Tippi Hedren Calls 'Birds' Remake "Insulting"

I wonder where the outrage was when Tippi Hedren appeared in a made-for-TV version of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. That's a better film than The Birds, the movie that made Hedren a star back in the 1960s. Maybe it's because she appeared in one Hitch original and not the other that Hedren's terse comments about the proposed remake of The Birds seems so hypocritical. It's still unclear whether Platinum Dunes will go through with the update, which is rumored to have the attention of Naomi Watts. Earlier this year, producer Brad Fuller vented his frustrations about The Birds not coming together cleanly. "That's so hard...to get the script right," he admitted. "We continue, and we struggle, and I just don't have a ton to say about it until we've got something good." But if it does happen - and I'm sure Platinum Dunes (a sub-division of Michael Bay's Hair is Awesome, Inc.) will find a way since it paid handsomely for the rights - Hedren would find it "insulting." “To take a work of art like that and try to copy it is like trying to imitate the Mona Lisa,” Hedren snorted in The Daily Express on Sunday, invoking a tremendous amount of hyperbole. There are a handful of Hitchcock films that would be the cinematic equivalent of Mona Lisa, but not The Birds. Hedren threw a jab at the filmmakers, too, adding, “I think Hitch would call them tiny tots trying to make movies and ask why they don’t have an original thought in their heads.” I'd like to point out that Hitchcock remade his own film, The Man Who Knew Too Much, so clearly he wasn't an absolutist about such things. Oh, and did you know that Hedren not only took a paycheck for the inferior Shadow of a Doubt remake, but also co-starred in a 1990s TV movie called - wait for it - The Birds II: Land's End? Uh huh. Wonder what Hitch would've thought of that, Tippi.

Comments

[Mike]

Hypocritical or not, the sentiment is sane. I know I'm an anachronism these days for turning my back on pretty much any remake Hollywood churns out, but there are just some things you shouldn't fuck with, and Hitchcock is one of them (even his less-than-brilliant films, a category to which I agree The Birds belongs). It's like remixing a Beatles song (yes, I realize this has been done, too... but that doesn't mean it's okay).

Also, Hedren's post-Hitchcock career is a bit hard to criticize. Hitch basically blacklisted her for refusing to sleep with him, which is why she was only in two of his films when it appeared she was just breaking out as a major star after Marnie. Not that this diminishes your point regarding the hypocritical nature of her statement, but I've always felt a little bit of sympathy for her due to the circumstances (despite not being a fan of her as an actress... at all).

That said, virtually all of Hitchcock's films were based on previous works (usually books), so I don't think the "original thought" stance being hypothetically attributed to him carries much weight, either.

[SEAN]

Me being such a "dedicated" follower of this blog and knowing Colin you are a huge fan of Hitchcock so I must comment on this...

Kinda surprised your ok with the remake Colin, thought you'd love the original as it is and want no reinventing or remake at all but hey to each his own...

I very much kinda agree with (post above Mike) some things you shouldnt touch and Hitchcock is one of those few things...

But Naomi Watts would be perfect casting in my opinion, and if the script is "right" that might be something special...

But as of now Im on the fence for the project, and being that theres trouble trying to get the script together is not too encouraging...

[There is a difference.]

There is a difference between rethinking and redoing your own work as Hitchcock did with "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and someone else remaking someone elses work. Noone re-writes Pride and Predudice or any other novel. Noone repaints a Picasso. I agree that she is a hypocrite for saying that but I am not one for agreeing with her statements completely. Why not just re-release the originals. It is so depressing that when I complain about remakes, people always respond with, "That's a remake? "People do not even realize they are watching a remake. This is part of my issue with them, though I have so many other issues with them. The original work is overlooked and it is a shame. Only a philistine would disagree.