The bad news is that David Cronenberg‘s 1986 horror classic The Fly will be run through the gauntlet and given the remake treatment by Fox. The good news though, is that Cronenberg himself will be handling the directing duties here, and possibly even writing the script.
The ’86 film we’re all familiar with was also a remake of the original 1958 film of the same name, so this is no sacred desecration, either. The movies tell the story of a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who creates two vessels that will transport any object from one to the other, which if successful, would mean the creation of teleportation. While testing out his massive breakthrough, a small fly enters the vessel with him un-noticed, and the system becomes confused at the second life form. To fix this problem, it takes both the scientist and the fly’s genetic particles, and combines them. Over a period of time, he slowly transforms into a hideous and horrific human/fly hybrid and begins taking desperate measures to try and fix himself.
Studios may be on to something here. With the exciting announcement that Ridley Scott would be handling the return to his Alien world with a new prequel, and now this news, movie goers may start seeing better movies and expect original directors to be given the remakes. In most cases that would negate the definition of a remake, but it would also be a lot more easy to live with when a movie we love gets a makeover.
No word yet on who might star or when we may see The Fly remake.
[Source: THR]
I loved Cronenbergs original remake, I just dont see the need for this though.
Comment by scrotumbagmonkeyflicker — September 24, 2009 @ 2:21 pm
oh, i thought i was just watching a fly remake…no wait that was district 9.
Comment by mo — September 25, 2009 @ 7:06 am
I can understand why Alfred Hitchcock remade his 1934 film “The Man Who Knew Too Much” in 1956 — the original was a shoddy b-movie and Hitch was given a lush budget and total creative control for the remake. But why in God’s name would Cronenberg want to remake his own remake, which had an ample budget, special effects that (mostly) still hold up, and a great cast? It’s rare for a remake to become a classic in its own rite, but that’s exactly what happened with the ’86 version. Lightning sometimes strikes twice, but three times isn’t always a charm.
Comment by Vinnie Rattolle — September 25, 2009 @ 8:28 am
@Vinnie Rattolle: AGREED!
Isn’t Cronenberg suppose to be working on the sequel to “Eastern Promises” with Viggo Mortensen? I honestly rather see that movie come to fruition, or better yet, have Cronenberg work on a sequel to the overwhelmingly underrated sci-fi/horror flick “Event Horizon”
Comment by burning_chrome — September 25, 2009 @ 5:21 pm