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EXCLUSIVE: Celebrated commercials helmer Adam Berg is in talks to make his feature directing debut on Videodrome, the remake of the 1983 David Cronenberg-directed film that is set up at Universal Pictures. Ehren Kruger scripted the remake and is producing with partner Daniel Bobker.
Berg won the Film Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival for his Carousel ad for Philips, and has helmed numerous other commercials and short films. He is represented by CAA, Management 360 and attorney PJ Shapiro. Reno Malo will be exec producer.
James Woods starred in the original Videodrome as the head of Civic TV Channel 83. He makes his station relevant by programming Videodrome, a series that depicts torture and murder that transfixes viewers. When Kruger and Bobker set it up at Universal, they planned to modernize the concept, infusing it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller.
Here’s a look at Berg’s Carousel, which has an early Cronenberg-esque vibe to it:
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Bring on the remakes!
Hooray for Hollywood!
Remakes are crap!!! anyone who likes remakes are morons.
Oh, then I guess everyone who liked Carpenter’s ’82 remake of “The Thing” must be a moron by your brillant, knee-jerk logic. That’s an awful lot of morons, man.
This has got dud written all over it…
Yep, must be a Universal pic.
Good lord, why…?
STOP REMAKING CRAP! Originality may always be at a premium, but this is ridiculous. It doesn’t work. This is what “executives” get paid $150,000 to $5 million a year to do? Just watch bad movies and say, “Hey, let’s remake THAT!”?
You sir, are an idiot. You have outed yourself by calling the original Cronenberg masterpiece, “crap”.
VIDEODROME is a genius cronenberg classis you dipshit. that’s why it would be fucking stupid for anyone to fuck with, or remake it.
“infusing it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller.”
Shall I pencil in the release for Labor Day weekend 2013? Or perhaps VOD only?
Let me get a pen.
Oh yes this will be a big smash hit blockbuster because the remake of Total Recall was such a big smash hit. Audiences love remakes of old sci-fi movies. They hate new original sci-fi pics that have never been done before. A remake is always a better investment than taking a chance on something new especially at Universal. Remakes and sequels and reboots and adaptations of board games like Battleship and Ouija and Candyland that is what today’s moviegoers want to see. Videodrome is our next big franchise.
I detect your sarcasm all over and reprimand you for it!
Battleship only failed because it was a movie ahead of its time. Audiences weren’t ready for such a sophisticated concept about aliens invading the earth BY SEA.
Total Recall failed because audiences were scared to go to movies.
This is different. This will succeed.
Battleship wasnt a failure, becuse of strong foreign revenues, but that just goes to show, dont write off any stupid Hollywood movie, as long as the international auda are willing to aee any kind of garbage as long as sh&t gets blowed up real good.
Battleship made about $302M on a budget of $209M. That’s not counting marketing expenses and the revenue split. It was a failure.
Is Adam Berg related to Peterberg?
Loved the original film and usually shun remakes…Though now that the world’s got all kinds of technology changing the shape of our lives, Cronenberg’s original premise might be more relevant as science fiction that’s quickly becoming real.
with this one being announced… whatever happened to the remake of the other 80s cult hit that was announced last year — PIN? That was an outstanding thriller when it came out and the Rue Morgue magazine article last spring with the guy penning the remake sounded like he knew what the hell he was doing unlike the other bad remakes lately.
Hahahahahaha. At least we know that it’ll have as much to do with the themes of Cronenberg’s “Videodrome” as, say, the Burton “Planet of the Apes” had with the Heston-starring original.
Berg is probably the best commercials director working today, amazing he hasn’t made the Hollywood move already. Anything he does will be visually stunning and imaginative, so would not compare this to uninspired remakes like Total Recall. Videodrome’s a lesser known film that had cool concepts, can’t wait to see what they do with this.
Nice try Berg!
“Stunning and imaginative”
Like co-opting 13 year-old special effects gimmicks? You know, the same ones they used in the Scary Movie parodies.
Despite the cross-over of the likes of Scott, Fincher, Bay and others. The talent of being a good commercial director is to do what the agency tells you to do. In films you have to create your own vision and not capitulate to what the studio tells you…. oh, wait a minute….
Seriously?
This movie isn’t even relevant anymore except as a historical document of the socio-consumerism market on the mid-80s and has no baring on our current cultural situation.
Actually, it was also a commentary on the porn business breaking out on VHS…which COULD be updated in terms of porn on the internet…BUT, the idiots at Universal, don’t have the balls to make a hard “R” movie about that, so they dumb it down into an freak action pic about nano-robots.
Good on Kruger and Bobker for selling this pile o’ dung to Universal.
Sellers please note, these folks are giving out cash. Get while the gettins’ good.
Sure, the remake may suck–and the idea of redux makes us nauseous. BUT, this commercial is PHENOMENAL. visceral storytelling, interesting, with a great twist at the end. A great video talent.
Great commercial! But how’d he get the actors to stand still for so long?
Did we watch the same commercial?
WHAT?!! Oh my gosh…Poor David Cronenberg. Videodrome was written and directed by him. I am assuming it’s idea, plot, the whole freaking story came from HIS imagination. And now just because some studio owns it…they get to remake it? Does he at least get paid a helluva lot for being the creator, originator, genius behind the whole thing?! Or does he not get dime…because he was a paid for hire and the studio owns his creation. If so, Now I REALLY understand why Prince was so upset when he didn’t own his own Masters for a time.
Dumb idea anyways…but everyone here already knows that. I’M just surprised some studio dipshit didn’t call it a “Re-boot”. God how I hate that phrase and whole concept. Hollywood Sux. It’s no longer up for debate.
Damn, you sound like a cranky, crusty curmudgeon of an old fart. Well from one “CCCOAOF” to another, I agree with every word you said!
Idiots.
Just uhhh… yeah… that movie was trippy enough without the genius writing behind the Transformers franchise. Odds of this making it to theaters… 14/1…
Goddamnit No! I hope they lose evey penny. Do not remake movies that are classics! Videodrome is a cult art house body horror classic and the fans obvious don’t want a remake. WHO IS THIS FOR? People who know about Videodrome will reject it on sight and nobody else knows what it is! The movie that Andy Warhol called: ” The Clockwork Orange of the 80′s” needs to be remade as written by the brilliant writer who brought us Transformers 3.
Remaking such a singular, eccentric film is puzzling. It makes me happy, though, because I’m assuming this nets Mr. Cronenberg a well-deserved delayed payday for the… uh… honor.
What’s the point of griping about a film when none of us know even a morsel of the storyline and elements?? There’s tons of moviegoers who have never even seen the original movie here, so if the new version takes a cool fresh path with the Cronenberg concept, this could be something great or not… Definitely worth waiting to see; the director’s work looks pretty amazing, so not fair to assume he’d pursue some tired retread like the Total Recall rehash we just had.
So Universal balks at doing Del Toro’s AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, even with James Cameron lending his name and an A list star interested. Yet, someone thinks an action version of VIDEODROME, written by a Weinstein company man who wrecked the last two SCREAM movies and who’s biggest success to date are the TRANSFORMERS movies, which are hardly great examples of solid scriptwriting. THIS is a good idea to them.
From the same studio that managed to mangle production on THE WOLFMAN, blowing it up to 70 plus million. And wasted more money turning practical effects into CGI for an ill advised prequel to THE THING.
I think it may be time to start retiring the 80′s nostalgia ride. It’s clear that not everyone can handle it very well.
Thank you, Eric. Your read my mind, and then gave me back more.
So much sanctimonious b.s. here. Cronenberg’s Videodrome is a cool film, but truth is it had some intriguing ideas that went in an abstract direction that kinda petered out, which is why the movie never reached a bigger audience. The core material’s got all kinds of potential, this film will turn out great if the script’s an exciting fresh take on it, or it’ll suck if the story’s just a straight retread. Jury’s out until we can see, but the director looks good enough to potentially deliver something worth watching.
This is actually the kind of material Kruger’s pretty good with, the guy did a knockout job with Gore Verbinski’s version of THE RING, and wouldn’t be surprising if he found some trippy haunting mythology to mine from VIDEODROME (which by the way very few people saw the original of). Granted the TRANSFORMERS movie are mindless, but that doesn’t erase the fact that some of his other films have been pretty entertaining in the end, maybe we should wait to see before talking smack.
for the love of god please don’t let this happen
Ummm, maybe we should blame Sony that Sony’s remake of Total Recall sucked? Universal’s had a mixed track record lately, but they did a surprisingly decent job re-imagining Snow White even if the director’s attention wandered some (!), and Ted was pretty hilarious, almost made me forgive them for BATTLESHIP. I’ll wait to see VIDEODROME in 2014 before making up my mind on the latest, agree with other folks that the director looks like a real talent.