17 Aug

Remake City, Population You

Seems as if we talked a lot about remakes or material based on other mediums this week on the cast. Whether it was a possible Halo film, or Frank Darabont’s attempt to bring The Walking Dead to TV, Elmore Leonard’s Lawman (coming to FX), Spider-man on Broadway to finally a possible third remake of Battlestar Galactica, seems that there’s not a lack of “properties” or “brands” that the entertainment industry is willing to mine for safe, marketable ideas. Now that’s not to say that I am completely against remaking, re-imagining, or extending a franchise, but it does seem as if there is a glut of this stuff happening of late. That makes me wonder all the time, where are all the new BIG franchises coming from? Where is the new Star Wars or Star Trek (for that matter)? And for those of you who answer “Lord of the Rings”, it doesn’t count. We’re talking new and original. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for all it’s awesome goodness, was neither new nor original.

That said one thing that was new this week was Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, which is a fantastic piece of storytelling that does, as we’ve talked on the show before, do that thing that science fiction does so well and best. Tell stories that could otherwise not be told without the lens of science fiction. District 9 covers a huge range of themes and issues, that become sharply focused by Blomkamp’s aliens in refuge. It’s probably one of the best movies that I’ve seen this year, if not the best. That said, Moon is pretty damn good as well. After seeing it, it made me wonder what his Halo film might have been.

Here is the both horrible and long trailer for “Legion”. The lesson here is “Less is More”

Followed by the short clip from FX Lawman. Really it’s just one step removed from Seth Bullock on Deadwood.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Zero Room Podcast