MovieChat Forums > Imitation of Life (1934) Discussion > Should thier be a 2005/06 remak of the I...

Should thier be a 2005/06 remak of the Imatation of Life?

posted 18 years ago by hanspatrick
22 replies | jump to latest

Should we remake the Imitation of Life?

It would be sort of weird to do it today.

It might work as a period piece

if they did remake the film it would have to be set in the 1950’s, our society is very different now

no way..do not ever make a remake

IMO I believe that is the wrong question. We should ask whether we should stop remaking these films? I think zetakitty stated it best when zetakitty posted

“when someone's race no longer matters, then the movie will be irrelevant. as society loves to label -- whether it's your sexual orientation, race and/or ethnicity, clothing/fashion sense and style, the job/career you choose, the car your drive, your socioeconomic background -- movies such as this one will continue to be as powerful now as it was back then.”

Just look at films today that addressed this issue

The Human Stain
An American Love Story
Mississippi Masala
Guess who’s coming to dinner/ and the comic remake
Soul Man
Jungle fever

I don’t see a problem of a remake but only a problem that still prevalent today.

[–] rice_cori 18 years ago

Mariah Carey would make a perfect Sarah Jane, since she is of mixed race.

[–] cpking1995 18 years ago

Sarah Jane was not of mixed race. Her father was light skined.

And in answer to should there be a remake?

Only one answer there.....................NOPE.

[–] nick818 18 years ago

Guess whos coming to dinner was an excellent film!! And, it was filmed during racist times. How could you compare that to the *beep* up remake with that Ashton Kutchner? You are an idiot. And why make a post saying should there be a remake and then saying no?

[–] liberalcajun 18 years ago

That is how he got to be " light-skinned " ..because he was mixed. Yes I do think the film will be remade one day. I wonder if it will be as great as the Imitation of Life of 1959 ?

[–] viperman007irz 18 years ago

Yes and hopefully my wife will write it!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] r_lo_lopez 17 years ago

"Mariah Carey would make a perfect Sarah Jane, since she is of mixed race."

too old...can't act.

[–] calpuuurnia 18 years ago

This is so odd because I was just reading about this on my favorite blog! (http://sexandthesushi.blogspot.com/2006/08/stunt-casting.html)

Santeriasister
http://sexandthesushi.blogspot.com

[–] agentbach 18 years ago

Don't think so. And who would play Delilah? Queen Latifah?

[–] rrticulate1 17 years ago

I don't think the original premise of both the '32 and '59 movies would work.

The only way it could possibly work is where the white son (or daughter) wanted so bad to be black, and have the black family to be successful and going through the simular problems that Colbert and Turner went through.

"Guess Who" starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac is an example of what I'm talking about.

Give it a a real urban feel along with a bold soundtrack, and you might have something.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] angellduvall 17 years ago

Please no. Don't put this idea out there to anyone in Hollywood LOL. It would be horrible. They'd put some silly twist on it and it would lose its merit. Look at what happened with that silly version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (its Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp). Just because we're more technologically advanced doesn't mean we can tell a better story.

[–] rrticulate1 17 years ago

Well how exactly in this more diverse 21st century society would the original premise work? White kids into urban culture and identity is a fact of life, so that's just a suggestion as to one angle. Perhaps it should be just left alone.

[–] [email protected] 17 years ago

Having Peola/Sarah Jane try to pass herself off as white (or black, if we want to go in the other direction) would not work, but having her walk away fom her mother because her mother is too poor....or country....or any number of other reasons could work quite well. And, it's not written in stone that the black characters in IoL automatically have to be the downtrodden ones. In 2007, the idea of a down on her luck white woman going to work for a more-successful black woman isn't as alien as it would have seemed in 1959 or as impossible as it would have seemed in 1934.

[–] john-2448 16 years ago

Maybe it could feature a presidential candidate arguing that he shouldn't be considered black when he is equally white, since his mother was white and father black. And then his black support would totally wither and his white support not increase any.

My point is that most of our categorization of race is based on a very racist "one-drop" approach.

But it does hint at ways in which this could be updated.

[–] andrewwjohnson 16 years ago

Yeah, it would be a good idea. It could be about a Democratic senator whose mother is white and his father is East African and he wants to be the first post racial President even though the media keeps making it an issue. He is being opposed by a lady senator who feels she's better qualified to be in the White House, because her husband was a former chief executive and she watched him work (except when he was having a affair with an intern in the oval office where he didn't think he would get cornered). Her supporters pull all kinds of dirty tricks, but he defeats her in the primaries and her only hope is to make back room deals, at the convention, for super delegates.

Then his wife, who is black, causes controversy by saying she wasn't proud to be an American until her husband started winning the presidency. On top of that a tape of his minster surfaces (actually it was found in the church gift shop) in which claims 911 was Americas fault and all kinds of weird things. Never mind what clergymen associated other white candidates have said over the years. He has to give a speech on race in America and tell everyone how his white grandmother sometimes feared strange black men and said unpolitically correct things about African Americans.

Come to think of it we don't have to watch a remake in a theater. All we have to do is watch the news.

Just remember: I was as good as any and better than most-Vincent Freeman in Gattaca

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[–] Harold_Robbins 16 years ago

I'm reading the original Fannie Hurst novel - IMITATION OF LIFE works well as a "period piece," but I can't imagine that it would fly today - hard to imagine that anyone would want to play any of these roles, white or black.

"Stone-cold sober I find myself absolutely fascinating!"---Katharine Hepburn

[–] Sweet_T0209 10 years ago

I think it would work but the plot would have to be centered around an issue that is relevant and still persist today. The only issues I can think of is:

Biracials having to choose between being black or biracial
Interracial relationships....yep it's still a problem
Biracial who look very white and choosing to deny a very dark relative

[–] fiftyfootqueenie 7 years ago

The fact that so many of you have flippantly said the premise of IOL wouldn't work 'today' seems to suggest that you - almost hilariously - think racism in America has...disappeared! Pricelss. Wake UP. Watch the BLEEP news. Jesus.