For a couple months, I've discussed the feasability of a remake of The Island (I'll get to my reasoning momentarily). It would seem an impossible task as it was a box-office failure and was released last summer, but now I'm not so sure.
It appears 20th Century Fox has greenlighted a remake of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a film that was also released last year. The Onion explains it thusly:
"We're always looking for ideas, and moviegoers really responded to Mr. & Mrs. Smith," said Fox vice president of development Mtumne Ngumwebaum. "Buckle up, action fans! This time we're going to do it bigger and better, with twice the budget and even hotter stars." Said film critic Harry Knowles: "You shouldn't touch a classic like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but if you bring Eli Roth in as director, count me in!"
Obviously, this idea is ridiculous. Is there anyone hotter or bigger than Bradgelina? A sequel I would understand, but why would you remake a movie so quickly? I find it boring.
This is why I propose Hollywood start remaking films that were failed attempts at a good idea. As you likely read the title of this post and its opening sentence, I shouldn't have to tell you I nominate The Island. For those who didn't see the film, which is probably most of you, the film is about a society that grows clones of rich people who need organ transplants. It's a really interesting idea that fueled my interest through the first third of the film. Unfortunately, Michael Bay couldn't summon enough explosions to make the film work.
Image instead that Chris Nolan, director of Memento and Batman Begins had directed the film and Darius Khondji had filmed it (I thought of him because of Delicatessen). Now we have something interesting. They could have filmed The Island for a third of the $120 million budget and made something far more interesting.
I'm sure there are dozens of flops out there that were spoiled by the studio system and I would love to see them all remade. These are the types of things I would fund if I were a bazillionaire. If you're a fledgling movie producer, keep that in mind when I make my bazillions.
03/03/06 2:09 PM
i was actually kind of excited for the island because i love ewan mcgregor and figured a team up with scarlett couldn't be half-bad. but the promotion of the movie in the us gave me zero ideas about what the plot was. it wasn't until i saw an ad for in in thailand that i had some clue, or actually heard some dialogue.
03/04/06 2:46 PM
it's BRANGLINA...not bradgelina..
get it right brother.
03/07/06 12:10 PM
I agree with you, except I'm not sure I consider Angelina an upgrade over Scarlett. A few years ago, I would never have said such a thing, but now...
(I say this without seeing the movie and knowing much about the demands of the role...just based on my personal taste in who I'd rather look at.)
03/07/06 12:41 PM
i was actually pleasantly surprised by the island. i had no idea what the plot was, and since it was such a flop, i was never in a rush to see it. when i finally did, i really enjoyed the whole concept and the clean gattaca-esque visuals. there have got to be other flops that warrant a remake more than this.
03/08/06 2:59 PM
I hadn't heard of this. I know there is a Mr & Mrs. Smith in the works for television based on the Brangelina movie. But isn't that movie based on a Mr. & Mrs. Smith from the eighties with Scott Bakula? Not to be confused with the orginal Mr & Mrs Smith, a Hitchcock film about a married couple that suddenly find out they aren't really married.
And re: The Island. I actually liked it. If you blocked out the story and just watched it, the film played like a gorgeous perfume ad which I thoroughly enjoyed.
03/21/06 12:09 PM
You might want to read the book SPARES, by Michael Marshall Smith, of which THE ISLAND is a shocking (not to mention pisspoor) knockoff. Now if your suggested team made that...!