I’ve been following an email thread among some friends about the just-announced remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). The one that’s going to shoot in Canada and features Keanu Reeves. That one. Let’s say giddy anticipation was not the primary emotion on display among the thread’s participants:

Some things are so wrong, they’re right. This is not one of those things.
–MW

There’s no reason to even BEGIN to go there: it’s just marinated in wrong sauce…..
-RN

I’m sure Keanu is going to play Klaatu, the hapless alien ambassador, though Daniel believes he’s better suited to play Gort. And unlike I opined, it’s not going to be a comedy– It’s being directed by Scott Derrickson, who made the snoozy but atmospheric courtroom horror-drama The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and not Frank (The Waterboy) Coraci, as I fervently hoped.
The thread (which as you may have guessed I’m borrowing heavily from) evolved into a discussion on remakes. Why are so many made, what’s the point of them, etc. The obvious reason is remakes give the studio an edge on their sizable investment: People have already seen The Day the Earth Stood Still, and they can generate a buzz based on that. The second reason, put out by Dan, is more aesthetic:

My remake policy is never redo a classic - always remake a movie that had a great premise but somehow didn’t quite work. That way the premise gets another chance, and only a handful of people are familiar with the original and probably don’t like it anyway. Everybody wins!
–Daniel K.

Which explains the multitudinous remakes of horror movies we’re seeing– any producer worth his or her Land Rover believes they needs to make, say The Texas Chain Saw Massacre newer and better, because the original was made for $12,000 in 1973 and it showed. No matter it was terrifying as it was.

In an odd way Dan’s idea also explains the “groan” factor for The Day Keanu Stood Still. There wasn’t anything really wrong with the premise or execution of the original. Science fiction special effects play a minor role in the story, and the titlar event can be accomplished by unplugging things.

Okay, it was in black and white– What were they thinking back then? (the image appending this article is a rare color production still.) That can be fixed. Colorization or Keanuization: choose wisely.

Skot C.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 4:37 am and is filed under General, Long Tail, Motion Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.