More Media Bits
The things you learn while stumbling around on io9 and IMDB...
The rumors are true: there's a BSG movie in the works, but helmed by Bryan Singer (X-Men; Superman Returns; Valkyrie) and the producer of the original cheesy 1970s BSG, Glen Larson. This combination means that the movie almost certainly will not be set in the RDM re-imagined 'verse (Larson really hates the re-imagined series), and it will either be a continuation of the original series, or, more likely, an entirely different re-imagining. I recognize the irony of someone who's a fan of the re-imagined series, not to mention a fanfic writer, criticizing a reboot of a franchise, but I have to admit, I'm baffled as to why anyone thinks it's a good idea to be rebooting the series again, within a year or two of the end of the re-imagined BSG.
I have two main reasons for this concern: I think the reboot is coming too soon, and I have little faith that this creative team in particular will do something compelling and interesting with the premise.
I understand the appeal of doing multiple versions of the BSG story. It's a compelling premise, one that's probably been around almost as long as storytelling itself. Think about it: BSG is essentially Exodus if the Egyptian armies hadn't been swallowed up in the Red Sea. The re-imagined series added the twist of making us wonder, sometimes, which side was supposed to be the Egyptians and which side was the Israelites, but still, that story of being on the run and searching for a new home in a promised land is an old, old story that strikes a chord with a lot of people. It's a story that can and should be reused and revamped for different times and situations because, as the re-imagined series shows, it provides great opportunities to push characters to their limits and ask big questions about who we are and what we're willing to give up in the balancing act between morality and survival.
The problem with rebooting BSG now is that, though the series wasn't perfect, I think it's fair to say that the re-imagined series was a very interesting reflection of a post-9/11 mindset. It certainly didn't say everything there was to say about contemporary society, but I think it covered enough pertinent points that anyone who wanted to make another thoughtful, contemporary BSG would have to overlap so much with the re-imagined series that it would look like a copy-cat rather than a reboot. And the other alternative, making something that's not a thoughtful reflection on contemporary concerns but rather just a shoot'em-up popcorn flick, is not only something I don't want to watch, but inevitably is going to make it pale in comparison to the re-imagined series. If somebody twenty years from now was talking about re-imagining BSG to reflect modern views of those concerns, I would say more power to them. Even RDM and some of the actors have mentioned in passing "when someone makes a new version of this thirty, forty years from now," which shows that they recognize that the concept has the potential to be re-visited again as society changes and our concerns and ideals shift. It's just too soon for anyone to likely have something vastly different to say with the same concept.
Perhaps if there were different names attached to the project, I might give it the benefit of the doubt and figure that they wouldn't do it unless they had a new and interesting approach that was still socially relevant, but Larson and Singer don't inspire any hope in me. Like I said, Larson liked his original, campy version and didn't like the re-imagined version at all. This does not bode well. And though I liked Singer's X-Men movies, that's not enough to get me excited about this project. I haven't seen Superman Returns, but I heard it was boring, which is not a good sign for a superhero movie. I thought Valkyrie was competent but not very nuanced; that story could and should have been so morally complex and messy, but it just wasn't. And then there's the fact that Singer was in on the attempted re-imagining that was shelved right before RDM took his crack at it. I worry that Singer will want to use or borrow heavily from that pre-re-imagined (and pre-9/11) series concept, which I think could be a big liability. I guess I just don't have much faith that this creative team is even shooting for nuance, complexity, and moral ambiguity, let alone that they could achieve something that would stand up against the re-imagined series.
Oh well; it's no skin off my nose. I'm always happy to be proven wrong when I don't have much faith in a project, so best of luck to them, but it's definitely not something I'll be rushing out to the theatres to see before I've read the reviews.
Also, there is going to be a Green Hornet movie. Isn't Hollywood going to run out of superheroes soon? I don't remember too much about the Green Hornet--I've seen a couple re-runs of the TV show, and it was my mom's favorite radio serial when she was a kid (in re-runs)--but that's not what piqued my interest. The cast is...not what one would expect for a superhero movie: Seth Rogan as the Green Hornet (??), Jay Chow as Kato, the Green Hornet's valet/sidekick (don't know him--he's in Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower, which I still haven't seen), Nicholas Cage as the bad guy, Cameron Diaz as the assistant/love interest, and Edward James Olmos as nobody knows what yet. That is quite the odd combination, but it gets odder: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; The Science of Sleep) is directing. I loved both of Gondry's films that I've seen, and I am really, really curious to see his take on a superhero movie. If nothing else, it'll be visually interesting, that's for sure. My feeling is such a strange mix will either produce something great and unique or a total train wreck, but a very interesting train wreck nonetheless.
The rumors are true: there's a BSG movie in the works, but helmed by Bryan Singer (X-Men; Superman Returns; Valkyrie) and the producer of the original cheesy 1970s BSG, Glen Larson. This combination means that the movie almost certainly will not be set in the RDM re-imagined 'verse (Larson really hates the re-imagined series), and it will either be a continuation of the original series, or, more likely, an entirely different re-imagining. I recognize the irony of someone who's a fan of the re-imagined series, not to mention a fanfic writer, criticizing a reboot of a franchise, but I have to admit, I'm baffled as to why anyone thinks it's a good idea to be rebooting the series again, within a year or two of the end of the re-imagined BSG.
I have two main reasons for this concern: I think the reboot is coming too soon, and I have little faith that this creative team in particular will do something compelling and interesting with the premise.
I understand the appeal of doing multiple versions of the BSG story. It's a compelling premise, one that's probably been around almost as long as storytelling itself. Think about it: BSG is essentially Exodus if the Egyptian armies hadn't been swallowed up in the Red Sea. The re-imagined series added the twist of making us wonder, sometimes, which side was supposed to be the Egyptians and which side was the Israelites, but still, that story of being on the run and searching for a new home in a promised land is an old, old story that strikes a chord with a lot of people. It's a story that can and should be reused and revamped for different times and situations because, as the re-imagined series shows, it provides great opportunities to push characters to their limits and ask big questions about who we are and what we're willing to give up in the balancing act between morality and survival.
The problem with rebooting BSG now is that, though the series wasn't perfect, I think it's fair to say that the re-imagined series was a very interesting reflection of a post-9/11 mindset. It certainly didn't say everything there was to say about contemporary society, but I think it covered enough pertinent points that anyone who wanted to make another thoughtful, contemporary BSG would have to overlap so much with the re-imagined series that it would look like a copy-cat rather than a reboot. And the other alternative, making something that's not a thoughtful reflection on contemporary concerns but rather just a shoot'em-up popcorn flick, is not only something I don't want to watch, but inevitably is going to make it pale in comparison to the re-imagined series. If somebody twenty years from now was talking about re-imagining BSG to reflect modern views of those concerns, I would say more power to them. Even RDM and some of the actors have mentioned in passing "when someone makes a new version of this thirty, forty years from now," which shows that they recognize that the concept has the potential to be re-visited again as society changes and our concerns and ideals shift. It's just too soon for anyone to likely have something vastly different to say with the same concept.
Perhaps if there were different names attached to the project, I might give it the benefit of the doubt and figure that they wouldn't do it unless they had a new and interesting approach that was still socially relevant, but Larson and Singer don't inspire any hope in me. Like I said, Larson liked his original, campy version and didn't like the re-imagined version at all. This does not bode well. And though I liked Singer's X-Men movies, that's not enough to get me excited about this project. I haven't seen Superman Returns, but I heard it was boring, which is not a good sign for a superhero movie. I thought Valkyrie was competent but not very nuanced; that story could and should have been so morally complex and messy, but it just wasn't. And then there's the fact that Singer was in on the attempted re-imagining that was shelved right before RDM took his crack at it. I worry that Singer will want to use or borrow heavily from that pre-re-imagined (and pre-9/11) series concept, which I think could be a big liability. I guess I just don't have much faith that this creative team is even shooting for nuance, complexity, and moral ambiguity, let alone that they could achieve something that would stand up against the re-imagined series.
Oh well; it's no skin off my nose. I'm always happy to be proven wrong when I don't have much faith in a project, so best of luck to them, but it's definitely not something I'll be rushing out to the theatres to see before I've read the reviews.
Also, there is going to be a Green Hornet movie. Isn't Hollywood going to run out of superheroes soon? I don't remember too much about the Green Hornet--I've seen a couple re-runs of the TV show, and it was my mom's favorite radio serial when she was a kid (in re-runs)--but that's not what piqued my interest. The cast is...not what one would expect for a superhero movie: Seth Rogan as the Green Hornet (??), Jay Chow as Kato, the Green Hornet's valet/sidekick (don't know him--he's in Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower, which I still haven't seen), Nicholas Cage as the bad guy, Cameron Diaz as the assistant/love interest, and Edward James Olmos as nobody knows what yet. That is quite the odd combination, but it gets odder: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; The Science of Sleep) is directing. I loved both of Gondry's films that I've seen, and I am really, really curious to see his take on a superhero movie. If nothing else, it'll be visually interesting, that's for sure. My feeling is such a strange mix will either produce something great and unique or a total train wreck, but a very interesting train wreck nonetheless.