Remake. That word alone is enough to evoke a lot of different emotions from people. It tends to be that way because the fans of original don’t want to see the memory of that to be marred by an inferior update. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. The news of a “Death Wish” remake is making headlines right now and MGM is interested in having Joe “The Grey” Carnahan take on the project as director.
Source: LA Times
…Now Carnahan has landed a new gig: He’s being hired to write and direct a remake of “Death Wish,” the 1974 vigilante picture that helped put Charles Bronson on the map, according to a person familiar with the project who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak about it publicly…
MGM and Paramount are developing the film, which will reboot Michael Winner’s box-office hit. The original starred Bronson as Paul Kersey, a liberal architect who morphs into an assassin after his wife and daughter are brutally attacked. Bronson’s character then undertakes a one-man mission to hurt and kill a host of criminals on the streets of New York. The movie was a cultural phenomenon of sorts, helping birth the modern action movie and also provoking criticism for its intense violence…
I can’t help but hope that he re-teams with Liam Neeson. I can totally see him kicking ass and taking names in a Death Wish film but it might tread too closely to his “Taken” films. I’m looking forward to finding more information on this, but remakes always have the issue of living up to the original films. Death Wish was a classic film for actor Charles Bronson and many fans of that film will undoubtedly have lofty expectations for any re-imaginings. I’ll keep you guys posted…
I don’t understand Hollywood’s almost maniacal need to remake, oops sorry, reboot, everything.
Sure, I know, remakes are almost as old as Hollywood itself, with them being done even during the silent era as early as 1895 according to IMDB. But, even given as long as the remake has been around, it has never really been as noticable as now. over the last few years, and the next few at least, it has reached almost over saturation levels. Even movies that, basically, sucked (House Party, Pet Semetary, Barbarella, Drop Dead Fred to name just a few) are being remade. Why? What happened to the idea of original? Has Hollywood so run out of ideas that they are beginning to give up on originality, and are going to try make their money off the sentimentality of their audiences?
When they reach Death Wish III, it better be a shot-for-shot remake. That is my request