Remakes 2017: Have We Ever Met Before?

            When’s the right time to remake a box-office success? How can directors contribute with their own concepts to a story already told, without damaging its image and running into the fans’ rage? Lately filmmakers have launched into the remake genre, hoping to gain the approval of the general public, but sometimes it is a very challenging task. Let’s find out some of the new movie versions that will be coming soon.

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LITTLE WOMEN

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            The movie, based on the homonym novel written in 1868 by Louisa May Alcott, tells the story of the March family, particularly of the four sisters and their transition from childhood and being little women. The public already knows different versions of the film, but the most popular and memorable is the one of 1994, directed by Gillian Armstrong; starring a determined and brave Susan Sarandon (the mother), while well-known actresses Kirsten Dunst, Winona Ryder (Oscar nominee) and Claire Danes play the parts of the daughters.

            Amy Pascal is the director of the latest remake; after having worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment, she decided to establish her own film production company, Pascal Pictures. Casting directors affirmed that after more than 20 years, the infallible Susan Sarandon will be once more Mrs. March: they affirmed that the actress hasn’t aged since 1994, and for this reason they rejected the idea of substitute her! The rest of the cast has yet to be announced, while in 2016 it was confirmed that actress/writer/director Greta Gerwig came on board to rewrite the adaptation. The 90s version has been a complete success according to critics and box-office, so it will be a tough challenge for the 2017 remake, which has to measure up with its predecessor(s).

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THE DAY OF THE DEAD

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In 1985 the master of horror George A. Romero brought to the big screen The Day of the Dead, the last episode of a zombie trilogy deemed to be his masterpiece; the same Romero, for this reason, worked very hard to maintain a high standard even in his recent works. In 2008 Steve Milner tested himself in the remake of the famous film, but with such a disappointing result that the movie was soon left behind by the public.

In 2017 Héctor Hernández Vicens will try to become Romero’s worthy successor with a reboot that will move away from the 1985 version. In fact, the plot will differ: there will no longer be the forward-thinking doctor Logan and the submissive Bub; the protagonist of the movie will be a former medicine student (Sophie Skelton, who took part in various TV series such as Outlander) oppressed by an half-human and half-zombie Jonathan Schaech (interpreting Max) whose ultimate aim is to consume her soul from the inside and demolish her as a living person. Here again the burden of the past is particularly heavy, the deviation from Romero’s original story has already casted some doubt among the fans of the genre.

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MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

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The cinema witnessed a great number of cinematographic adaptations of the renowned novel by Agatha Christie published in 1934; but the harsh critics rejected nearly all of them. The only remarkable movie was directed by Sidney Lumet in 1974: it reached public appreciation and it is the best film adaptation, to this day. The credit for that is also due to an outstanding cast consisting of high caliber actors such as Sean Connery, Albert Finney and Ingrid Bergman; the Swedish actress also won the Academy Award for the Best Supporting Actress.

            The remake will premiere in 2017 with the direction of Kenneth Branagh who will be also starring as Hercule Poirot. The Northern Irish actor/director kept going the “tradition” of a great cast: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Peña are only some of the interpreters of this exciting new adaptation.

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CHARLIE’S ANGELS

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            This year the beautiful angels will be directed by the likewise fascinating Elizabeth Banks, who already proved herself on the direction of the beloved and funny Pitch Perfect 2. The actress/director has been in talks to co-produce her supportive husband, Max Handelman. Rumor has it that Emma Watson could play the part of one of the heroines.

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SCARFACE

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            There is a great deal at stake when it comes to decide to bring again on the big screen a classic like Scarface: many directors tried to face the challenge, but in the end they all gave up and abandoned the project. But it seems that one of them has finally accomplished the task: we are talking about Antoine Fuqua, a director who already shifted his focus on the remake and retelling genre before (as an example, see The Equalizer of 2014 or The Magnificent Seven in 2016). The reboot (after that of 1932 and that of 1983) will be more contemporary because it is set in 2000: the plot remains the same, but since it has been transferred to our times there will be some differences. News about the cast seems to be confusing and contrasting, somebody even asserts that Oscar winner Leonardo Di Caprio could perform Tony Montana.

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IT

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            After 27 years from the first version of the movie, It, one of Stephen King’s best work (1986), comes back to the big screen. At first, in 2009, Cary Fukunaga took the reins of the project, however at a later stage he was taken off the assignment: due to “creative disagreements” Fukunaga was forced to abandon the direction few days before the beginning of the filming. At that point he was replaced by Andrés Muschietti, already popular in the horror scene thanks to The Mother (2013).

            The role of the dreadful and aberrational clown Pennywise was initially assigned to Will Poulter, but from the very moment in which Fukunaga left the scene, the actor too choose to no longer contribute to the movie: Poulter affirmed that he was selected by the former director, therefore he made no sense to him to work for the new one because the two couldn’t literally connect with each other. Bill Skarsgard, hence, will interpret the role: he is 18 years younger than Tim Currey was in the first version of the movie in 1990. The remake will present the character of the Dancing Clown in a more faithful way to the novel compared to former version; the movie will be divided into two different releases, in order once again to reproduce more accurately the novel.

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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

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           The remake for dreamers and the most romantic ones, the remake for Disney lovers: the reboot of Beauty and the Beast, produced by Walt Disney Pictures, is coming (very), and the expectations at the box office are really high. Directed by Bill Condon, the charming Emma Watson (Belle) will argue with Luke Evans (Gaston), will befriend Ewan McGregor (Lumière) and will fall in love with Dan Stevens (the Beast). An extraordinary cast for a story recounted through music and songs; for this reason, during the auditions the director requested that candidates, in order to test their voices and intonation, sang Hakuna Matata as to select only those who were in tune! The songs of the movie are written by Alan Menken and Tim Rice, the latter already present in the Disney filmography with the lyrics of the songs of Aladdin.

            The only noteworthy change made in the new plot concerns the protagonist, Belle: in former versions the father invented new machineries and got busy with screws and various tools, but this time Belle will be the inventor.

It is up to you, now, to judge: will you be satisfied with the remake or will you remain attached to the old version of the movie?