An American Remake in London

Well, The Wolfman didn't improve on Rick Baker's makeup effects from An American Werewolf in London, now almost 30 years old, so maybe a new version of that old film will do the trick. Whether or not it works is irrelevant at this point; The Los Angeles Times reports we're getting the movie regardless. Dimension Films - a Weinstein child - is remaking the John Landis classic, one of the few movies in history that made such an impact in a technical category that they created an Oscar for it. And the project is pretty far along, I guess: Dimension has hired Fernley Phillips, who wrote the unsatisfying Jim Carrey film The Number 23 to handle the screenplay. Dimension has done this kind of thing before, or don't you remember Wes Craven's Cursed with Christina Ricci? That's not a favorable comparison for nearly anything. Of course, we had to get this remake eventually, because Hollywood still thinks every horror movie will do better the second time around. And they're cheap, which means they stand at least a decent chance of being profitable. Having said that, I think you could make more money just remastering and re-releasing the original film for its 30th anniversary. What would that cost in relative terms compared to a new version? And what does Dimension hope it makes back on the update? The sub-studio has really only made money on movies named Spy Kids, Scream, and Sin City, so if anything, this movie's starting with the wrong letter. Maybe they'll be superstitious and call it So...You're an American Werewolf in London? Fun fact: The Warren Zevon song came first.

Comments

[Roz Doyle]

Noooo! This film is a classic that doesn't get it's due on cable AT ALL. Therefore the younger generations won't even know the remake is a remake, they won't know the horror classic that the new film is trying to be. They won't know the Michael Jackson connection AT ALL. And 23 was not good so nobody associated w/it should be associated w/this remake. A mess.

[Tjei]

I don't get it, why studios save for Exorcist never put old movies in theaters. I mean they all spend money on shit remakes to lower the standard, occupy all the screens with these, so that no original film would earn anything. Why bother making new movies at all? Just close down moviemaking as a business and start movieshowing.

[Get The Big Picture]

Exorcist made almost 40 million 25 years later. Granted, they can't always do that, but positioned correctly, I think there's a better chance to go that route than to remake them. Of course, you can't launch a new franchise that way...