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Rosemary’s Baby Remake?
It looks like Rosemary’s Baby has been added to the long line of films awaiting a remake. We get the following scoop from our friends at moviesonline:
Ryan Rotten over at Shock has learned that the remake machine, Platinum Dunes, have decided to take another look at Ira Levin’s 1967 horror novel Rosemary’s Baby. Currently they are in talks with Paramount to “update” Roman Polanski’s classic horror flick. Word is that right now Producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are looking for writers.
This news shouldn’t come as a shock to those of you who know of Platinum Dunes and their undying affection towards remaking classic films. So far they have done remakes for Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher and plenty more. They are even eyeing Hitchcock’s classic The Birds.
I hate remakes for the most part and have no interest in this Rosemary’s Baby recreation. I am going to just start assuming that everything will be remade, because that certainly seems to be where we are headed. Rather than writing your own stuff, I suppose it is much easier just to do lame “updates” to someone else’s work. These remakes reming me of shitty fan films without the DIY appeal.
Platnum Dunes looks to be an entity that focuses on remakes as their bread and butter. I think I respect Asylum more than these guys, at least they made their own films. Asylum films are blatant rip-offs to the point of parody and at least we can enjoy them for what they are. With Platnum Dunes, we are just remaking films that should be left alone.
If they try to update Hitchcock I’ll kill them.
Remaking Hitchcock is a hard thing. Comparisons are inevitable, and more often than not, met with poor results. Recall the made for cable “sequel” to The Birds? (Birds II Lands End) and how that was trashed (rightfully so)? How about Gus Van Sant’s misstep with remaking Psycho?
Some things need to be left alone.
The same can be said about Polanski’s film. It’s already one strike against you. Want to hear strike number two? Here it is:
Rosemary’s Baby is a horror-thriller classic because it is set more on a psychological level. This is also accomplished in the composition of the production design and the cinematography. One famous scene even “made” audiences “look” around a corner, gaining thier interest. Micheal Bay and his cronies couldn’t liteally sit still for something like that.
Also, a remake such as Rosemary’s has to address the times. If it is just made because of name value, which it most likely is, that it will be of little substance. A key thing to know is if they (Dunes) are looking more to the Polanski film or a new adaptation of the Ira Levin novel. If the latter, it may be the best case scenerio, but…why not decide instead of ‘remakes’ go for another kind of built in audience?
I’m thinkin’ Brian Lumley’s Nercroscope, or Anne Rice’s The Mummy, or an F Paul Wilson Repairman Jack novel? See what I mean?
“Rosemary’s Baby” as a remake?! That movie is one of the most perfectly made films anyone attempting a remake is like trying to rewrite the Gospels. When I am in the mood for just the pure pleasure of watching a film that is flawless, I put “Rosemary” in the machine and think Mr. Polanski is a Film-God, never mind his personal young girl issue. If you look at that particular situation, the girl involved still doesn’t understand why Mr. Polanski has been villified like the baby Rosemary rocked in the black cradle.
I am on the fence with this. It is not going to be one of these films I will be looking forward to see remade.
I have nothing against remakes. Remakes are as old as the film industry itself – by the 30’s the industry was already repeating itself. Some have even won Oscars (the Departed). It all comes down to the talents involved. As such there is little hope for excellence here. These people have a track record of destroying anything that was good about the source material and reducing it to the worst cliches of the genres.