There's an epidemic looming, folks. I'm not talking about some scary new flu or anything like that, so don't go running to Google to find out where you can get your shots. This is something far more insidious.
Movie studios remaking the movies we grew up on.
Just yesterday, I ran across this article.
I'll admit that after reading the headline I was pretty psyched. I love the Vacation movies and I wouldn't mind heading out on another Griswold road trip. (Vegas Vacation didn't put me off as much as some, and I wisely stayed away from the straight-to-video Randy Quaid outing Christmas Vacation 2.) Plus that short Vacation film at www.homeaway.com proved there's still some funny left in the franchise. Not sure how it will do with Rusty as the star, but...we'll see.
What really got me worried was that the reason that this movie is on its way to production is that, according to the article, after New Line became a part of Warner Brothers they started "sifting through the parent company's titles to see what was available." Not combining the forces of two prolific studios to make something new and exciting, but dredging up old properties that they can just remake on the cheap.
It's not like remakes are new, but we've gotten to the point where they are hitting a little close to home for an 80s guy like me. In some cases, it's just a matter of "do we really need to see that again?" I'd definitely put Red Dawn in that category. And Police Academy. (Seriously--re-watch it. It's not as funny as you remember it.) And don't get me started on film versions of 21 Jump Street and The Smurfs.
In other cases--and these are the ones that really grind my gears--it's a matter of "why are you messing with my memories?" I was incensed when I heard that they were re-making The Karate Kid. You can't improve on that movie! And Nightmare on Elm Street? Come on! It's great as it is!
It's an epidemic. Really! Footloose, Highlander, Arthur, Conan the Barbarian, Short Circuit, Private Benjamin...it never stops!
Matt Manfredi, one of the writers of the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans (which I'll admit might turn out to be okay) was quoted as saying:
"What all of these 80s movies have in common is a feeling of fun and excitement, a certain genuineness. You don't find that spark as much in movies these days."
Hey, Matt--maybe that's because nobody tries to have a fun, exciting, or genuine idea anymore!
Sigh.
Hey, producer types--if you're really interested in something fun and exciting, you can contact me through this blog. I'm a fairly decent writer, and I'm still capable of original thought. I'll be waiting for your e-mail.
Meanwhile, quit messin' with my 80s movie memories!
