CBS to Reboot Gunsmoke

I was weened on the action of the old spaghetti westerns. My father still watches them religiously even though he has seen them all a dozen times. Gunsmoke was among his favourites.

Now CBS has set their sights on Gunsmoke to create a feature for CBS Films.

Filmofilia

CBS has tapped Gregory Poirier (”National Treasure: Book of Secrets”) to write the script.

The action-adventure will re-imagine Marshal Matt Dillon, the hero of the classic Western, for modern audiences. According to Risky Biz Blog, the movie will still be set in the Old West but will have a more “contemporary look” and modern action.

I get concerned when they say things like “contemporary look” and “modern action”

I hope this doesn’t mean wire work or silly exaggerated action, but at the same time I hope contemporary means a gritty real western like 3:10 to Yuma instead of the pastel and technicolor bright optimistic look of the series.

We will have to wait and see more to find out what comes of this.

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25 thoughts on “CBS to Reboot Gunsmoke

  1. Now if CBS will do a reboot western series gunsmoke and the cast of actors from other series for the remake of gunsmoke like Richard dean Anderson and torri higginton one actress will play miss kitty summer glau for the two- part pilot episode and episodes of season 1-6 gunsmoke will revive then another western remake the rifleman same two – part pilot movie and episodes a epic motion picture by 2018-2019 yes haw

  2. By coincidence, the years that Gunsmoke portrays
    begin in 1873, the same year an economic Panic swept
    the nation. The Panic of 1873 began when the
    railroad-building boom went bust. Railroad
    terminals such as Dodge City experienced the
    travails of the Panic as much or more than other
    places. The grittines in Gunsmoke episodes can
    be viewed as realistic consequences of the
    woes sweeping the country in 1873 and quite a
    few years thereafter.

    The tie-in with the Panic of 1873 was never
    developed in the original Gunsmoke series.
    Year 2012 might be fine opportunity to see it
    done.

  3. From the 1950’s thru the mid-1970’s, the original GUNSMOKE series was far more realistic and gritty than any of its counterparts. The lighting and makeup helped portray the Old West from a dark and brooding perspective. To its credit, the series relied on character-driven plots more often than typical shoot-em-ups. If the movie remake is simply a festival of free-flowing bullets and blood and guts, then it will fail to live up to the original series.

    While the original series traveled to Utah, Arizona and Colorado for some exceptional location shooting, Front Street of Dodge was on a soundstage–really the only concrete weakness of the series! If the new version holds true to Dillon’s laconic nature and it carefully builds relationships among the principal characters of Matt, Doc, Kitty, and Chester/Festus, then it has a chance at being a good movie. Once blood and bullets start flying, however, the true essence of the original series goes out the window of the Long Branch!

    1. Funny that the very article you link to says that the European films of the genre had an “influence they had on other Westerns.”

      There is nothing to say that these films required to be filmed in Europe to qualify as Spaghetti.

  4. Yeah, Gunsmoke is not a “Spaghetti Western”…the term come from westerns shot in Europe, many in Spain, but most the one made in Italy…thus, Spaghetti…GunSmoke was shot on location in Southern California, and Hollywood back lots…Most if not all the TV western series were, Spaghetti Westerns were features…Just FYI, for historical accuracy…having said that, I hope this cast is good…Would love to see Terry O’Quinn from Lost sign on for this, now that his show is gearing up for it’s final season…also I think they should keep the tradition of the original and go with a mature set of actors, and not a bunch of bratty kids…

    1. Ya, I’d have to side with Kamish for the most part on this point. Can you provide some valid references to support your claim, Rodney? I’m not going to claim to have grown up in the 60’s… but watching Spaghetti Westerns growing up with my father in the 80’s I was always told it was called as such similar to what Kamish stated.

      The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly did not really seem like “mimilalist filming” to me, but maybe that is just me.

      Granted, I think it was beyond just location. It was the fact these movies were typically directed by Italians and casted primarily with Italian and Spanish people with an American lead of sorts.

      Sergio Leone made some of the best of this style western back in the day. Though some of my favorite westerns from way in the past would be El Dorado and Big Jake.. a couple John Wayne flicks that were NOT spaghetti westerns.

    2. Jeremy, as I said above, the subgenre of Spaghetti Westerns ORIGINATED based on the minimalist style used in the European films often made popular by Italian and Spanish directed Westerns, and the style was emulated in many of the popular Western films that were created on North American soil.

      The reference is the STYLE of filming, not the locale.

      The Spaghetti Western Data Base lists a number of films that were produced in the US that qualify as within the genre.

      http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Category:USA

    3. Actually, all you state above was:

      “The genre refers to a style of minimalist filming
      used and NOT a reflection of the location in which it was filmed.”

      Which was only a partial definition, leaving out the origin of the term. Your statement that followed mine then added to it. You can’t say “as I said above” and then add to the statement as if everything new you listed was originally stated. Better to say “To clarify”, than to say “as I said above”.

      Interesting read though, thanks for the link. Never really connected the American westerns made back in the day being so connected to the westerns that had been made in Europe. Though, I must say, I would have never though of Gunsmoke and a spaghetti western. It seems to me like comparing black to white when comparing Gunsmoke to, let’s say, a Sergio Leone movie. Not saying it is not a spaghetti western, just saying it seems so difference to others.

  5. “I’m getting very tired of the words “reimagine,” “gritty,” and “realistic.” I wish they would leave this stuff alone already. It is what it is. I’m waiting for the day I read this website and don’t find out about some other classic they are “reimagining” aka making more generic and dumbing down”

    Hear, hear!

    I’m more for what Shakespeare did: taking previously-created materials and redoing them (almost his entire canon was lifted), making them far better in the process.

    But then, I’ve always been a dreamer…

  6. I’m getting very tired of the words “reimagine,” “gritty,” and “realistic.” I wish they would leave this stuff alone already. It is what it is. I’m waiting for the day I read this website and don’t find out about some other classic they are “reimagining” aka making more generic and dumbing down

    1. Since when was “reimagining” synonymous with “making more generic” and “dumbing down”? A little melodramatic there? And what is wrong with “gritty” and “realistic”? Some people prefer that over other styles. In other words, if you don’t like it then it was not made for you and there is no reason for you to see it. At least they provide you that heads up so you know not to see it. Imagine going to see a movie where they did not advertise or inform prior to showing that it is was going to be a “reimagining”, “gritty”, or “realistic”… you might waste the money to see something that you don’t like. At least when you read these things you know to skip them. While other who do like them, read these things and know to see them. Plain and simple.

    2. you’re absolutely right, Jeremy K, they aren’t inherently synonymous. But I’m hard pressed to think of a reimagining that I liked better than the original or that wasn’t a lot more generic. I’m just tired of the notion that we as the audience can’t enjoy anything unless it’s super-serious with updated modern action, modern effects, modern editing, and modern themes (global warming). But hey it’s just my personal thing, we all have our own irks

    3. “if you don’t like it then it was not made for you and there is no reason for you to see it”

      actually now that I think of it, this is pretty much one of my reasons behind disliking remakes and reimaginings. If you don’t like the original, there’s you aren’t obliged to watch it, so let all the people who like it have it instead of redoing it in the way you’d prefer it. I don’t mean YOU I mean the royal you, not trying to insult here

    4. Accept for the fact that those that did not like the original don’t watch it, and thus a reimagining is made to peak the interest of a new audience that may have liked the premise, but not the movie itself.

      What your saying is that just because somebody does not like something, then they should not have the opportunity to have the same thing told in a way that they just might like it.

      Just sounds selfish; whereas, having an reimagining opens a world to possibly two different audiences. Granted there are those that like the old that may also like the retelling as well.

    5. maybe a bit selfish, but I just don’t see the point. To me I haven’t seen these reimaginings encourage people to revisit the old ones, but rather encourage them to mock them.

      But I guess you’re right, if I personally liked more of these reimaginings I would definitely have less of a problem with it. I’m just sort of annoyed by the idea of trying to capture an audience that had no interest in the original to begin with. That to me is part of the fun of art: some people like it, some people don’t, and part of who you are is your taste, I think!

  7. spaghetti westerns were made in italy hence the use of the word spaghetti. gunsmoke was filmed in the usa. some of clint’s movies were filmed in italy.

    1. Actually the genre of Spaghetti Western refers to the minimalist photography styling used that was common to those European filmed westerns.

      It doesnt mean it has to be filmed in Italy, just filmed in that style. Many American made westerns were considered Spaghetti Westerns because they emulated the same style.

  8. If they could do Gunsmoke similar in style to Deadwood I would be all over that. Think that was probably the grittiest I’ve ever seen a western done and would love to see more Westerns done like that.

  9. That’s an interesting concept. Maybe it’ll be as good as 3:10 to Yuma.

    Hey Rodney, on an unrelated note. Got a film you might think about for Forgotten Fridays. It’s the film ‘100 Girls’. It’s a 2000 film or something around there, but seems like a sorely underated movie….might think about that one.

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