Did you ever have one of those dreams that's so vivid, you're convinced you're awake and it's real - Then an event in the dream wakes you up with start...and you realize it was all just a ghastly illusion? I'm praying we're all having one now.Last night, after a premiere for the new season of "Fringe", Fox treated us to a seven-minute trailer for their utterly inexcusable remake of, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still.' And the clip makes it painfully clear that the creative 'minds' responsible for this reprehensible re-hash have no comprehension of, nor probably any exposure to the peerless classic they were employed to defile.
In the 1951 version, Klaatu's sole purpose was to counsel the world and avert its destruction. All that has gone. Every trace of the elegant understatement and contemporary nuances of the original has been excised and replaced with the formulaic cocktail of ludicrous action scenes and endless explosions that Hollywood believes are a guaranteed hook for the acne-encrusted, iPod-packing twelve-year olds whose minuscule segment of the audience demographic is so often its unwavering focus.
This is, without question the single worst idea the studios have contrived since their last shameless display of creative vacuity. What's next, Lindsey Lohan in 'Sound of Music 2' ? Or can we expect to suffer the brain-chilling spectacle of Jessica Simpson in ruby slippers, with Ryan Seacrest as the Scarecrow? [Yes, I know - not exactly a role that would 'stretch' him creatively.]
The movie industry has been a vital organ in this glorious nation's culture for over eighty years. It employs thousands of people and generates billions in revenue - Even at a time when the country is flirting with economic collapse. But audiences are shrinking. With the economy in turmoil, more people are opting to stay home and use Netflix and similar options. Others are downloading and viewing online or on PS3's. The audience and their options are changing, and the only sure way for the Hollywood 'system' to survive and prosper in this evolving landscape is to make new and original movies that will attract and enrapture a new theatre audience, instead of expecting them to endure and delight in an unending litany of sequels and remakes that show no comprehension of the original's story or meaning.
Like Klatu, this movie teaches us unpalatable lessons: 1) The sole reason for its existence is to exploit [and desecrate] a classic,...and 2) This will not, by any means be the last time that is done.
Okay, waking up now in 3....2....1........actor, blog, blogging, carpet, celebrity, DVD, entertainment, fame, film, health, Hollywood, income, media, money, movie, series, soap, television, video
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