Even MORE remake madness.......

[reddsun1]

of course the original show was awful, it was a stupid campy mess, but it was a stupid campy mess that was fun to watch. it was fun in it's day and it's fun to look back and laugh. It doesn't need to be revisited or updated.

Oh, but of course. I loved watching that show on Saturday mornings when I was a kid.

[reddsun1]

Mad Max and Mad Max II, two of the best Australian movies EVER!. If they ever do another sequel or a remake I will get annoyed.

Taksraven

Yes, rumors of a Mad Max IV have abounded for the past few years. Apparently the project sputtered to a halt due to "terrorism concerns" when trying to select filming locations a couple years back [THANK GOD!].

I and II are f'in awesome. Beyond Thunderdome, while a bit of a letdown compared to the first two, is still pretty good--it offers some degree of closure for the character. They need to just let it stand as it is, leave well enough alone...

*She's meanness put to music and the bit*h is born to run!*

Edited February 5, 2009 by reddsun1

[taksraven]

Yes, rumors of a Mad Max IV have abounded for the past few years. Apparently the project sputtered to a halt due to "terrorism concerns" when trying to select filming locations a couple years back [THANK GOD!].

I and II are f'in awesome. Beyond Thunderdome, while a bit of a letdown compared to the first two, is still pretty good--it offers some degree of closure for the character. They need to just let it stand as it is, leave well enough alone...

*She's meanness put to music and the bit*h is born to run!*

I would say that Beyond Thunderdome was as much of a letdown as The Phantom Menace.

Taksraven

[badboy00z]

They should remake "It", the evil clown movie. Lol.

[Guest sh002]

i would be interested in seeing a remake or updated version of v the miniseries. the one with the reptile aliens and cool ships.

[eugimon]

i would be interested in seeing a remake or updated version of v the miniseries. the one with the reptile aliens and cool ships.

then you're in luck: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39900

[Guest sh002]

damn but it's not kenneth johnson's version

[EXO]

be careful what you ask for.

[sucker4meltrans]

i demand they remake the 3 star wars prequels but with what was canon untill lucas changed every thing with jarjar midicholrines and emokin skywalker

[Warmaker]

be careful what you ask for.

True... OH SO TRUE!

Food for thought: Possibly in the future some Hollywood schmuck will think it will be a good idea to *completely* remake A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi Redone in ways that make the Special Edition seem like a good thing!

[taksraven]

i demand they remake the 3 star wars prequels but with what was canon untill lucas changed every thing with jarjar midicholrines and emokin skywalker

Um, since Lucas *created* the Star Wars Universe, anything he added to the saga in the prequels *is* canon.

Even Midi-chlorians have to be accepted as canon because even though they were not mentioned in the original trilogy there certainly wasn't anything that would have contradicted the possiblity of their existence.

SW fans have to bite the bullet and just accept that Lucas stuffed up his own saga and a remake by anybody else would therefore be non-canon.

Taksraven

[Gubaba]

Um, since Lucas *created* the Star Wars Universe, anything he added to the saga in the prequels *is* canon.

Even Midi-chlorians have to be accepted as canon because even though they were not mentioned in the original trilogy there certainly wasn't anything that would have contradicted the possiblity of their existence.

SW fans have to bite the bullet and just accept that Lucas stuffed up his own saga and a remake by anybody else would therefore be non-canon.

Taksraven

I agree. This is why I think statements like "I want to see a non-Lucas Star Wars," or "Let's see Macross without Kawamori" are completely wrong-headed.

Star Wars is Lucas's creation, and he should have control over it. If he wants to cock it up (and clearly, he does), well...it's his to cock-up. Nobody is forcing him to make more interesting movies, and nobody is forcing you to enjoy the Prequels. Just write 'em off and move on to the next thing.

And don't even get me STARTED on stuff like the Brian Herbert and "New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin J. Anderson™" Dune atrocities...when an author dies, his worlds die with him, and anyone who tells you different just doesn't get it.

[sucker4meltrans]

I agree. This is why I think statements like "I want to see a non-Lucas Star Wars," or "Let's see Macross without Kawamori" are completely wrong-headed.

Star Wars is Lucas's creation, and he should have control over it. If he wants to cock it up (and clearly, he does), well...it's his to cock-up. Nobody is forcing him to make more interesting movies, and nobody is forcing you to enjoy the Prequels. Just write 'em off and move on to the next thing.

And don't even get me STARTED on stuff like the Brian Herbert and "New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin J. Anderson™" Dune atrocities...when an author dies, his worlds die with him, and anyone who tells you different just doesn't get it.

Hey! i liked all those books. They fit the world and dind't muck up the existing works any. What Lucas did that star wars took some of the magic away.

[Gubaba]

Hey! i liked all those books. They fit the world and dind't muck up the existing works any. What Lucas did that star wars took some of the magic away.

Again, if Lucas wants to take the magic away, he should be allowed to. Again, nobody is forcing you to like it.

And yeah...the Dune prequels and sequels DID muck up the existing works, blatantly contradicting the Dune Encyclopedia, which was done with Frank Herbert's participation, and which thus strikes me as being more authoritative.

The only thing I find really remarkable about the Kevin J. Anderson/Brian Herbert books is how Brian Herbert found notes for ONE novel, and (ka-CHING!) managed to spin it out into what...eleven? Twelve? All of which were done at great speed. Frank Herbert took more than twenty years to write six Dune books...Kevin J. Anderson did twice as many in half the time...The original Dune series was a triumph of world-building and artistry. The Anderson ones are triumphs of marketing and sales.

And I'll shut up now, since this has only a tangental relationship to this thread's primary theme of Hollywood's auto-cannibalism.

[sucker4meltrans]

You know if hollywood is looking for something fresh to turn into movies Harry turtledove would be some easy stuff to make into movie.

[Gubaba]

You know if hollywood is looking for something fresh to turn into movies Harry turtledove would be some easy stuff to make into movie.

It's a nice idea, but it'll never happen...Hollywood would have to give its audience some credit for knowing (and caring about) American history...and that's something they'll never, ever do; especially now, when really, all they want is for their movies to be successful in China, since that's where the REAL money is.

That said, I'd LOVE to see a massive, multi-part Worldwar film saga.

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

It's a nice idea, but it'll never happen...Hollywood would have to give its audience some credit for knowing (and caring about) American history...and that's something they'll never, ever do; especially now, when really, all they want is for their movies to be successful in China, since that's where the REAL money is.

That said, I'd LOVE to see a massive, multi-part Worldwar film saga.

Ala ''Band of Brothers''?

[Keith]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, let Leiji Matsumoto remake Star Wars, it'd be the most awesome thing ever!

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, let Leiji Matsumoto remake Star Wars, it'd be the most awesome thing ever!

If he can keep the quality on par with "Interstella 5555", am game!

Edited February 8, 2009 by SkullLeaderVF-X

[anime52k8]

If he can keep the quality on par with "Intersteller 5555", am game!

If Matsumoto redid Star Wars as one giant music video for a Daft Punk album that would be AWESOME!!!

(I'm not being sarcastic, Interstella 5555 is the coolest thing ever, and it's Interstella with an 'a')

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

If Matsumoto redid Star Wars as one giant music video for a Daft Punk album that would be AWESOME!!!

(I'm not being sarcastic, Interstella 5555 is the coolest thing ever, and it's Interstella with an 'a')

Agreed.

Am not sure. I'v seen it spelled both ways but am pretty sure it's "Intersteller"(Am too lazy to check my dvd case).

Edit. Your right anime52k8. It is "Interstella"

Edited February 8, 2009 by SkullLeaderVF-X

[Keith]

It's definately "Interstella", and if it were done as a music video or no (SW), Galaxy Railways proved Matsumoto still has the old stuff.

And hell, why isn't Interstella 5555 on bluray yet? If anything screamed BR, that does.

Edited February 8, 2009 by Keith

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

It's definately "Interstella", and if it were done as a music video or no (SW), Galaxy Railways proved Matsumoto still has the old stuff.

And hell, why isn't Interstella 5555 on bluray yet? If anything screamed BR, that does.

Thats a good point. I want my Interstella 5555 bluray!!!

Edited February 8, 2009 by SkullLeaderVF-X

[anime52k8]

It's definately "Interstella", and if it were done as a music video or no (SW), Galaxy Railways proved Matsumoto still has the old stuff.

And hell, why isn't Interstella 5555 on bluray yet? If anything screamed BR, that does.

If it were to come out on bluray, I'd get a player just for that.

and now I've got Discovery playing in the background...

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

If it were to come out on bluray, I'd get a player just for that.

and now I've got Discovery playing in the background...

lol. so do I. I'v got ''Too Long'' playing right now, from Doscovery!

[taksraven]

And don't even get me STARTED on stuff like the Brian Herbert and "New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin J. Anderson™" Dune atrocities...when an author dies, his worlds die with him, and anyone who tells you different just doesn't get it.

Actually, the interesting flipside to that argument is like with Star Trek, has that been canon since Rodenberry died?

Taksraven

[Gubaba]

Actually, the interesting flipside to that argument is like with Star Trek, has that been canon since Rodenberry died?

Taksraven

I've never really liked Star Trek, so I can't really answer that...except to say that of course it's canon, since what is or isn't canon is decided by Paramount, not by Roddenberry.

Television is somewhat different than films or books, since it's generally a more collaborative medium, with fewer auteurs, and so many hands have been involved in making Star Trek what it is that I think it's hard to point to anyone, even Gene Roddenberry, as being an indispensable creator. Ditto Doctor Who. These are the perfect franchises, with no overall unique vision or consistency (I should stress that I'm not making a value judgment here...shared worlds have their place, and can be very interesting and entertaining).

But if there IS a unique, personal vision involved, if the world really IS someone's baby, like Star Wars, Dune, Foundation, Middle-Earth, Zimiamvia, Poictesme (to name a few of my favorites), then to have someone else go in and pretend that they can tell authoritative stories in someone else's world...well, that's just nonsense. High-level, well-paid, well-marketed nonsense, but still nonsense.

A good example is Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius books. When he began the Cornelius stories, Jerry was nothing more than a basic sci-fi superspy. Moorcock encouraged other writers to write their own Cornelius stories, and it was easy and fun to do so. But as Cornelius devleoped, and became something odder and more personal, the other writers stopped doing that. The REAL Jerry Cornelius was a character that only Michael Moorcock could write, and anyone else's version would seem fake.

It's even worse when the creators get taken off their own creation, like most Golden Age comics artists did.

In Hollywood remakes (to tie everything back into the thread's topic), you see it at its most inept, more often than not, where the new creators have no idea what made the original work, because (surprise, surprise) they weren't part of the original creation, and they have their own issues they want to bring out. Sometimes that works...Cronenberg's "The Fly" has little in common with the original, but it works arguably better than the first one...but that's because Cronenberg has his own issues which are more interesting than the original director's, and because the '80s version has so little connection to the '50s one, it works more as a variation on a theme than as a remake.

It also of course helps than Cronenberg is a smart guy, unlike, say, whoever directed the reamke of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which has none of the urgency and brilliance of the original.

Anyway, that's my take on it. As I've said before, I was a Lit Major, so I could spout stuff like this all day and not get tired...in other words, if anyone takes issue with my stance, it's probably wiser just to nod politely until I go away.

[dreamweaver13]

But if there IS a unique, personal vision involved, if the world really IS someone's baby, like Star Wars, Dune, Foundation, Middle-Earth, Zimiamvia, Poictesme (to name a few of my favorites), then to have someone else go in and pretend that they can tell authoritative stories in someone else's world...well, that's just nonsense. High-level, well-paid, well-marketed nonsense, but still nonsense.

xxx.

Anyway, that's my take on it. As I've said before, I was a Lit Major, so I could spout stuff like this all day and not get tired...in other words, if anyone takes issue with my stance, it's probably wiser just to nod politely until I go away.

That, or just a complicated jumping point from which to declare that Robotech is nonsense. ah, the sheer deviousness and genius of it all.

[taksraven]

Actually, still a bit OT, but I was just wondering. I can't think of an SF example, but like in the comic character universe, when Charles M. Schultz, creator of Peanuts, died, he took his characters "to the grave" with him, meaning that nobody else was allowed to use his characters after his death.

Have there been any notable instances of this sort of thing in SF, with a successful franchise ending with the death of its creator?

Taksraven

[Gubaba]

Actually, still a bit OT, but I was just wondering. I can't think of an SF example, but like in the comic character universe, when Charles M. Schultz, creator of Peanuts, died, he took his characters "to the grave" with him, meaning that nobody else was allowed to use his characters after his death.

Have there been any notable instances of this sort of thing in SF, with a successful franchise ending with the death of its creator?

Taksraven

It's a little too early to say, since the successful science-fiction series is a relatively new phenomenon...

But, let's see (and I'm expanding it to include fantasy as well)...

Lensman: No. There were a few new sequels written in the '70s.

James Branch Cabell's Biography of the Life of Manuel: Yes! Of course, it helps that by the time of his death, no one was reading him (a situation which, tragically, continues to this day).

Tarzan: No. Sequels outnumber the original books.

Conan: Ditto.

Lovecraft's Mythos: HELL, no. Continues to this day.

Foundation: No. A trilogy of sequels in the early '00s.

Heinlein's Future History: I don't think anyone has continued this.

Gormenghast: No sequels.

Lord of the Rings: No. His son wrote a prequel.

Dune: No. New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin J. Anderson™ wrote prequels AND sequels.

2001: No sequels yet.

Rendezvous with Rama: Do those Gentry Lee books count...?

The Wheel of Time: No. But only because Robert Jordan died before finishing the last book.

The War Against the Chtorr: No sequels...wait, what do you mean David Gerrold's still alive? FINISH THE DAMN SERIES, MAN!!

Those are the main ones I can think of...so no one (that I know of) has continued Cabell, Peake, Heinlein, or Clarke. Everyone else has been grist for the publishing mill, with varying degrees of success.

Edited February 11, 2009 by Gubaba

[CoryHolmes]

Rendezvous with Rama: Do those Gentry Lee books count...?

Oh HELL no!!

[taksraven]

Rendezvous with Rama: Do those Gentry Lee books count...?

Great list Gubaba, you clearly like to *read* SF. (I fear that puts you in a small, but cool, minority these days)

At least Clarke was honest about what was going on with the Rama Sequels, but I also suspect that he was not the solo writer of the 2001 sequels as well......

Given Hollywoods liking of making sequels to stories that are not meant to have them, I am surprised that they have not tried to make a sequel to that other great near-SF classic, 1984. I think that Mr Blairs estate would tell them to piss off like they told Bowie to piss off.

Taksraven

[Gubaba]

Great list Gubaba, you clearly like to *read* SF. (I fear that puts you in a small, but cool, minority these days)

At least Clarke was honest about what was going on with the Rama Sequels, but I also suspect that he was not the solo writer of the 2001 sequels as well......

Given Hollywoods liking of making sequels to stories that are not meant to have them, I am surprised that they have not tried to make a sequel to that other great near-SF classic, 1984. I think that Mr Blairs estate would tell them to piss off like they told Bowie to piss off.

Taksraven

I must admit that my readings tends more toward so-called "high" literature (with post-WWI European Modernists like Proust, Joyce, and Mann being my favorites, followed closely by the one-two-three punch of Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare) with some fantasy for light, in-between reading (James Branch Cabell and Mervyn Peake being my favorites of the old crowd, Stephen R. Donaldson and Steven Erikson being my favorites of the new). I don't read much SF these days, and I haven't read a few of the series that I listed (I haven't read much Heinlein or Clarke, for example).

However, I used to work the SF/Fantasy sections of two largish bookstores...so I know what's important and what isn't. Mostly.

(And I would've LOVED it if Bowie had been able to do his 1984 rock opera...Diamond Dogs is very, very good, but...that would've been better.)

[505thAirborne]

That said, I'd LOVE to see a massive, multi-part Worldwar film saga.

This year. HBO presents: THE PACIFIC. USMC, US ARMY & JAPAN. should be really good!!

[Gubaba]

This year. HBO presents: THE PACIFIC. USMC, US ARMY & JAPAN. should be really good!!

That's, erm...totally NOT the same thing.

I was talking about this.