you just can’t top the original. SORRY
So you want others to not see the new ideas because you want the classic to be sacred? Why not just watch the sacred if thats whats you want to do? Why force others your views? Thats stupid.
What “new ideas”? They’re using the same script. It’s not like they’re letting Tim Burton ruin it or something.
“It’s not like they’re letting Tim Burton ruin it or something.”
I was thinking the same thing when reading the story, well thinking as long as TB doesn’t have his hands in it, it can’t go wrong.
Tim Burton was the first thing that came to mind. Keep Johnny Depp out of it as well.
Your stupid, no one asked for your opinion at all so shhhh, also TB is amazing all of his movies are epic. He won remake this movie so dont cry, he doesn’t care about thsi old crappy movie anyway.
In T.B.’s defense- Netflix lists at least 14 remakes of “Alice in Wonderland”.
You have no idea what you are talking about and you are truly ignorant. We are tired of remakes for multiple reasons. One those films have been done and two many creative filmmakers who are trying to make it in the industry can’t because Hollywood has decided not to take any original ideas so up and coming filmmakers can’t strike success because hollywood wants to take old movies and remake so they don’t need any up and coming talent.
I also disagree with you and so do many others on the fact that if there is no remake then that means others now and in the future will never be able to see The Wizard of Oz because no one is allowed or wants to remake it. The Wizard of Oz is and will always be shown on TV. Movie theaters also re-release classic movies and the fact that film like everything has has history. People will learn when taking film history classes or just learning about classic movies.
Not making a remake wont hurt people from knowing about the Wizard of Oz now and in the future. The movie will always be around and will always be shown on TV and even in theaters that show old classics. It is art and it shouldn’t be redone. If anything most remakes detatch people from the original because so many young people go and see a remake and have no idea there is an original movie behind it and most of the time the new movies are completely differnet so its not even really the same movie.
People know of Divinci’s work and Picasso’s work, and Michael Angelo’s work, and Van Gogh’s work. We don’t exist in those time periods but we know about their work. Same with classical music we know of Beethoven and Mozart and of their music. They existed way before any of us were born.
None of these artists and other artists years later decide to remake their own work or work that was someone elses. They don’t tamper with it.
Same with Mozard and Beethoven, Orchestra’s replay the music but they don’t take it and then tamper it with some changes. They play the music like it is.
Artists don’t have themselves or other people years later take work that they made and just remake it for no reason and change it so same should go with film since it is an art form and especially the Wizard of Oz. It is a classic American film one of the greatests of all time. Its not some random old American slasher film. Wizard of Oz revolutionized movies. It shouldn’t be messed with.
“Same with Mozard and Beethoven, Orchestra’s replay the music but they don’t take it and then tamper it with some changes. They play the music like it is.” I’m not sure I know who Mozard is, but conductors tamper with Beethoven all the time. Beethoven specified tempi and repeats that conductors feel free to use or not use.
You are sooooo right. I will argue with that view point(thank you). I never respond to blogs but I could not help it this time. Heck remake the Wizard of OZ!!! Why also Gone with the Wind? Its a Wonderful Life? Citizen Kane? Watching these movies gives one a context of the past(historically & view of awesome past talent). The remake will overshadow the original for a new generation. Then there could even be a new remake for another generation. Art is a way generations can connect. I belive this is a strong cultural building mechanism. You see this in the music community for which I am apart.
Well Said…I am in total agreement!
I think you would agree movies are an art form and art is all about taking existing material and doing something with it that’s never been done before. Just because someone invents an idea doesn’t mean that idea cannot be commented on or elaborated or even changed.
That’s what Aaron Copland did when he took the Shaker song “Simple Gifts” written in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett, tampered with it a bit and made a bunch of changes to create “Appalacian Spring”. You could consider this a “remake”.
When Jimi Hendrix remade Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” not many complained he was doing it because he couldn’t come up with anything original on his own. Dylan actually liked Hendrix’s version better and started performing it that way after he heard it.
“Pictures at an Exhibition” is Russian composer Mussorgsky’s most famous composition. It was originally intended for solo piano but then someone came along and messed with it and made a few changes so it could be performed by the Symphony Orchestra. That’s the version we all know and love today.
The Jazz Era was all about borrowing and quoting other musicians ideas and putting your own creative touch on it. Some of the greatest jazz standards from that time don’t have any one composer we can look to as being the originator. Music, like all art, is a shared communication. We wouldn’t have all the fabulous folk songs across the world without that shared, communal mindset.
Taking art, locking it up so no one can tamper with it is a perversion of what art is all about. It’s turning artistic expression into an untouchable, dusty artifact. That attitude is what is turning young people away from the arts today.
I agree with maxeyd and would add that censoring something before its made is what the Left does. Remember when NYT’s Frank (former theater critic) Rich said about Gibson’s Passion? He predicted the movie would incite Christian helots in the flyover zone to attack Jews. He also spoke of having a “censorship board”.
I disagree with you and the person with the musical analogies. Music is not film. period. There are so many remakes of the wizard of oz that frankly I’m sick of it. There are so many Bad movies right now we don’t need a classic remake we need a movie that will become a classic.
On one point, Fox just spent $15million on J-lo. I think that sums up what Hollywood and the Studios have become. Celebrity tailors.
On another point, Fox just had a new Glee episode where they remade the famous signing in the rain routine. In the dialogue, they say something to the effect of;
“My students want to perform ‘Singing in the Rain’, but they think it’s too old fashioned”.
Don’t think for a moment that line was not rewritten by a studio exec at Fox. And it was unwatchable. This Singing in the Rain performance looked like a Vegas showgirl stage performance. Hollywood is dead. The same 200 people are doing the same 20 films and TV shows every year. Pretty much 99% of shows are re-purposed.
There is a lot of progressive liberal mottos being created in Hollywood these days… two that stand out…
“We make these kinds of movies and TV shows because that’s what you want to see.”
Or how about this one I keep hearing…
“Why would you work all year, when you only have to work 1/3 of the year for the same salary. Remakes are the lazy executive’s dream come true.”
The comparison with music isn’t right. A better comparison is with staged plays. Often a play or musical gets done over and over again with different casts and staging. None are equal. Everything is different, but feels the same.
Movies are a different medium. Remakes are not quite the same. Only the outline is the same. The closest example of a remake that is done verbatim is “Psycho”. Look at how that turned out. It was a failure.
Movie remakes should not be carbon copy. They could be improved upon. I think “Alice In Wonderland” was a great example of the same could be done differently to great results. The “Wizard of Oz” was great, but I won’t hesitate at seeing the remake if it is done well.
You do realize, oh great and powerful one, that the 1939 version was a remake, as well as the Maltese Falcon and many other “classics”.
Since you’re mentioning musical works here, you must know that many of the compositions by Bach, and Mozart, and Beethoven are just embellished variations of old folk tunes that were around before their time. Now those same works are called masterpieces. Using the same material while adding new and fresh ideas will be great for this film. However, it has to be done correctly; I don’t want to see one of my favorite movies butchered right before my eyes.
What’s “new” about this? It’s a direct REMAKE, not a reinterpretation or re-imagining. AND THAT’S STUPID, STUPID.
The other, crucial difference between Aaron Copeland, Jimi Hendrix and this sad mess is that Copeland and Hendrix were individual artists coming upon a work of art and adding something to it.
This entirely screwed-the-pooch, idiotic idea comes from a corporation not interested in making art or adding a new voice to a classic, but is only interested in releasing a pre-packaged comodity with off-the-charts brand awareness (in 3-D, no doubt) to turn it into a 700 million worldwide grosser. Not even remotely the same thing.
I think you’re missing the point. How unoriginal is Hollywood when all they’re doing is remaking old movies. This takes absolutely no imagination.
Yeah – like the great new ideas of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory improved upon Willie Wonka. Please. Leave the great old movies alone. Better yet, demolish Hollywood altogether.
so its ok for them to a very govie and remake it and destroy it. look how many movies they done that with already. why do they need new ideas on a old movie. they need to get their own movie to show new ideas and not ride on someone elses idea.
Amen to that!!!
I’m 53 and grew up with the Wizard of Oz on once a year. It’s my all time favorite and it’s not unsual for it to be my selection still for long plane rides. It shouldn’t be touched and I’ll not be going to see any remake. What’s next, Gone With the Wind? Hollywood is so devoid of ideas that have to go back and re-do classics like this. How sad.
I’m with you…I won’t be going to the remake. The original was so awesome! I also grew up seeing this movie every year. AND…if you are ever in Wamego, KS, you simply must visit the Oz Museum. I was there in August and found it to be a nice remembrance of the movie and it’s writer: L. Frank Baum. They had origianls of his illustrated books.
Sad is a good word for it. Originality is not, however. Remember when Ted Turner was in his colorization mood. He took a few black and white classics and tinted them (awful), but when he decided to colorize “Casablanca” I believe the industry felt a line was crossed. Next, I think, was to colorize the black and white portions of “Wizard of Oz.” I think more people were angry about than than his wife Jane’s pretending to shoot down American planes in Vietnam. I actually want them to remake “Wizard of Oz” so we can watch Dorothy throw a bucket of water on Joy Behar.
No, more people – many more people- are still furious with that POS low-life traitor Jane Fonda.
Please do not mix anger over a movie which is in a world of make believe – with the anger focused on a woman that was a TRAITOR during a time when Americans were Prisoners of War.
I’m with ya… what’s next, “Casablanca”?
I’m also the same age and grew up watching the Wizard of Oz once a year right around Thanksgiving. What excitement there was to make sure we were all in front of the TV when it aired! Yeah, that’s before the days of Tivo, VCRs, DVDs, etc. This is a TOTALLY classic film that should not be remade in any way. Leave this wonderful film alone! Shame on anyone who even thinks of tampering with it. The emotion this film still evokes is amazing, for example, who doesn’t get choked up and cry when the nasty Ms. Gulch takes Toto away leaving Dorothy in tears, and who doesn’t cheer for Toto to escape from the castle of the wicked witch. I could go on and on. This film in a spectacular way touches on love of family and friends and animals, friendship, values, dealing with adversity and of course the security and support of those at home who love us and care about us.
Hollywood, leave this film alone.
I get choked up everytime I see this movie. Thus far I can’t think of a classic that has been remade right. They all pale in comparison to the originals. Take “Psycho” for instance.
Too bad Holly-wooden is too stiff and is getting too old to care what she puts out. Like an old whore with smelly buns, she can’t even pass them off as day old bread. LOL.
“What’s next?” There will ALWAYS be something next in Hollywood — that’s how the industry grows. And one thing we make better than any country in the world is MOVIES. OZ was first a book ( series, no less) then a play — then a silent movie — then a sound movie — then the classic we remember today. The copyright expired and THE WIZ came out — that, first a musical — then a film. Everyone can talk and talk and talk — if the new OZ is made well — we will ALL go see it. That’s show biz, folks.
Rather than remaking movies that shouldn’t be made, how about ones that should be remade like Gigli, Catwoman, Waterworld or Heaven’s Gate.
You are absolutely correct! The mistake is the sort of films they choose to remake.
Remakes SHOULD be based on good ideas that didn’t really work the first time. I.E.- Films that were near misses. Basing your remake on a good idea that was executed brilliantly- you can only lose.
Good one. xactly my thoughts.
You can’t be serious? Leave the classics ALONE!!!! What is it with Hollywood that they have to remake movies? Are they hard up for material? What’s next? A complete redo of “Gone with the Wind??” Gimme a break.
Don’t give them ideas.
Man, don’t give them any ideas. Gone with the Wind will most likely be next. Hollywood has no new original ideas. None at all. Which is why reality TV is such a hit and that my friends, is sad because I think that’s rigged.
let’s get the tim burton to remake it. he already remade willy wonka! what other than the wizard of oz to remake to add to his list of remake classics.
^^^SHUDDER^^^
Johnny Depp as Toto? Sounds like a plan to me.
No, Johnny Depp as the king of the flying naughty monkeys. LOL By the way, don’t waste your money or time seeing “Skyline”. What a load of tripe! Hopeless gibberish with recycled Hollywood not-so-special effects, pushing the alien hybrid agenda. Can we say “brain-washing”?
This is simple economics. They OWN the story. They do not have to employ any creative writer for something original. The story has timeless appeal and proven box office. Even if it stinks, and it will to the purists, it is pretty much assured to at least break even – and it has the potential for mega-bux, with sufficient promotion.
I will agree that Hollywood has become a creative wasteland. When the bottom line is all that matters, the bean counters rule. It seems Hollywood hasn’t produced a truly creative, ground breaking film in decades.
I heard Hollyweird is also remaking True Grit. John Wyane IS True Grit… and he took it to the grave with him. Hollywood is in need of some creative people…
Hollyweird are not remaking True Grit.
The Coen brothers are adapting the novel True Grit, the same novel John Wayne’s movie was based on, but the Coen’s version is a much truer adaptation.
Nope, not a remake. A faithful adaptation of the Charles Portis novel with actual actors that don’t fucking suck. I’m not sure what’s so hard about people understanding that concept. The Coens are completely ignoring the incredibly overrated Wayne film.
No!
Totally agree. This is blasphemous. Judy, Judy, Judy no one can be her! I will simply not have this being made!!!
An amazing fact about the original story of “Oz” was that it was and allegory for the American people to get to the “Emerald City” or the utopia of freedom by following the Yellow brick road “Gold” with Silver slippers not Ruby.. Silver was illegal to use as money at the time. Search for the documentary “The Secret of Oz” for the AMAZING Story you never heard before.
It was not an allegory. Some teacher long ago used it as an allegory for a class and the rumor spread from there. All L. Frank Baum wanted to do was write an American fairy tale, and that’s as far as his ambition went.
Do you know how many times I have had to listen to young people tell me about “the allegory of The Wizard of Oz”? The NORTH (progress), the West (promise), how about my own allegory? Glenda is the good teacher of the past, and the BAD WITCH is the uneducated teacher of the present! She is melted by water which stands for purity which will come from young people rebelling against the stupid teachings of idiots trying to brainwash young people in exchange for poor wages (so they can call themselves victims, thus fitting the socialist model of the good guy finishing last). Yes, BAUM wanted to write a fairy tale that was truly AMERICAN and not from foreign shores as all fairy tales were up to then. He set out to do something with real AMERICAN values as the moral, that greatness comes from within YOU who ever and wherever you are.
The romp through the poppy fields should be interesting.
I agree. The zombies in the film industry apparently have banned creativity. There are millions of ideas out there and they keep remaking the same stuff. It is arrogance, too, since they seem to think they can take the work of someone else and do it better.
Obviously they want to go green, but this is not good recycling.
Boy, You said it.
So, what are you gonna remake next, Hollywood? “Birth of a Nation”?
Yes I agree. Hollywood has become the biggest milking job ever. They have no original ideas, just hack the old ones. Sad……….
The first was on or near the forefront of Color and now is a similar time with Tech Rapidly advancing, so now is a good time to reproduce the original script. The Wizard of OZ is Iconic and I am glad my kids will be able to experience the childlike intensity of the story, while knowing that “there is no place like home”. To say don’t retell a story is to say abandon Culture. Retelling stories was our past before Hollywood and Hollywood retelling a story is valid. Trashing the old version is shortsighted with our future and disrespectful to our past a bit akin to the flying monkeys in the show. Find a different dog to Kick. Good luck WB and Zemekis.
haha makes you wonder if hollywood is already making plans for a harry potter remake
I agree with you 100%. Buy some new material people! Screenwriters need to eat!
Dorothy = Lindsay Lohan
Tinman = Gary Busey
Scarecrow = Norm McDonald
Cowardly Lion = Ron Jeremy
Bad Witch = Jennifer Tilly
Wizard = Christopher Walken
Good Witch = Jennifer Coolidge
Frank Baum wrote 15 Oz books. No one needs to try to replace the classic version, but I would love to see the whole series brought to life like other great book series, such as Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings.
And make it in 3D too! Why the heck not?
Hollyweird hasn’t had an original idea in several decades. Remake after remake. What a pity.
I dissagree. If Robert Zemeckis is as good as they say he is, then I think that it won’t be as bad as you think. Plus, The Wizard of Oz was so good, that maybe people would want to see it in a different version. And further more, they’re basing the new movie on the old script, so it should be along the same guidelines as the original; so there’s not as big as a chance that it will mess up.I think Warner Bros has learned not to tamper with clasics so much that you change them entirely.
Studios find it easier to recycle properties they already own than to pay writers for original works. That is why we are seeing rehashing to properies that weren’t that good the first time around.
I want to see the Scarecrow drop an F-bomb when the wicked witch lights him on fire, or when they meet up with lion, have the lion try and rape Dorothy.
Andrew Dice Clay as the Wizard. “I said GO!! get the F__ out of here and bring me the broomstick of that F__in’ B__ch wicked C__t of the West!!”
Hollywood gets thousands of orignial scripts every year, many of them are quite good… but Hollywood lacks the confidence to try new things for fear of failure. Remaking old films that were highly successful offer some hope of at least breaking even in Hollywoods eyes appears safer and they would make a small profit than gamble on something new and untried. Hopefully movies like Star Wars, Avatar, and Harry Potter that are HUGE successes will give producers more incentive to venture into trying new ideas, but so far they seem overly cautious.
Miley Cirus as Dorothy, Kevin James as the Lion, Tom Hanks as the Tin Man and Martin Short as the Straw Man, Helen Bonham Carter as the wicked witch.
NEWS FLASH: ROBERT ZEMEKIS WILL NOT DIRECT WIZARD OF OZ!!
C. Page has it right, this is an all time classic movie, leave it alone! you can not improve on perfection!
The shoes in the book were SILVER which has to do with the silver monetary standard. Here, see it all explained on you tube, search for “Secret of oz”
Bravo- I don’t think it could be said any better.
WHY remake it, nothing can replace the original.
Cool!!!! They can make it multicultural and name it “The Wiz” and get some trendy irrelevant pop singers……..Oh yeah.
I agree. Leave it alone!
danielle panabaker is dorthy
Please Robert, don’t do this thing. There is no way this is going to be good and I would really like it if your name was not attatched to this bomb. What happened to the Back to the Future days?
I think it would be ridiculous to even think about redoing a film such as Wizard of Oz, the original was perfect, and I will absolutley refuse to watch such garbage.
Will the remake still que up to “Dark Side of the Moon?”
Remaking the Wizard of Oz is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Bad idea. Don’t mess with perfection. I am appalled.
Well what’s happening is that studios and agencies employ business school graduates. And what you learn in business school is how to make things like cars and soap. So how do you make cars or soap? You don’t change the formula because the formula you have works and sells. They take this model and lay it on top of the entertainment industry, as if the product is no different than soap. What happens then is that existing material (proven ingredients) are revamped, repackaged and resold. Why should a company spend money on reinventing the wheel? they don’t. Since movie studios are just factories thatare under no obligation to create good or orginal material they don’t. And since audiences don’t care what they are watching there’s no economic incentive for them to change their m.o.
A remake will not be the hit the original was. No-one can ever replace the wonderful Judy Garland as Dorothy, and the amazement we all shared as it changed from black and white Kansas, to the colourful OZ when the house ditched on the witch!!! LEAVE THE CLASSIC ALONE!!!!!
The 1939 Judy Garland version was a remake itself. You are an idiot.
its not that big of deal
As a re-imagining, I think it could be nice. As long as it’s not done by any Allan Smithees.
Keep in mind it was a play before it was a movie, and a lot of things were taken out from the play. Ever heard of the Jitterbug? That’s from The Wizard of Oz…
So before you bash, maybe the original was terrible in comparison to the “classic” (let me stress, the original IS a classic, and an outstanding masterpiece, but it doesn’t mean there can’t be other, equally worthy movies based on the same premise).
THIS DOES NOT GO FOR MUSIC!!! STOP REMAKING THE CLASSICS!!!
Thank you and have a pleasant tomorrow!
Yeah, the first one is such a mess, they really oughtta remake it… Not!
Yeah, you’re right. The original was done so poorly, it’s really not very entertaining to watch. I’m sure the Hollywood of today can improve it.
The first one was kind of a mess, actually.
The version of THE WIZARD OF OZ we’re all familiar with was the third or fourth film version. THE MALTESE FALCON, to pick another, was the third. Not exactly great arguments against remakes.
I don’t really see the point in remaking it with the same script, though.
I guess considering the world situation, a remake of “Lawrance of Arabia” is out of the question?
Not entierly. They could still choose to make it.
I don’t really see the point in remaking it with the same script, though.
Unless it means that the large swaths of script and the several musical numbers excised from the 1939 film for general release are restored. The release version is really a butchery of the shooting script, after all.
Or possibly, the release version is an IMPROVEMENT of the shooting script.
The “musical numbers excised” were crap.
The hardest part will be picking the stars that don’t want to be in it so the second choices can make a great film. While Z is superb, and it may become a great film in and of itself, New Coke.
Let me guess. Actresses under consideration for the role of Dorothy include Keira Knightley, Amanda Seyfried, Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Carey Mulligan. Here we go again.
Maybe, maybe, no, who?, hell no, hell yes, yes and yes.
Why ruin the classic film? Ugh…
Screw Hollywood.
An “interesting” approach? About as interesting as Gus Van Sant and PYSCHO
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, or to parphrase Robert Welch, “Have you sir, no shame???”
Its all pap and a yard wide
Joseph Welch. Robert wore tin foil hats and founded the John Birch Society.
Full on depressing.
Life is short. I hope Zemeckis doesn’t waste his time on this lameness.
How stupid. They’ll put a bunch sexual innuendo into it.
Hate to say it, but I’ll bet you nailed it.
Yep – The tin man and the cowardly lion will be gay.
The lion already was.
Exactly! They cannot make anything clean. It has to have sexual innuendos and foul language. Look at the stupidity of what they did to Transformers. It was a cute cartoon for mostly boys, and they had to put in bad words and suggestiveness.
this is a god awful idea
Even by Hwd’s usual standards, what a monumentally boneheaded and presumptuous idea.
Wow! Nothing is sacred anymore. Shame on you Warner Bros.! Can’t wait for the reboot of “It’s a Wonerful Life.” Or prequel, sequel, whatever.
The remake of T’S A WONDERFUL LIFE happened in 1977 as IT HAPPENED ONE CHRISTMAS, with Marlo Thomas in the George Bailey role, ad Cloris Leachman as the bumbling angel.
They at least reversed the sexes. And It’s A Wonderful Life wasn’t quite as shown on TV just yet (it was about to be.)
More importantly… Kurt Busiek!
Check out his comic book series “Astro City”, people.
A classic for all ages.
OMG…PUHLEAASE! Don’t give them any ideas.
Some things can’t be redone because they were done RIGHT the first time…
You can’t redo the sound of music
you can’t redo gone with the wind.
you can’t redo it’s a wonderful life
and
you can’t redo The wizard of Oz.
Judy Garland was incandescent, there was an innocence to that movie that isn’t possible now. That is what we love, to to whore it out for money is disgusting.
We love the innocence and The simplicity.
Hollywood is to innocence as lyndsay lohan is to chastity and sobriety.
If they have any decency at all (not alot of hope here) they will leave it be.
please, Zemeckis. No. Pretty pretty please, do not validate this project with your attachment.
Dear Hollywood,
While you’re at it, can you please remake THE GODFATHER, JAWS and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY?
Careful…some exec and/or producer will read that and think, “Hey, that’s a great idea! Kids these days probably haven’t heard of this…we could turn ’2001′ into a sci-fi action flick with laser guns, a good side and bad side, have this tragic father/son storyline…get me George Lucas!”
I’ll see your George Lucas with one MICHAEL BAY!
Damn it…I’ll see your Bay and raise you…Uwe Boll!
“Godfather II” worked and worked great. Wait, that was a sequal. Doesn’t count. Sorry. How about “A Christmas Carol?” That is about the best example of how remakes can be entertaining, but the original is still far and away the best. “Little Women” wasn’t too bad as a remake. Gary Sinese did an excellent job with “Of Mice and Men,” however. “Cape Fear” is another example of a pretty good remake, although the DeNiro version was far different than the Robert Mitchem one. Same characters, but a somewhat different movie. They should really leave classics alone. “Bounty” has been done a few times with some success, none of the others as good as the original, however. Yeah, leave classics alone. Re-release them, instead. People should get a chance to see “Casablanca,” “Gone with the Wind,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Wizard of Oz,” on a big movie screen. A special experience. I had wonderful times at the Fox Venice and Nuart in Los Angeles in the ’70s and ’80s seeing these classics, green scratch lines and all. To see a pristine copy on a big screen, as I did “Lawrence of Arabia” in Century City in 1988, was really something special.
Sounds great! Maybe Disney can have the Jonas Brothers remake Stairway to Heaven or Miley Cyrus cover hey Jude! There are some things that should just be left alone.
oh hell no! HELL NO!
I would actually prefer a proper adaptation of the original novel. Don’t know why it hasn’t been done yet.
Amen. While I really enjoy the 1939 version, it didn’t hew very closely to the book. I’d love for them to start with the original text and do a more serious take on it.
That said, starting with the original script from 1939 is lame.
This right here.
When I first saw this headline, I thought, “hey, cool, there’s a LOT of fresh, new, and interesting ways they could interpret the original source material. I’d love to see a more-or-less faithful adaptation of the novels…”
Then I saw that they were remaking the movie based entirely on the script of the classic movie version. All I could think was “Huh?!? Why?!? What’s the point?”
We already HAVE the classic version, we don’t need another.
Hollywood wins, I quit! Jesus. I mean, I’ve heard of bad ideas, but this REALLY a bad idea. I mean, after all, we know that Zemeckis can’t direct anymore. Unless of course, we’re bringing motion capture into the equation.
My family will not watch it. What is wrong with Hollywood?
It would be a sin to try and re-make this classic movie. These people are nuts to even think about it.
What does remaking a mclasic movie have anything to do with sinning? There are three thins I hate about movies: 1.Bad music, 2. Michael Bay choosing a Victoria’s Secret model to replace Megan Fox, and 3. CHRISTIAN MOVIE REVIEW SITES!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!! I can not stress enough how stupid it was that they dissed AVATAR!
This is crazy. Wizard of Oz is a classic that is beloved by millions. And who are they going to get to play Dorothy? What young girl in Hollywood can actually sing and act? And no matter who is the star there will be constant criticism that [insert name] is no Judy Garland.
They would have to use an unknown for Dorothy. They couldn’t do it any other way. There isn’t a current young actress who can sing and dance and project innocence and wonder.
This isn’t going to work at all.
This is so wrong in so many ways.
Something this well loved really should be in the hands of Jerry Bruckheimer. Maybe with The Rock as the scarecrow.
Again. Hell no.
Make it stop.
Why do people say “it’ll ruin the original.” Naw, man. It’ll make us appreciate the original even more. Think Wonka. Burton’s is weird but entertaining. The original is magical and masterful.
It’s not that Hollywood doesn’t have original ideas. They do. It’s just the ticket-buying public really doesn’t care about those ideas and care more about familiar storytelling.