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BMcGovern joined: Sunday July 20, 2008 posts: 4 location: Brooklyn |
Friday July 25, 2008 07:16pm EDT |
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So it's Friday afternoon in the Tor offices--where, for the record, there are zero Jedi, costumed vigilantes, or girls running around in skimpy vinyl outfits. Although to be honest I haven't been down to the mail room lately, and I'm never really sure what goes on down there...sometimes I get a creepy Eyes Wide Shut, "Fidelio" vibe from those guys. Anyway, as I working on a more formal post, a friend sent along a recent Variety story detailing MTV’s plans to remake The Rocky Horror Picture Show...
And now I'm understandably distracted, not least of all because just a week ago Rocky Horror randomly came up in conversation with a few of the other Tor.com staffers. We were talking about how the reception of the film has changed over time: those of us who remember seeing the film in the decade after it first hit theaters in 1975 recalled illicit Betamax screenings at friends' houses, carefully flying under parental radar in order to enjoy something incredibly off-the-wall, wacky, and completely transgressive. I didn't see the movie until the mid-90's, and by then it was being shown repeatedly on Comedy Central every Halloween (this was in the Golden Days of Comedy Central programming, before they invented the human equivalent of ipecac in the form of Carlos Mencia). Rocky Horror was, and is, still cult entertainment, but after punk rock and hair bands and Boy George and the whole mess that was the 80's, I think people were finally able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacle of Tim Curry in leather and heels in peace. I mean, the DJ at my prom played the "Time Warp," and even most of the chaperones seemed into it (keep in mind here that my prom was heavily patrolled by nuns--scary, scary nuns, who may or may not have known all the words to the “Time Warp." That's kind of amazing). My point is that we may have mellowed as a culture toward some of the more taboo or transgressive aspects batted around in the film, but the movie itself has held up remarkably well over time--there are still midnight screenings going on around the country three decades later, right? So why remake it? I have a terrible vision of the day some studio execs got together and realized, "Wait--Hairspray was a hit?! John Waters doesn't completely offend Middle America? Drag plays in Peoria? Well, lock and load, because it's time to play capture the freak flag, kids. How 'bout a Rocky Horror Picture Show for the Bratz generation?" It hurts a little to think about the casting possibilities...The High School Musical kids sing, right? Maybe Zac Efron as Frank-N-Furter, or Miley Cyrus as Magenta. And don't put it past MTV to hamfistedly shove a few of their vapid reality "stars" into the mix--I don't even know why I know names like "Spencer Pratt" or "Lauren Conrad," but I do, and if they show up as Brad and Janet I'm going to swallow something sharp. I feel like Meatloaf might just sign up and play Eddie again. It just seems like something he'd do, you know? Not sure whether that's a good thing or not--I'm pretty ambivalent about all things Meatloavian. Regardless of the Loaf content of the proceedings, however, I've got to say that this project has all the earmarks of a Monumental Suckfest, which I use here as a purely technical term. And I'm not even outraged; just preemptively bored by the whole idea. I do have one request to make of MTV, though: if you must remake, then please don't attempt to horn in on Midnight Screening territory. Nobody wants to see the rabid, middle-aged fans of the original clashing in the aisles with the newly-minted, teenaged fans of Rocky Horror Mach 2. That's a turf war that no one wins, people, unless you're interested in a seething, torn fishnets-and-smeared eye makeup orgy of hate, in which case you should probably be at Comic Con right now. Have a good weekend, everyone! |
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corncrowe joined: Sunday July 27, 2008 posts: 1 location: Dublin |
Sunday July 27, 2008 08:36am EDT |
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"I've got to say that this project has all the earmarks of a Monumental Suckfest..."
Now that would be an understatement. I hate remakes of classic movies and especially cult. Bad idea. Very bad idea. |
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pablodefendini joined: Friday June 13, 2008 posts: 50 location: Brooklyn |
Monday July 28, 2008 01:40pm EDT |
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One of the running themes here at Comic Con (and yes, there were moments when it felt like a seething, torn fishnets-and smeared eye makeup orgy of hate--are you sure you weren't here?) has been the fact that, for lack of one iota of original thought, mainstream media has been feeding on comics and underground culture like it's the all-you-can-eat buffet at the local Denny's. It's sad, really, that the entertainment industry can't muster true creativity, despite their millions of dollars' worth of resources. |
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Irene joined: Monday July 07, 2008 posts: 47 location: New York, NY |
Monday July 28, 2008 02:18pm EDT |
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I bought a Rocky Horror DVD a few Christmas times ago - a $10.00 special - and watched it while wrapping presents. I thought it would be pure nostalgia but, holy cow, is Tim Curry amazing in it. Definitely worth experiencing with adult eyes. |
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TooMuchExposition joined: Tuesday July 08, 2008 posts: 5 location: New York |
Monday July 28, 2008 03:00pm EDT |
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Awww, man. This came up at the Science Fiction that will change your life panel at CCI and there was a palpable gasp of terror in the room. I never even particularly liked the original, but there is some territory that should never be retrod. |
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stoolpigeon joined: Tuesday July 15, 2008 posts: 19 location: Orlando |
Monday July 28, 2008 03:47pm EDT |
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My high school role playing club could never plan anything on Friday nights - too many members did the stage show at the local theater for Rocky Horror. I never was a huge fan of the film, but it is a permanent part of my memories of being a teen in the 80s. |
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masinger joined: Tuesday July 15, 2008 posts: 10 location: New York |
Tuesday July 29, 2008 01:42pm EDT |
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I first saw it while at college in 1977, in Cleveland. Saw it in NYC once a few years later but by then the audience response had become so big you couldn't hear the actual movie and the screening was more about the show than it was about the film. I was kind of sorry about that . . . .
Haven't seen it on the big screen in years, but I have a (legitimately purchased) videotape that I'm currently hiding from my 12-yo--who is advanced in many ways but not yet ready for Rocky Horror, though she'd love Magenta's sense of style. Watching the movie, you'd never have predicted that Barry Bostwick would become a Tony Award-winning musical actor and later a fixture on TV, much less Susan Sarandon's career. The very idea of a remake gives me chills of entirely the wrong kind. |
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cphaurckker joined: Wednesday July 30, 2008 posts: 2 location: |
Wednesday July 30, 2008 09:07pm EDT |
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agreed all around; this is a very, very bad idea.
To summarize my blog rant from the other day, this movie's pretty much a product of it's time; updating doesn't really make a lot of sense. It's a different world today, the themes are mostly universal, but frankly, it's just not that shocking anymore. It's also a serious cult classic and rite of passage; let this generation of kids discover RHPS in college like the rest of us did. I suspect MTV had one of two motives with this one: 1) they've noticed the coming sci-fi musical trend (Dr. Horrible, Repo: The Genetic Opera) ahead of the curve, or... 2) They saw that "Mama Mia" made big money as Batman counter programming, and want their own pop songbook musical, only "more edgy" to cash in. Either way, I don't see it going anywhere. |
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Irene joined: Monday July 07, 2008 posts: 47 location: New York, NY |
Wednesday July 30, 2008 09:57pm EDT |
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But this isn't my _most_ feared remake. I have yet to be able to bring myself to see the remake of Bedazzled. |
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masinger joined: Tuesday July 15, 2008 posts: 10 location: New York |
Thursday July 31, 2008 09:50am EDT |
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Mamma Mia!, I must note, is not a particularly good movie, or even a particularly good musical movie. But for many, it's the only game in town if you don't want to see an action flick. My 75-yo mother has seen two large US studio releases this summer, Wall-E and Mamma Mia! |
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Robotech_Master joined: Thursday July 24, 2008 posts: 37 location: |
Thursday July 31, 2008 10:00am EDT |
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Darned modern filmmakers, messing with the classics. Next thing you know, they'll remake The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Oh, wait. |
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BMcGovern joined: Sunday July 20, 2008 posts: 4 location: Brooklyn |
Thursday July 31, 2008 06:02pm EDT |
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Yeah, do NOT get me started on the remake of Bedazzled...I was obsessed with Peter Cook in that movie when I was a kid; he might be my favorite film Satan ever. While I'm sure Harold Ramis had nothing but good intentions in revamping it, it just didn't work--didn't work as in "should probably be stricken from our collective memory as quickly as possible." Sorry, Egon. People need to learn that sometimes the best way to treat the comedy we love is just to leave it alone. |
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cphaurckker joined: Wednesday July 30, 2008 posts: 2 location: |
Thursday July 31, 2008 07:39pm EDT |
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masinger - I never said it was a "good" film at all, only that it was a musical that made a fair bit of money thanks to all those people who didn't want to see Batman. MTV wants some of that musical film action - that the MM and RHPS audiences, when presented in a ven diagram, look like a pair of John Lennon's glasses, is a fact completely lost on MTV executives.
Irene - I've seen the Bedazzled remake; unless you're into Elizabeth Hurley eye candy, dont' even bother. |
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Irene joined: Monday July 07, 2008 posts: 47 location: New York, NY |
Thursday July 31, 2008 10:03pm EDT |
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Bedazzled saved my sanity. I had done an OK job of keeping myself entertained in the burbs throughout high school (mainly by coming into NY every weekend) but by the time my friends and I got half way through senior year we were bored, bored, bored. Bored! Boy, were we bored. We stumbled onto Bedazzled and laughed our way through the last few months of "seniorits". I'd swear we watched it at least 20 times in three months.
It's hard to find nowadays. (Or at least it was about 3 or 4 years ago.) A friend managed to get a copy and it's EVERY bit as good as I remembered. |
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RachelMcG joined: Wednesday July 23, 2008 posts: 1 location: Corvallis |
Monday August 04, 2008 01:42pm EDT |
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I'm still bemoaning the "remakes" of the Pink Panther movies. Steve Matrin, however clever he may be -- and the jury is still out on my vote -- is no Peter Sellers and never will be.
Hm. Maybe we should start a movement, or an easily acronymed group to deal with this. LOCA: Leave Our Classics Alone! |
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Irene joined: Monday July 07, 2008 posts: 47 location: New York, NY |
Sunday August 17, 2008 12:40am EDT |
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Hey Bridget -- FYI: io9 and Riff Raff weigh in with pretty much the same reaction:
http://io9.com/5037376/riff-raff-curses-mtvs-rocky-horror-remake |