I’m as upset as you guys so obviously are about the new Evil Dead remake without the original team, and I mean the whole team, not just without Bruce Campbell in front of the camera but also Sam Raimi behind it.
So I was thinking about why this would happen, and before now I could see money and perhaps a revitalisation of the franchise, which in itself equates to money. So money all round really. Then I read this story this morning in Movieweb from Latino Review. It portrays something totally different to me, and makes me thing that perhaps not is all it seems with the reasons for the remake.
Raimi is taking about the possibility of the Evil Dead sequel, note that, not a remake, and he’s taking about him directing, Tapert producing and Campbell in front of the camera as Ash. Oh yes, Bruce Campbell will be Ash.
“I√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d like to make a part four. There’s this very small audience for Evil Dead IV, and if we ever make a movie called Evil Dead IV, which I’d like to make with Rob at some point and starring Bruce Campbell, I’m not saying there’s a million people, but there’s 100,000 people that will know exactly what it is and that’s about as big as the crowd is, honestly. It’s not a giant crowd. They’re a great crowd.”
Now isn’t that great news, and Robert Tapert has been talking with [insert deep voiced voiceover man]the Studio{end voiceover man] and gives us another bit of an insight.
…realized that the sequel might have to be Army of Darkness II, since Universal produced the most recent sequel. “Even the people at Universal Home Video called us up one time and said, “We want to do a direct to video Army of Darkness II because that’s a really good title.” We said, “No, that’s really Evil Dead III. They said, “Oh, well, we don’t care about that Evil Dead stuff but the Army of Darkness was really good.” They’re totally confused.”
That so successfully shows what the Studio execs are really like, they’re quite frankly, idiots. People who are after cash and cash alone. How can they not understand the sequence of the movies? It’s not hard. I mean are we all in that 100,000 group that just happens to understand as Raimi claims? No, I think there’s a lot more than that, a hell of a lot more.
…because that’s a really good title?! There was a post to another topic just recently where someone asked why the Studio’s don’t get it. Why movies are made even though you can see they’re just such a bad idea or script. Well this is it, this is the reason. Incompetent execs who can’t understand the sequence of three movies and who made them. Who will greenlight a movie because they like the title!
So if they’re so hot on making the sequel, whatever form it’s going to be, why the remake? Well do you think it would be so easy for them to get the money and backing together to make a movie just for 100,000 people? Of course they could, they’re big players now with a proven audience. Just look at all those box sets and DVD releases they’ve done with the Dead trilogy.
However, they’ve all moved on to bigger and better movies, look at their movies just now and the increased budgets, special effects, cast and just sheer scale. They moved up with each movie in the Dead trilogy and now they’re well ahead of where the Army of Darkness was. They want to make it right, and for that you need funding and backing, unfortunately from those idiots mentioned above.
So could it be that they’re going ahead with the remake of the Dead to get the Studio backing to make the sequel the way they want to and with them in charge. Otherwise maybe the sequel wouldn’t be happening or it wouldn’t get them all involved in the way they should be, and the way we want them to.
Since you’ve stayed with me this far, I think I’ll just throw in another titbit for you.
…after rejecting the idea for Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash on the grounds that Raimi did not want to be in a position having to protect his character within another filmmaker’s vision, word came out that Bruce Campbell really wanted to do the battle royale movie. Raimi evaded, “He might have. I don’t want to speak for Bruce. I don’t really know how he felt about it.”
See, they’ve rejected letting Ash go to another filmmaker. I think they are dead against the remake but by staying in the Production team they can make sure it’s not a disaster, and get the backing for the sequel and ensure they are right in it again.
Hollywood remake of Battle Royale? Yes please, however there’s very little chance of the subtlety getting through into a Hollywood version, nevermind the violence and aggression. School children butchering each other in an oppressive state, showing human behaviour in the most extreme of circumstances – not a Hollywood movie.
