Monday
01Dec
Kelsey Grammer Wants to Live Forever, Learn How to Fly
Monday, December 1, 2008 at 4:00AM
It didn't dawn on me while watching his recent Dr.
Pepper commercial, but after this bit of new I have to wonder: Did
Kelsey
Grammer not take care of his money? I mean, playing Frasier Crane on
Cheers made him a wealthy man, but playing that character for another
dozen years or whatever it was on Frasier made him obscenely rich. So why
in the name of David Hyde-Pierce is he joining the cast of the
Fame remake?
Grammer will join Megan Mullally, Charles S. Dutton, Bebe Neuwirth, and Debbie Allen in the cast, and of course, Neuwirth spent 20 years popping up as Frasier's bitter half, Lilith. They'll all play teachers and school administrators in the remake, which has already begun filming and will be released on September 25th, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Said MGM's Mary Parent in carefully chosen words that were likely first strung together by someone in the studio's marketing department, "This picture is a celebration, a testament to people pursuing their dreams, so we set out to find talented actors who could both convincingly instruct onscreen and also inspire audiences."
Now, as such things go, all five of those actors have plenty of training for the stage, with some Julliard, Yale, and American School of Ballet thrown in among a couple of Tony Awards, so it's actually good casting when you think about it.
Remakes are a pretty hot topic, and it seems like whenever we talk about one, the common response is that there's no originality in Hollywood. That's patently untrue. But originality doesn't always sell, and if you want original so badly, stop giving half a billion dollars to Batman movies. I don't care one way or the other about a Fame remake. The original film was neither too good nor too bad for a remake. It's completely harmless. Even if they made an "original" movie about the same thing, it would basically be Fame anyway, so what's the difference?
Still, you'd think Grammer would be content just sitting on the beach in Maui.
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Casting Couch, Fame, Remakes | Print Article | Email Article | 1 Comment
Reader Comments (1)
The biggest difference I can see is that the original Fame was directed by Alan Parker ( Midnight Express, Missisippi Burning, Bird, the Committments). This remake is being helmed by a former (?)reality TV director. I think the film from the 80's actually holds up pretty well. As for this one, my expectations are low