For the love of all that’s good and right in this world…

5 comments February 3rd, 2009

… don’t let them make this SLAP SHOT remake.

From VARIETY:

“Universal Pictures is ready to drop the puck on its SLAP SHOT remake, setting Dean Parisot to direct the redo of the 1977 hockey comedy classic.”

If you’ve never seen SLAP SHOT, you might think it’s just a bunch of scenes of the Hanson Brothers skating around the rink, beating the hell out of everybody. Oh, there’s plenty of that — don’t get me wrong. But the original SLAP SHOT is such a movie of its time, showing the desperation in a dying rust-belt city in the late ’70s and how a local hockey team — even a not-very-good team — means something to the town, the people and the players. Paul Newman often called it his favorite of all his films, and there’s no doubt that the role of the player/coach who leads these goofballs let him cut loose in ways his more prestige roles never did. SLAP SHOT’s not just another underdog sports movie, it’s a perfect snapshot of its time and a great, ribald comedy and a character piece and an underdog sports movie.

But wait. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the moviemakers have the right idea. Maybe they see what makes this movie special, and maybe they’ve got the talent to recreate it for a new audience. Maybe they know how difficult it is to remake a 1970s sports movie and keep that original edge alive. Maybe they realize box office success doesn’t mean everything.

“When (writer Peter) Steinfeld took the writing job and spoke about it last summer, Internet pundits were critical of the notion of updating a favorite sports film. Yet such nostalgic resistance certainly did not hurt THE LONGEST YARD remake, a global hit that grossed far more than the original.”

THE LONGEST YARD? The Adam Sandler LONGEST YARD? If that’s what they’re holding up as an example to strive for, uh oh.

But maybe this Parisot fellow has the talent to save this movie. What else has he done?

“Parisot last helmed a remake of another comedy FUN WITH DICK AND JANE.”

I repeat. Uh and oh.

Bonnie and Clyde meet Dr. Doolittle!

Add comment February 3rd, 2009

Today’s recommendation is not for a movie, but for a book — PICTURES AT A REVOLUTION: FIVE MOVIES AND THE BIRTH OF THE NEW HOLLYWOOD by Mark Harris. And it’s especially suitable for Oscar-time reading.

Using the 1968 Academy Awards as his starting point, Harris examines — in fascinating detail — the making of the five best picture winners: THE GRADUATE, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER, BONNIE AND CLYDE and DR. DOOLITTLE. He delves into dirt on the studios, discusses screenwriter and casting, and gives you a real sense of what it was like to be on the set of these five very different movies.

Here’s the cover of the hardback edition, with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty as Bonnie and Clyde, but the paperback version is set to hit stores today. It’s a fun read, and it really paints a picture of how different the movie business was 40 years ago.