Forbidden Planet remake

[YankeyMCC]

Now they are going to remake Forbidden Planet

http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/10/31/j-michael-straczynski-writing-forbidden-planet-remake/

Now I'm a fan of B5 and I'm pretty optimistic JMS could do a good job but this is getting a bit ridiculous, when will we see original work or at the very least more contemporary stories?

[Orrex]

1. Of course, Forbidden Planet wasn't even contemporary when it was filmed

The story was already about 350 years old by that time! :evilgrin:

I've of two minds about remakes. If a film is based on a pre-existing novel or short story, then it's hard to claim that an earlier film version is authoritative or that a remake ist verboten. The Day the Earth Stood Still is the obvious current example; since the first film was adapted from a novella (with a starkly different ending) I can't really argue that the 1951 treatment must forever be the "only" film version. After all, Burton's awful Charlie and the Chocolate Factory wasn't a remake of the film; it was a new adaptation of the novel, rather than a remake of the Wilder film. Likewise, Burton's awful Planet of the Apes was a new adaptation and not a remake of the Heston vehicle.

Ultimately, it's fair game, no matter how sacrosanct an "original adaptation" might be held.

But when a remake is made of a film that was itself original, such as the in-the-works Plan 9 From Outer Space, then IMO it should only be done if the remake truly brings something new to the telling, or if it somehow works as an homage to the original.

Clearly, these aren't ironclad rules, but they basically describe how I feel about Hollywood's remake fever.

[YankeyMCC]

2. Fair points and that's usually pretty much how I see it too

but somehow I'm feeling lately like I'd like to see some original interpretations. Why remake Forbidden Planet instead of making a new movie based on the same theme, why does it have to be a 'remake'?

[Orrex]

3. Ah! Now that's a good point

And I'm afraid the answer in that case might just go back to "Hollywood wants a bankable property."

[Touchdown]

6. Make that about 2700 years ago.

You might have forgotten Plato's story of Atlantis.:D

[IndianaGreen]

4. Forbidden Planet's premise of an advanced race destroyed by their own subsconcious minds

is what made this movie so appealing. I hope that remains untouched by Michael Straczynski!

[Deja Q]

5. I was the trailer. Keanu Reeves is an inspired choice...

For when he sees the computer effects of everything disintegrating, he'll un-emphatically say "Woah".