Because I am aware that Hollywood has reached some kind of creative bankruptcy, I am no longer surprised when I hear news that movies like the 1984 adventure flick "Romancing the Stone" and the 1990 sci-fi thriller "Flatliners" are about to be remade. It seems like the 80's are very endearing to producers right now, considering we also have a "Dirty Dancing" update in the crosshairs and the "Footloose" remake coming this October, among others. "Romancing the Stone" and "Flatliners" did not gross obscene amounts of money during their release in theaters, but they are pretty popular. Let's take a look at each movie individually.
"Romancing the Stone" was the movie that propelled Robert Zemeckis' career and created an excellent on-screen duo : Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. The story focuses on the adventures of a cheesy novel writer, Joan Wilder (Turner), who travels to Colombia to rescue her sister from the clutches of her kidnappers, a gang of art smugglers. The ransom : a map which is supposed to lead them to a legendary treasure. On the way she teams up with Jack T. Colton (Douglas), a drifter out to make a profit who decides he must have the treasure for himself, but ends up falling in love with Joan. If thoughts of an Indiana Jones rip-off crossed your mind, you're not far from the truth, but Zemeckis' movie was well done and nailed the tongue-in-cheek tone, so "Romancing the Stone" quickly became a classic on its own and it even had a sequel, "Jewel of the Nile". Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas eventually re-teamed for "The War of the Roses", directed by their co-star, Danny DeVito
The producers of the updated version of "Romancing the Stone" will first have to make sure they can re-construct the awesome chemistry between the leads. For the part of Joan Wilder, 20th Century Fox had their eyes on Katherine Heigl ("Killer", "The Ugly Truth"), while for the role of Jack T. Colton they are considering Taylor Kitsch ("John Carter") and Gerard Butler ("300", "Law Abiding Citizen"). So far, no big decisions have been made and Fox is still looking for a young capable director to handle the project. Not an easy task I would say.
"Flatliners" is a darker affair. The sci-fi thriller told the story of a bunch of medical students who try to find out if there really is life after death. Their plan is to artificially create near-death experiences by using their medical know-how to stop the heart and then resuscitate the "patient" after a short period of time. One by one they each cross the line between life and death, but their revivals also brings back ghosts from their past that they'll have to deal with. The movie was directed by Joel Schumacher, a filmmaker who is mostly known for his style more than anything. Indeed, the thriller features some awesome cinematography and set designs, but even as a routine supernatural chiller, its interesting premise and great cast (Kiefer Suterland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt) keeps you watching and thrilled all the way. Sony has already picked up a writer for the remake, Ben Ripley, who also penned the script for another interesting sci-fi, "Source Code". No other information is available at this time.
The producers of the updated version of "Romancing the Stone" will first have to make sure they can re-construct the awesome chemistry between the leads. For the part of Joan Wilder, 20th Century Fox had their eyes on Katherine Heigl ("Killer", "The Ugly Truth"), while for the role of Jack T. Colton they are considering Taylor Kitsch ("John Carter") and Gerard Butler ("300", "Law Abiding Citizen"). So far, no big decisions have been made and Fox is still looking for a young capable director to handle the project. Not an easy task I would say.
RELATED POSTS :
- EVIL DEAD Remake is Alive and Well
- TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D Remake Coming in 2012
- Kenny Ortega to Direct DIRTY DANCING Remake
- THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011) - Original Score Clip
- Director and Writer in Negotiations to Join Stephen King's THE STAND Adaptation
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep the comments as civilised as possible, and refrain from spamming. All comments will be moderated. Thank you !