HG2tG
Don't miss this Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy review, boys and girls. Can't wait to see it.
While I'm at it, can't wait to see the Willy Wonka movie (official website). Word is they're putting the finishing touches on the, too. My only worry is that I hear it's way over budget, but it sounds like he's having some success getting even the most difficult scenes right.
(Tip of the chocolate feathered cap to Lee for bringing this movie to my attention in the first place).
posted by CatsFive @ Monday, April 18, 2005
6 Comments:
Being a lifelong Wonka fan, yes, I'm completely GEEKED about this movie. :D I've read that at one point, Warner Bros. considered Adam Sandler to play Wonka, and considered Tom Shadyac ("Ace Ventura," "Bruce Almighty") to direct it, with Jim Carrey as Wonka. I would have strapped a bomb to my chest and driven to Hollywood. And when I say "a bomb," I mean one BIGGER than this movie would have been with Sandler or Carrey in the role.
That waa a pretty interesting review -- I'm going to see it when it comes out (hooray for opening weekend!), but I'm not sure. I read a rewiew linked from MeFi a while ago (here), and it sounded a little worrisome, but it seemed a lot of the complaints were of the sort of "Hey! [X] from the books wasn't in the movie! This sucks!", which seems a little weird, considering that, well, DNA always wanted each version to be different. Hence, all the stuff in the Radio Series that wasn't put into the books, and the differences between the radio/book and TV. (And even the LP copies had a few differences, too.) So... yeah. I'm hoping it's good. I must say, though, from the clips/trailers, I think they sorta screwed up with Zaphod's second head, though, but I'm willing to give it a shot.
I'm also excited for the Wonka remake, though I have to admit not really understanding _why_ it's being remade. Since, basically, the film as-is is perfect. About the only way I could see a remake is if they, like, basically used the same actors from the same time period, and the same script, just with the "Cheer Up Charlie" number removed. That's the only thing I dislike about the film. But everything else is exquisite.
However, if someone's going to do it, I'm glad it's Tim Burton, since he's pretty clueful, and I think he, of all people'd, GET the original's darkness and whatnot. Considering that a good chunk of his style is Bright, Pretty Colors With Off-Kilter Aspects That Are Vaguely Unsettling In A Way You Can't Put Your Finger On. Like, you know, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which is another movie I adore.
Wow, these are really insightful comments.
I saw one blog a few days ago which was patterned after bathroom wall scribblings. This blog ain't it.
Has anyone seen Sin City, yet?? Come ON, I'm tellin' ya... not EXCELLENT, but excellent.
Well, besides money, the "official" reason they are remaking "Willy Wonka" is to do a film that is more like the books, which I think is valid. One thing I think is funny is that Burton is always putting down the original film in interviews, and as you said, it's one of the best kid-films ever. I STILL love that movie, and that movie is probably one reason I grew up to be a fan of movies like Burton's in the first place. :)
Just read the "Hitchhiker" article, and it sounds wonderful. :) I'm glad that everyone involved loved the story BEFORE they got involved with the project... that's crucial on a movie like this.
Hell, I don't even think Wonka needs the "kid-film" proviso -- it's one of the best films ever, bar/none (brian dewan). I suppose I can see the "More like the books" side of things, too, because didn't Dahl hate the Mel Stuart version? I don't know, though -- I still think it works. (I think it's interesting, as an aside, that Stuart was primarily known for his documentaries; he actually directed Wattstax, too -- a friend of mine watched that and mentioned how odd it was to see a soul/funk concert with a bunch of Wonka-style camera work.
But yeah -- a lot of the articles about HHGTTG seem pretty good (the one I linked aside). From some of the interviews I read a while ago, it did seem that the filmmakers tended to at least seem to Get It. Either that, or they're really good at faking It. So, yeah -- I'm tenatively choosing to believe the Good Reviews; I don't put a lot of stock in the one I linked above, but it's sort of sitting in the back of my mind, along with the "Man, why'd they do that with Zaphod's extra head?" thing. (Along with the thing from that article about Z's 3rd arm disappearing without explanation halfway through the movie, though, my guess with that is that they were watching a rough cut and the special fx hadn't been completed yet... that's kind of a big thing for a Simple Continuity Error, so I'm completely willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until 2 hours after I've paid my 10 dollars. In which case, my suspicions will either have been born out, or someone's got some splainin' to do.
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