MovieChat Forums > The Bad and the Beautiful (1953) Discussion > I want to see an updated remake!

I want to see an updated remake!

posted 17 years ago by laxlon
12 replies | jump to latest

Starring Michael Douglas.

He'd be great.

I want to hear the Lana Turner character say something like "Who do I have to **** to get a part in the is movie?"

He'd reply in a very low key way, "That would be me!"

I'd like to see the movie built around this dialogue. Douglas can play a wonderful jerk like Gordon Gecco very well and it would be fun to see today's Hollywood customs and business structure as a background for this kind of story.

The Shields character ought to be good looking, charming and sexy so if Douglas is too old what about George Clooney or Aaron Eckhardt?

[–] x_agonystar_x 17 years ago

I LOVE the suggestion of George Clooney. I really think he could do that well.

[–] gloria_wandrous8 17 years ago

Though an actual remake of this film would make my skin crawl (why destroy a classic?), this is similar to a game a friend and I play. We like to "recast" classic movies with modern stars. I could see Scarlett Johansson as Georgia and Tom Cruise as Jonathan (that scene when Georgia discovers that floozy in Jonathan's house? Not many actors could pull that off the way Kirk Douglas did). For some reason I could see Nic Cage somewhere in this movie. Maybe as Fred.

[–] jg67 17 years ago

Gloria how would a remake "destroy a classic"? Would all the prints, video tapes and dvds of The Bad and Beautiful spontaneously combust on the opening weekend of the remake? If anything, I would think a bad remake would make you appreciate the original even more.

"Nature Mr. Allnut, is what we're put on this earth to rise above."

[–] dlutz-4 17 years ago

It seems to Me this HAS been remade ... many times now... Now the challenge is to think of the titles of all the similar movies. Some before BatB, some later.
I also think Michael Douglas could and Should do an homage to dad by remaking this, HOWever, by now Clooney could easily do Kirk Douglas' role, Michael Douglas should do the Walter PIDGEON part, and at this point at this point in history it should be handled as a madcap comedy, with tongue firmly in cheek at all times while blatantly making referrence to the original.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] geode 14 years ago

...it would be lame, as are most remakes. Producers should stick to filming original scripts instead of being lazy and script mining.

Oh Lord, you gave them eyes but they cannot see...

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] TheDuchessofM 13 years ago

I think a remake would be interesting, but the allure of films such as this, or Sunset Boulevard, is that they were a composite of actors, directors, etc of the day. Within that context, I think the power of this film would be lost since moving it to 2011 or whenever would erase any link the script had to real-life people.

[–] digitaldiva 13 years ago

Hi evangelinexkelly,

I watched the film last night and despite the melodramatic touches, I never get tired of it. It's interesting to see long-dead actors in their prime and there are touches such as the early "Poverty Row" scenes that are interesting to film buffs like me.

I agree with you that a remake would have a hard time finding an audience. "The Bad and the Beautiful" was filmed at the end of the studio system when contract players still existed and studio heads ran everything. While there are men and women of power in the business, those type of moguls simply don't exist anymore. The film is loosely based on the career of David O. Selznick, a producer's producer from another era. Today's films are created by committees which include women in very high positions.

[–] Vikingsrock158 12 years ago

Clooney is the ideal modern Jonathan. I think it'd be so cool seeing Michael Douglas taking on the role his father mastered.

I wonder who could direct it. The visual style is similar to Jonathan Demme, but no one would give him another remake. I think it'd be cool to see Scorsese direct it, I've heard him talk about his love for this film in interviews.

The role of Jonathan needs to be played by someone who could steal your heart and break it, THREE TIMES. Not alot of actors nowadays could pull that off.

Films are my only friends.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] sethart-1 11 years ago

And after suffering long hours, cold coffee, evil directors, etc. she'd say "Who do I have to sleep with to get out of this movie?" (Not my line; an old Hollywood joke.)