In surprising remake news, Walter Parkes, producer on this summer’s “Dinner For Schmucks” as well as the upcoming “Men In Black III,” is putting together a team to remake the 1948 film “The Fallen Idol.” The original film is notable as it was the first collaboration between director Carol Reed (“The Agony and the Ecstasy,” “The Running Man”) and writer Graham Greene, who followed it up with their noir great “The Third Man” a year later. David Farr, who is credited with the screenplay for the upcoming Joe Wright (“The Soloist,” “Atonement”) film “Hanna” will write the screenplay for this new adaptation.
The original film takes place in London where a young boy, Phillipe, develops a fanaticism towards the family butler, Baines, who entertains him with stories of adventure. When Phillipe witnesses the accidental death of the butler’s wife (as the couple argue over Baines’ longing for another woman) he believes he has witnessed an act of intentional murder. Despite this fact, the boy attempts to defend his hero against the authorities, but instead ends up exacerbating the butler’s perceived guilt.
Sharing producing duties with partner Laurie MacDonald under Studio Canal, Parkes will be developing the project with a piece of a $10 million deal from the Abu Dhabi Media Company . The update will be set in modern day India with the young English boy being converted to an 11-year-old American (the original Phillipe character was only 6). The butler and his wife will remain English and it sounds like the core of the story will remain the same. The location shift is meant to take advantage of the comparably visually grabbing environment as well as the clear surface level tensions between classes in India. The description of the remake almost echoes the tone of Steven Spielberg-directed “Empire of the Sun” (starring a young Christian Bale) as much as the original “Idol.”
While Parkes has a history leaning towards producing blockbusters, including the “Men In Black” series, “The Fallen Idol” remake could fit in snugly with projects like “The Kite Runner” on his resume. The scale of the remake is unstated at this point, but it will surely dwarf the original given the producer’s tendency towards larger films. Here’s a taste of the Reed-directed original.