Remakes! Remakes! Read all about 'em!

Post by **Rodney** » March 2nd, 2009, 7:45 pm

Wendy's Jane wrote:And they're making this because...

...they think it will make money.

American_dog_2008 · Post by **American_dog_2008** » March 3rd, 2009, 7:04 am

I can't wait!

Post by **OriginalGagBonkers** » April 2nd, 2009, 11:18 am

Are there any plans for a remake of the 1992 Dick Tracy film?

Post by **Ben** » April 3rd, 2009, 5:27 am

You mean the 1992 Dick Tracy film made in 1990?

Not that I know of, though I believe there have been some rumors. Nothing definite.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » April 3rd, 2009, 8:23 am

No, there's no remake of Dick Tracy planned...

A story about the character rights broke over a week ago.

The latest development with the character is a legal challenge between Warren Beatty and Tribune Media Services, the owners of the Dick Tracy character.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... 4d70c9d7ab

Apparently, Tribune's claiming Beatty's deal for film use of the character lapsed some time ago and that Beatty has done nothing significant character since the movie. The second part is definitely true.

Beatty claims he's working on a TV project with the character but so far nobody's seen significant work on it.

Of course, this whole lawsuit wouldn't be going on in the first if A) superhero films weren't the big action movies for the time being and B) if Tribune weren't so deeply in debt to begin with!

Post by **OriginalGagBonkers** » April 3rd, 2009, 10:42 am

1990? Whoops, My bad... Forgot it was that year. Anyways its too bad that there isnt a remake planned because It would be awesome if they get someone like Frank Miller or Christopher Nolan to the remake of Dick Tracy.

Shouldnt this lawsuit over the rights over tracy ended by now?[/b]

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » April 5th, 2009, 12:10 am

Oh man,

You don't realize what Frank Miller did to The Spirit, do you?

It'll be a long time before anybody lets him direct a film on his own after the box office bust that film was! On top of that, he earned the enmity of most long-time Spirit fans because of the fact he turned the character into a gross caricature and more of an extension of his Sin City mythos.

That's not The Spirit!

Seriously, people have to read the source material (reprints of the original comics) to understand why the Eisner/Spirit fans were upset with Frank Miller and the finished film.

Nobody's going to do another pass at The Spirit for at least another 20 years I'd bet.

The character was never as high-profile as Superman or Batman and once a third-tier character movie goes bust it'll be a while before anybody feels brave enough to put money behind doing another picture with said-character. Only a high-ranking director/producer with pull could get another Spirit film green-lighted soon. It sure isn't going to be Michael Uslan since he exec-produced The Spirit film that bombed!

Post by **Whippet Angel** » April 5th, 2009, 4:02 pm

Hey, speaking of remakes, does anyone remember this silly rumor from a year ago?

The thought of that actually happening literally makes me ill... X___x

Post by **OriginalGagBonkers** » April 5th, 2009, 4:35 pm

GerogeC, You didnt enjoy the Spirit? I thought It was good in my opinion along with Sin City. Besides Im a man of film noir/detective stories guy. The reason why the spirit was a bomb is because nobody gave the chance of seeing it because of the other movies that came out during that time...

Besides its my opinion if Frank Miller does a Dick Tracy remake or not. But I can picture him doing it or Christopher Nole doing it... Would make my day if they teamed up to do it. Besides I bet there's MILLIONS of people asking for a remake of Dick Tracy.

Post by **Randall** » April 5th, 2009, 8:48 pm

OriginalGagBonkers, the question is... have you ever read The Spirit? Critics drubbed the film, but comic fans especially didn't like it because it bore so little resemblance to the comic.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » April 5th, 2009, 9:25 pm

Exactly my point, Randall, exactly my point.

Most people who watch these films have never sampled/read the source material.

Most filmmakers who attempt adaptations of comics have never read the original comics, either.

Miller knew better. He made the film the way it is to tap into the Sin City film fans. It bears far more resemblance to the Sin City film than the original Spirit comic.

The problem with doing that is that A) there weren't that many Sin City fans (comics or film) to begin with; and B) The Spirit previews looked so much like Sin City that anybody who didn't enjoy the Sin City movie or didn't want to see another film that looked like it wrote the Spirit movie off.

Miller's not big on my list right now considering his last few outings with Batman. As bad as those comics were, what was done with The Spirit was on a new level of completely missing the point. The Spirit is not a "bad ass" character or overwrought melodrama.

I guess I just like subjects to be taken seriously and cast with good actors instead of celebrities who are going to (un)intentionally ham things up. Likewise, not every comic film adaptation has to be grim and gritty, either. Balance is nice!

It's kind of hard to explain some things when we're not on the same page here...

People have to read the comics. DC has almost the entire Spirit series in hardcover which can borrowed from better libraries, or failing that borrow The Best of The Spirit or Spirit: Femme Fatales trade paperbacks from your local library -- or better yet, buy the trades! I don't know how anybody can say the film was a faithful adaptation of Will Eisner's character after reading the trades.

Post by **OriginalGagBonkers** » April 5th, 2009, 9:28 pm

Randall, No Ive haven't read the comics....But I thought the spirit was alright...

Post by **eddievalient** » April 5th, 2009, 10:49 pm

I happen to have the Best of The Spirit trade and I will say that I never really expected the film to be like the comic. Adapting the character as is would be tough since he seemed to be a background character in his own stories at times. Because I expect the film to be different, I'm less likely to be disappointed and more likely to judge the film on its own merits (or lack thereof as the case may be).

Post by **Randall** » April 5th, 2009, 11:11 pm

And that's fine, to a point. If someone can enjoy a film, then that's a nice thing. I won't argue someone else's enjoyment.

As a Spirit fan, I'm distressed to see what the film looks like. The trailers had me feeling sick. (Miller refused to even get the "costume" right! That may not sound like a big deal, but it was just the start of what was multiple transgressions, just from what I have seen and read.) If you don't stick somewhat to the source material, then what exactly is the point of doing an adaptation? (Also see: The X-Men films, but at least the first two got a few things right even if they stopped short of embracing superheroes.)

OTOH, as a movie and pop culture buff, I'm kinda looking forward to seeing The Spirit film for myself, as an academic exercise if nothing else.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » April 6th, 2009, 12:54 am

That might be an exercise iin masochism, Rand.

Hey, at least you'll find out how much pain you can take!