The Day The Earth Stood Still
 

I had often wondered if Hollywood would ever attempt at doing a re-make of one of my all-time classic favorites. Well, they are/did and I hope they do the original justice. I watched the trailer and it does look interesting.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/th...rthstoodstill/

The trailer looks good.

But I wish they did not do it because the original is perfect and needs no improvement.

Cheers, Snade

Next's gotta be Flash Gordon....

Couldn't agree more!

Trailer has me interested. Looking forward to seeing it.

I kind agree with you, Snade, but there is no way I would miss the new interpretation. Even if it's bad I'll enjoy it.

One can mentally seperate the two and still enjoy the original, which was nearly perfect.

How about "Forbidden Planet"? Oh, would that be the ultimate challenge!!

Just my thoughts.

Rick

Sometimes the remake is OK and sometimes they border on Horrendous. Think The Shining, The Hitcher or Vanishing Point. Some things should be left alone.

And there is that infamous Psycho in color... But I must admit I only watched
about 10 minutes of it on TV.

Psycho and Me: two masterworks from 1960.

After seeing the trailer, I got the distinct feeling I wished they hadn't done it.

On the other hand, Hell Boy 2 comes out Friday!

Just buy up all the copies of the old originals you know and love. This shit's not going to get any better.

Not K. Reeves. Noooooooooooooooo! Worst actor in Hollywood. I bet he gets arrested when he tries to use diamonds for money. He's probably never heard of the band Klaatu. Ooowww! Ooowww! Ooowww! I've been shot in the foot!

Once in a while a remake can be superior to the original, but that's rare. This will not be the case here. The original "The Day The Earth Stood Still" can't be improved on. The remake will only be an embarrassment.

Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!

Much of the incredible power contained in the original came from the astounding Bernard Herrman's score. There's no way the remake will be as good unless they re-shoot it scene-for-scene and shot-for-shot using the same score... but then again, sticking a wooden cut-out like Keanu Reeves in as Klatuu would destroy even Herrman's impact. I'm going to look at the trailer now (assuming whatever site hosting it even allows it to be viewed over this thrice-damned dialup), but frankly, I'm not very optimistic about this being very good...


EDIT: pioneervato's provided link to the trailer didn't work, but I found another site which did work. Ummm... I guess this will be another one in which I wait for the DVD and let the kids rent it because I'll not be paying for it. Music is ALL wrong and the film looks too big. It doesn't have the same sense of intimacy that the original one did. Looking at IMDB's listing (what there is of it), I like some of the casting. Cathy Bates and John Cleese are in this. If it were anyone bit Reeves in the lead, it might hold more potential appeal to me, but really, this just looks like another SFX laden gutless spectacular with a few familiar faces in the mix in the hopes that people will be distracted from the fact that this is just another Hollywood fireworks display with no brains.

A LARGE part of the reason the original "worked"-to me, anyway-was that it was a very "Period" piece. I just don't see how you could take the basic story & make it "work" at all today. And the performances by the actors-Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, Michael Rennie-I just don't see anyone around today who could do it. Keanu Reeves ? Oh, please..Dude, go back to having Big Adventures...And no, we DON'T have Bernard Herrmann, either.

The Krell are too smart to allow that to happen!

It appears Hollywood is (has been) having a difficult time coming up with new ideas for sci-fi movies. Are there any good, non comic book or re-make, sci-fi flicks coming out this summer?

Keanu Reeves? Jesus wept...

Anyway, love the original- filmed in my hometown. In fact that same cab company they use towards the end is still in business here- Yellow Cabs. Although curiously they have always been orange.

They always have trouble coming up with new ideas!

The movie business is like any other business, in that it is fundamentally about money and risk management. The movie dinanciers feel there is less risk in putting their money into a "proven formula", so they look to make movies of comics or cartoons that are already popular, or re-make old movies that were successful.

Best-selling books are also seen as less risky: Harry Potter and the Narnia movies are examples. Before it came out, a lot of people thought making The Lord of the Rings was a very risky undertaking, but Peter Jackson et al pulled it off! This approach doesn't always work, though. Anyone like The DaVinci Code movie? That book was WRITTEN TO BE made into a movie, but it bombed. :boring:

In a way, they are right to stick to proven formulae, although the really BIG returns come from NEW formulae and NEW franchises that successfully blend old themes and techniques in NEW ways. Examples: Alien. Predator. Indiana Jones. Star Wars. Each had classic themes that an audience could recognize and follow, but they were done in very new or different (when they came out) ways or settings. They each worked well enough to earn MASSIVE bucks and to spawn a series of profitable sequels and lousy 'wannabe' take-offs.

Problem is, for every successful new idea, there is an unsuccessful one. Big risk, big rewards ... but also, potentially big losses. [Anyone remember Ishtar? Heaven's gate? :boring: ]

I thought Waterworld was a decent movie, but not enough people agreed to let it make any money, after a fortune was spent on making it. Compare that to the original Road Warrior -- a cheap, low-budget film that was ORIGINAL. Waterworld was a very obvious take-off of the Road Warrior formula, translated to a new setting. A nice attempt to do what I was saying above, but the budget went way overboard, and the creativity was insufficient.

The other factor that Hollyweird moneybags think lowers risk is "Star Power". Stick a big enough star in the lead, and more people will watch the movie. True enough, but how much should be paid for that star, and if the movie is a turkey in other respects in spite of the star's presence, how long will people continue to fill theaters once the word gets out? Conversely, an unknown --much cheaper to hire-- won't bring in the crowds as easily, but if the movie is good, once word gets out it will still make money. Star Wars used complete unknowns and MADE stars out of its actors and actresses, in spite of some really wooden dialog, because so much else about the movie(s) was RIGHT, especially for its time. Ditto for the Alien series. Predator used Arnold Schwarzenneger, but before he was so well-known as an actor; it helped "make" him as an actor, after the less-successful Conan series (where he was a logical casting, because of the need for muscles, but his wooden acting was panned). It also had a higher degree of originality. The right star can "make" a movie, without the person needing to be famous, first: the Bruce Lee movies wouldn't have been the same without Bruce Lee. A good movie will make a star out of any decent unknown actor/actress, but even the most famous actor/actress may not be enough to salvage a bad movie. Ishtar paired up two of the top actors in it's day, but tanked. Some movie put Pacino and DeNiro together, but that was the biggest thing anyone could say about it... it was so disappointing I can't even remember its name right now.

Even worse than overspending on Stars is overspending on non-acting celebrities. Does anyone think Madonna or J. Lo (Jennifer Lopez) can actually ACT? Well, okay maybe J. Lo can --better than the horribly wooden Madeline Stowe-- but Madonna? :puke:

... but the studio bosses make their calculations and place their bets. It's all about money and risk management. :yes:

LOL!:banana:

Yeah, he may not be the greatest actor by any means but I admire him for his work off screen and his generosity. I believe I read an article about him in which he has a sister with a dabilitating disease. He has pumped millions of dollars of his own to help find a cure for the disease . May not be a great actor but he seems to be a great human being in a profession where so many of them tend to be real assholes in real life.

That's my way of sayin' NO to a remake.

Two bits o'trivia:

"Forbidden Planet" wasn't an original idea. It was a remake of "The Tempest".

Klaatu was the servant of Gort, not the other way around.

Another piece of trivia: Gene Roddenberry was very heavily influenced by Forbidden Planet during his hatching of the Star Trek universe - especially Mr Scott's "can do" attitude.

Yep. The screenplay was based on a short story by Harry Bates called Farewell To The Master.

Interesting bits, pm.

Hey, what can I say...I'm easily entertained.

Darn... I thought it was another Matrix movie.

That revelation was one of the greatest moments in cinema history, IMO. I also liked the Christ-like nature of Klaatu, even down to his earthly name of "Mr. Carpenter".


Rather than a remake, they ought to make a SEQUEL, IMO.

Alright I was with you up until this remark. All I can say is, you have not seen the right movie(s) with her in it.

As for Madonna, she did very well in Evita.

i was at the movies this past weekend and caught the trailer. i'm going to give it a try but most of what comes out of hollyweird now is so screwed up....

we'll see

I'm normally apposed to remakes, and I've liked very few of them, but this has potential. Hey, its got John Cleese in it. :D
Jack

I agree with Cleve. A sequel would have been more appropriate. The original would be a tough act to re-do. Would be great if they came back to wreak havoc on earth since the earthlings didn't take heed very well from their first visit. We could stand some good ol' ass kickin' from a bunch of badass alien robots that shoot lasers from their eyes. I don't think fencing our borders will keep these aliens out.:D

The original movie is one of my all time favorite movies, right along with Fail Safe. I also think that Cleve makes an excellent point about making a sequel instead of a remake.

I thought she was also very good in "A league of Their Own". :thmbsp: That was the last time that I cared to see Rosie though. :thumbsdn:

Buringie ding-us!!!:banana:

I don't know how you can top the original Gort, but I'd like to see it!

The original is one of my favorite movies ever.

Beautiful, beautiful movie.

Dave

I think that would be Nicolas Cage.

I had to reply to this. I saw the trailer for the remake of this superb film and I was thrilled that they were remaking it. I hope they do it justice. The original film is one of MY FAVORITE movies of all time. This was THE film that got me started watching classic movies.

One of my prized possessions, which I feel is still better than the DVD in terms of included extras is the Boxed Autographed Laserdisc Edition which includes a neat insert, huge book entitled "Robert Wise on his films: From Editing room to Director's chair" about his career and a 24K gold CD of the film's score. Some pics:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3083/...f6db5857_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/...0aca7f20_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/...550b0c49_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/...9e909c9c_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/...505d4e0f_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/...42e5e073_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/...09e3f5df_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/...418fd7c3_o.jpg

That is an amazing boxed set. :thmbsp:. Thanks for sharing. Congrats.

Snade

The trailer is much to "slick" for me. It kind of reminded me why I don't watch movies. I think I stopped after seeing Star Wars in the 70's.

Think I'll stay home and listen to some twangy music instead.

Now am I surprised you knew that off the top of your head?
no.

Actually, I think Jim Carry would be good in this part. Think about 'The Truman Show' or 'The Majestic' and you will see that he could play that part well.

Reeves is just a one-sided actor - always angry. He should just go away.

Not looking forward to this one at all!!!

even though it has jennifer connally in it, and that goes a long way in my book, i can already tell that this will be one for me to ignore. as soon as i saw the digital fx, along with the fact of keanu reeves (how does he keep getting acting jobs?), i know i can leave this alone