Collider has gotten their hands on a stack of promo photos and synopses from the American Film Market and we’ve sorted through to give you the, ahem, *cough*, “highlights.” As we previously reported, the long completed and totally forgotten Penelope Cruz and Adrien Brody bullfighter film, “Manolete” is still looking for someone to buy the film, and at the very least, release it on DVD. That might be the fate of many iff-sounding AFM films frankly. This most recent crop isn’t anything to get excited about.
Remakes:
Transplanting British thrillers that starred Bob Hoskins to American soil seems to be a developing trend with two ill-advised remakes being hustled at AFM.
“Mona Lisa” – Way back in May, it was reported that a remake of Neil Jordan’s “Mona Lisa” was going to be under way with Larry Clark directing and Mickey Rourke starring. From there Rourke said he’d hoped to convince Mick Jagger to take a role.Well, someone wants for money for it as its up for grabs on the festival floor. The synopsis is pretty much identical to the original except it appears to be taking place in the American North East, with its final showdown set for Niagara Falls. It appears that Clark is still attached, but as he’s currently filming “Savage Innocent” (aka “Wild Child”), and with the safe guess that Rourke has moved on, we imagine producers are at square one with the project, seeking financing to get things rolling.
“The Long Good Friday” – At least with Larry Clark there is a potential for an interesting take on whatever remake material he tackles, but the idea of video game movie hack Paul W.S. Anderson attempting to put his spin on “The Long Good Friday” makes us hope that this project dies a horrible, fiery death. The original, 1980 film by director John Mackenzie, is revered because aside from its crime flick through line, it was very much a film of a particular time and place, that resonated deeply with viewers. Anderson’s version will take place in Miami, will most certainly have no political and cultural undercurrents, will probably involve Milla Jovovich and most definitely will thoroughly suck. Here’s hoping we’re not the only ones who think this has disaster written all over it.
Romance:
“Small Town Saturday Night” – We’ll let the official synopsis for this one speak for itself: “Days before leaving for Nashville, Rhett Ryan (Chris Pine) discovers that the desire to follow his dream of becoming a singer-songwriter will get in the way of being with the woman he loves. While Samantha does loves him, she starts to realize what’s best for her daughter and their future may not be what’s best for him.” We’re sure that in Ryan Craig’s feature film debut, Rhett and the woman will find a way to stay together. This appears to be a low budget affair, as Pine is the only big name attached to the picture. The supporting cast includes John Hawkes, and a host of lesser known character actors. According to IMDB, there are no domestic or international distributors attached, though the sweet sounding story will probably ensure that it gets picked up before the week is through. Uhh, or either that or it will limp onto DVD.
“Earthbound” – Kate Hudson plays a carefree woman who “never lets herself experience love, preferring to keep her relationships light and easy.” Gael Garcia Bernal “is a successful doctor who has grown a hardened exterior from years of being the bearer of bad news. His detachment prevents him from getting close to anyone.” The last line of the synopsis pretty much summarizes this perfectly: “‘Earthbound’ is a surprisingly funny and heartfelt story that proves sometimes laughter is the best type of medicine.” Uggghhhhhh. The only reason we’re bothering with this is that Bernal is usually quite good, but the film appears to be quite a left turn not only for him, but for director Nicole Kassell who previously helmed the sober drama, “The Woodsman.” According to the one sheet production starts on January 18th in New Orleans, and we’re guessing domestic distribution is probably close to being sorted out. It’s probably left to see what international territories want to take on another Kate Hudson rom-com.
Reboots:
“Hellraiser” – Okay, okay it’s only one reboot, but we wanted to keep the alliterative headline. The original Clive Barker “Hellraiser” came out a little over twenty years ago, so we guess someone, somewhere wants to bring back Pinhead for a “new generation of viewers.” A new version of “Hellraiser,” based on Clive Barker’s book “The Hellbound Heart” is being shopped around the market floor. Horror reboots these days tends to mean just coating a nubile young cast in grease, cranking up the volume and making lots of quick edits. We’re sure someone will take on the franchise as every studio in town wants their own “Saw,” but we couldn’t be less interested.