My favorite Stupid Evil Bastard points to the trailer of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake that casts Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. (No word on John Kerry co-starring as an oompa loopma.) Now, I liked the first CatCF, and I enjoy Johnny Depp as an actor (something I say about very few of the most left-wing jesters Hollywood spews forth), but why isn't Tim Burton putting his considerable creative skills towards a more original project?
It's easy for me to imagine being in Mr. Burton's shoes and getting a thrill from the opportunity to remake one of my favorite movies. Heck, if I had a billion dollars I'd love to take a stab at Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark, even though it'd be a given that I couldn't make anything to compare with the originals. So maybe that's the explanation. You can't get big doing remakes, but once you are big you can indulge yourself.
As for Hollywood in general, it's inevitable that big-budget movies will get less and less creative. No one wants to risk capital on a new idea that might not fly. As I've written before (though I can't find the link) the modern movie industry treat books as a sort of minor league for ideas. It's far cheaper and easier to publish a book than to produce a movie (though publishing a book still isn't trivial), and any idea that can carry a movie can also carry a book (though not vice-versa, obviously).
i was expecting the mood of the film to be mucher darker. but some of my high expectations for burton's work have been dashed to pieces in the past ... perhaps elfman's score will increase dahl's originally haunting intent.
I'd also heard it would be closer to the book, but it looks like almost the same thing.
Officially, it's a new adaptation of the book, and NOT a remake of the Gene Wilder version. That's the big difference.
If you've read the book and seen the original, you know there are lots of differences between the two (and not just details like how many parents accompany the kids, and the fact that Charlie has a dad). I'm looking forward to it, but I hope people will give it a reasonable expectation of quality and not compare every scene with the other film.
Look how many "adaptations" of The Wizard of Oz there have been, besides the MGM Musical...
Barry: I hadn't heard that, but it sounds promising. I haven't read the book though, so it's good to know so I won't be complaining about differences.
Les and dave are so ugly that rain storms stop in mid air when they look up. They are so ugly that cave men say "oooga boooga run to the cave". Les is so ugly that swamp rats dive under the swamp water to avoid his view, Dave looks so retarded that purists throw up and puke at the dinner table. When they both enter a city thousands of chicks and birds flee the area.Job interviewers say after Les's interview "now we must relocate". Aligators and crocs are reluctant to swim up to them. Dave is such a dip stick that space ships self destruct.Publicists and jurnalists say "and they were a terrible sight to see".Les could turn around traffic with his ugly face. Old retired strippers say "they are so unbewitching and beyond ugly". They are so ugly that singles say " no intermixing with those guys after a meal". Dave is so ugly that toast burns before popping up from in the toaster. They both could make a room full of super models spacious when they enter.I know Les's face made people say " wooo! how jaded was he as a child".Dave and Les are so verbose that snails and turtles yawn at them.At fancy dinner partys people all pause to say "okay lets slowly move towards an exit".Les could stop a stampede of elephants with just one look.Tuna and salmon would swim to the bottom of the lake when they fish.One day a real hootenany of pirates stopped and yelled " Aaaarr! back to the ship mates and blind fold the weman!"Even Gorilla weman tend to safe gaurd themselves from Les. Letter bombs would blow up in advance before they get the mail.Even the skinniest vegetarian would say " thats the kind of facial meat to cut up and place in some dog's burrow". Electrolysists would need to use a weed hacker for Les's beard. Surfers would drown before meeting Les on the beach.Les could opiate a hippo with his boring comments.Even frogmen would submerge under water when Les gaze's at the sea.Thats what caused the evanesce of the big foot.Les camped them all away. Rollicking weman would stop, stare, and then run at the sight of Les.Please Les and Dave stop posting those sickning and stupid looking photos!Save us all from puking up lunch.