Sep 24 2009 New 'The Fly' Iteration Coming From Experienced Fly Hands
Welp, someone is remaking David Cronenberg's The Fly, which was itself a remake of a 1958 sci-fi film. Curious who would be so daring as to remake David Cronenberg's 1986 classic? David Cronenberg is remaking David Cronenberg's 1986 classic, The Fly:
The auteur is in talks to develop a reboot of the 1986 classic with Fox, the studio that released that film, writing and potentially directing the new pic.The move marks an about-face for the Canadian director, who in the past has said he did not want to be involved on a remake of the film. Cronenberg did work on an opera version of "The Fly" that was staged first in Paris and then in Los Angeles.
I suppose this will do until I figure out how to get the remake I really want: The Metamorphosis, re-written by a reanimated Franz Kafka (updated with advanced modern punctuation). That would just be tops.
Apr 27 2009 Long Live the New New Flesh: 'Videodrome' Remake Coming
The immediately-dated cinematic possibilities of someone pushing their face into a YouTube clip are so wretched it's almost impossible to resist, and so Ehren Kruger, writer of the new Transformer, The Ring, The Ring Two, and the straight-to-video Rings, has made plans to write and produce a remake of the David Cronenberg's cult classic Videodrome:
Universal Pictures will remake the 1983 David Cronenberg-directed thriller "Videodrome," with Ehren Kruger set to write the script and produce with partner Daniel Bobker.The original "Videodrome" starred James Woods as the head of Civic TV Channel 83, who makes his station relevant by programming "Videodrome," a series that depicts torture and murder that transfixes viewers.
The new picture will modernize the concept, infuse it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller.
Just like with this new Tron, it seems like the decades of added perspective and semi-fulfilled technological predictions will be both a benefit and a detriment to any proposed remake. The world is closer to Videodrome concepts in 2009, and as such, the remake would enjoy a certain gravity and renewed relevance through its social commentary. However, at the same time, these ideas are no longer so prophetic today, so doesn't that render the basic concept of Videodrome a little flaccid and redundant?
Bear in mind, my skepticism in no way means I'm not looking forward to seeing how modern effects would achieve the film's epidermal cancer gun. I'm just a little concerned a CGI-rendered vagina-Blu Ray player might lack the corporeal horror and shame of the original's practically-created lady-part-VCR.
Universal to remake 'Videodrome' [Variety]
Oct 8 2008 Coming Soon... Denzel Washington is Trapped in 'The Matarese Circle'
David Cronenberg is negotiating with MGM to direct an adaptation of the Robert Ludlum political thriller The Matarese Circle, with Denzel Washington attached to star as a bad-ass running around with a handgun, as usual. From Variety:
Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, book revolves around two men — one American, one Soviet — who must cooperate in order to foil a sinister plot to topple the world’s governments.Writing partners Michael Brandt and Derek Haas ("3:10 to Yuma") penned the adaptation.
Come on, The Matarese Circle? That's the name? That's the most typically political thriller-like name ever. That's not even trying anymore; it's just putting words together. The, uh... Peking Condition. That's a political thriller now. Someone write that. The Melbourne Synopsis. That's another one. "Denzel Washington, I need a summary of what happened in Australia. You must get me the Melbourne Synopsis." "OK, let me get my handgun."
Looking back at The Peanut Butter Solution, I'm not sure why that was about a magical hair-growth concoction instead of corruption and espionage in a politically-charged elementary school cafeteria.
Jul 3 2007 Eastern Promises Trailer
David Cronenberg re-teams with his History of Violence star Viggo Mortensen and adds Naomi Watts in his latest effort, Eastern Promises. When Watts finds a diary that gets her involved with a notorious crime family, she gets in the most dangerous adventure with a journal since Indiana Jones hid his father's Grail diary from the Nazis. Or when Anne Frank hid her standard diary from the Nazis, for that matter. My point is that mobsters and Nazis hate written daily recollections of events.
