David Cronenberg stunned many with his decision to remake his own filmThe Fly, involving himself as writer and potentially director of Fox’s reboot effort. But this certainly isn’t a bad idea. After all, Cronenberg’s version is already a redo of Kurt Neumann’s 1958 sci-fi/horror classic of the same name, and it’s considered one of the best remakes of all time. It is very likely that he will now also deliver one of the best examples in which a director remakes his own film.
Sure, there are plenty of bad examples, especially when it’s a French filmmaker attempting to translate his hit comedy for Hollywood (see Three Fugitives and Just Visiting) or a Japanese filmmaker rehashing his own horror sequel in the States (The Grudge 2 and The Ring Two). And let’s not forget the unnecessary redundancy of Haneke’s Funny Games U.S.
But some of the greatest directors have made remakes of their own works that are at least as good, if not better than their originals. We take a look at five examples that Cronenberg could learn from — though he probably doesn’t need the help. …Read more
I keep forgetting that Mike Myers is not actually playing an Indian in The Love Guru, and yet I’m constantly reminded by the film’s commercials, which show that ridiculous shot of a little kid’s body with Myers’ giant head digitally superimposed onto it. Really, Myers’ character (Pitka) is a white American who is left on the doorstep of an Indian ashram when he’s a child. Then he’s raised as Indian, I guess (or simply Hindu, but then why the accent?).
Apparently the character, Pitka, couldn’t simply look and talk like Myers. He had to have that silly accent and the clothes and the facial hair, despite the fact that Deepak Chopra, who partially inspired the character (and who appears in the movie), is able to wear jeans and be clean-shaven. Because who would believe Myers as an Indian guru with just the voice, the clothes and his baby face?
Of course, Myers is not the first actor to wear or grow a beard and/or mustache in order to take on the guise of another ethnicity. Sure, it’s also the accent and the makeup that transforms the actor, but with the most recognizable faces, it’s the facial hair that really seals the deal for supposed authenticity.
Charlton Heston as Mexican in Touch of Evil (pictured above) - Maybe if Heston could maintain the accent he wouldn’t have needed the mustache. But then in photos he still would have just looked like regular old Heston. With the whiskers, however, he looks like regular old Heston with a mustache. If this look defined a man as Mexican, then many characters from the ’30s must have been Mexican. Rhett Butler? Mexican. Nick Charles (and anyone else played by William Powell)? Mexican. …Read more
Charlton Heston’s passing reminded me of one of my all-time favorite Youtube videos, the above Ten Things I Hate About Commandments. Considering that the original star of Ten Things I Hate About You, Heath Ledger, also passed this year, it’s a bit like watching old SNL skits with Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, or John Belushi, funny, but also quite sad.
Ronald Bergan has a nice piece on the Guardian Unlimited Film Blog exploring the idea of boycotting Heston’s films due to his affiliation with the NRA and his other staunch right-wing beliefs. While Bergan doesn’t exactly encourage a boycott, his point that actor’s political lives color our perception of their work is spot on.
I for one think that boycotting Heston or Jane Fonda or anyone else for their political views is silly. For one thing, the work that any artist makes is automatically open for interpretation. Even propaganda can be misread. And if the fickle nature of the viewer weren’t enough, we now have mash-ups on Youtube like the one above, where one of Hollywood’s most serious leading men is transformed into a pitch-perfect comedian. The political views of celebrities are what we make them, literally.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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