Oct 27 2009 'Short Circuit' Remake Finds Way To Get Less Appealing

Making a Short Circuit remake somehow even more unappealing than that already sounds is tough. How can you make people want to see a updated version of a simultaneously idiotic and beloved Ally Sheedy/Steve Guttenberg comedy--co-starring Fisher Stevens in whatever the Indian equivalent of blackface is--any less then they already do? Well, it's actually easier than you'd think. Just get the Paul Blart director on board and make the concept even more trite:

Dimension Films has signed Steve Carr to direct "Short Circuit," the remake of the 1986 sci-fi pic.

Carr is coming off the Kevin James hit "Paul Blart: Mall Cop."

Scripted by Dan Milano ("Robot Chicken"), the remake is a robot reboot that brings the iconic Johnny 5 into the 21st century. Built by the military to be a highly sophisticated weapon, Johnny 5 develops a conscience and personality after being hit by lightning. He befriends a lonely boy and his fractured family.

So now it's about a machine that becomes sentient after being hit by lightning that befriends a lonely boy in a broken home? I'm pretty sure I've seen that movie already:

Continue Reading " 'Short Circuit' Remake Finds Way To Get Less Appealing "

Sep 25 2009 More Screams and Spy Children En Route

I've always said, give David Arquette enough time, he'll eventually find a reason to get himself out of bed. And this spring, looks like he'll have one: Bob Weinstein has revealed that, to fight waning elongated-white-mask sales, Dimension Films will begin production on Scream 4 in April or May. Series regulars Wes Craven, Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox are all not doing that much besides being in Cougar Town/watching Cougar Town, and are expected to return to kick off a new rapidly-declining trilogy.

Weinstein also announced Robert Rodriguez is working on a new Spy Kids movie to be shot in 3-D, thus rendering Spy Kids 3-D not that special anymore. Additionally, the studio hopes to have a Halloween 3-D ready by next year's holiday that the film is most appropriate for, and Weinstein confirmed plans for remakes of Children of the Corn, Short Circuit, and American Werewolf in London and 3-D sequels to Hellraiser and Scanners.

Sounds like if you're the kind of person who wants to put on annoying glasses and watch a piece-of-shit remake/sequel, Dimension is the studio looking out for you.

Apr 4 2008 Johnny Five Returning, Guttenberg Probably Not

Clearly excited that all the Wall-E promos have elicited comparisons to Short Circuit, Dimension Films has scooped up the remake rights to the 1986 film about an obnoxious, peace-loving war-bot. Plans are to create a new, technologically-updated Johnny 5, but keep the same "peacenik" themes, even bringing in S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, the original screenwriters, to pen the remake. Thank god for that! Because it was definitely the quality of the original screenwriting that drew me to Short Circuit, not that I was 5 and loved absolutely anything that had to do with sentient robots (sadly, even the useless R.O.B.).

I'm pretty annoyed, but I doubt I'm taking it as hard as this person will.

'Short Circuit's' Johnny 5 still alive [Variety]