The Wicker Man remake

[DB7]

BY CINDY PEARLMAN



Nic Cage will most likely star in a remake of the 1973 British film "The Wicker Man." "The original was a horror film about a policeman [played by Edward Woodward] sent to a small island to investigate the disappearance of a girl who finds a pagan society," director Neil LaBute says.



LaBute says he's moving the story to America. "Cage is attached to play [the cop]. He winds up on this island that's a very matriarchal society run by women who are direct descendants of pilgrims."



Who will play the babes? "The women range in age from 10 to 50. I think Angelina [Jolie] and Winona [Ryder] would be great choices," he says.

[HeatherMoore]

For over a year now the rumor mill has been wondering about The Wicker Man remake starring Nicolas Cage. The whole premise of the film sounds horrible to me, and not in a good 'horror' way:



1) Summerisle is taken out of Scotland and put just off American shores near Florida.



2) The folk who live off this island are supposedly matriarchal descendants of the first pilgrims. As a feminist, even I have to ask, "Matriarchal Puritans?!"



3) Or the martriarchal society is based on the Gullah culture, descendants of American slaves. This gives the film the oppurtunity to be both racist & sexist a la Serpent of the Rainbow style.

I suppose Cage's love interest/temptress would be Halle Berry instead of Lisa Bonet.



I'm from the States myself, and the whole idea of a non-UK Wicker Man remake just makes me ill. Not to mention that Nic Cage is not my first choice in replacing Ed Woodward's role as the stuffy Protestant policeman. Is it true that he managed to get his grimy mitts on the rights to The Wicker Man?

[DB7]

I did hear Christopher Lee had signed up for the project but after 2 years there seems to be no film in production.



As an aside, Robin Hardy is also filming an update of Wicker in Scotland called "May Day". (which also stars Lee)

[DB7]

Lee talks Wicker Man follow-up

http://www.moviehole.net/



Christopher Lee spoke to The Herald of his next feature "May Day", a follow-up (not sequel) to his cult classic "The Wicker Man".



Lee tells the paper he has no qualms about returning to The Wicker Man, which was made more than 30 years ago.



"It was the best film I ever made," he says. "But it's not the most successful. When you're talking about The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, you're talking astronomical figures. The Wicker Man has now become a cult film."



Lee says this with evident pride. "It was unlike anything anybody had ever seen, which is why it played very badly during its day, of course."



Nevertheless, Lee is excited about the film, in which grand dame Vanessa Redgrave will appear with him. "Same producer, same director," he says, "but it's not The Wicker Man. How can we make a sequel? It was a very definitive ending, wasn't it?" he says with a deep guffaw. "There are elements that you find in The Wicker Man: certain beliefs, the fact that we all sing, that it's funny, quite erotic and very alarming. And that it's a strange story set in Scotland."

[42ndStreetFreak]

If those damn Americans re-make this untouchable classic for their modern mall rat audience i will launch my own one man army invasion!!!!

[Paul E]

...and of course there would have to be an escape sequence as American audiences won't pay to see Nic Cage being toasted (I would though!)

[stuartfanning]

42ndStreetFreak:

If those damn Americans re-make this untouchable classic for their modern mall rat audience i will launch my own one man army invasion!!!!

'modern mall rat audience' Were you drunk when you came out with this nonsense? Otherwise it's a slur against Cinema audiences in the States and here, for that matter.

[42ndStreetFreak]

'modern mall rat audience' Were you drunk when you came out with this nonsense? Otherwise it's a slur against Cinema audiences in the States and here, for that matter.

Good. It was meant to be.

Most modern horror is passionaless, souless and too often moronic.

And there is a reason for that...too many of the audience are on the same level.



Hence the drop in standards on almost every film/horror messageboard with 5 second infomercial plebs posting 'sux', 'gay' and 'retarded' as supposed discussion and criticism.



Too many of the modern audience are as dumbed down and knuckle dragging as too much of society today shows, and the movies mirror that.



And that a classic like "The Wicker Man" is going to be re-made in this environment by passionless American suits for "dude that's so gay" spouting mall rats turns my stomach.



Sorry if it hit home.

[Clinton Morgan]

John Waters once said, about a planned Hollywood remake of 'Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', " Why do they want to remake the good films, surely they should remake the bad ones."



With that in mind maybe Nic Cage should appear in a remake of 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen' the worst British film I have ever seen.



I think the writer might be Neil LaBute. There was an interview with him of the type that went..."I know it's a loved classic but it is a flawed film because blah blah blah." Not realising it is the 'imperfections'and 'idiosyncracies' that make the film. I'd rather watch that than Michael Bay's shiny bombs in 'Pearl Harbor'.



No mention of a remake on Imdb or up-coming-movies so fingers crossed they might have abandoned the idea.

[Steve Crook]

Clinton Morgan:

John Waters once said, about a planned Hollywood remake of 'Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', " Why do they want to remake the good films, surely they should remake the bad ones."



[snip]

I agree with that sentiment but the answer, sadly, seems to be that they made money from a good film once so they think they can do it again. Hollywood is driven more by money than by any artistic consideration.



And if they offer the actors & directors enough money, it's very hard for them to resist.



Steve

[dar111]

i will launch my own one man army invasion!!!!

Good luck on your invasion and while you're here maybe you can give us a lesson in British "class" that we hear so much about.

[Clinton Morgan]

dar111:

a lesson in British "class" that we hear so much about.

A London Taxi Driver on then current Prime Minister, John Major:

"He said he wanted Britain to be a classless society. Well he's succeeded, we've got no class."

[Clinton Morgan]

SteveCrook:

Hollywood is driven more by money than by any artistic consideration.

And not just Hollywood. France is not just about 'Amelie' and '8 Women'. They've been making live action versions of 'Asterix and Obelix' and have made a film called 'Les Dalton' which is a live action adaptation of the Lucky Luke comic books. Also in Britain, film-makers had to struggle to get their project's made because companies/investors were looking for "the next*....." The computer animated 'Magic Roundabout' (to be called 'Sprung' in America) hasn't been made for creative reasons.



Are film-makers becoming a bit too business savvy nowadays what with various books and weekend courses you can go to? Whatever happened to fighting for one's artistic vision? Is Robert McKee to blame for the blandness of films that run on the principle of "Character A wants X but things get in his way until he gets X."?



*Four Weddings

Trainspotting

Full Monty

etc etc etc etc.

[DB7]

Nicolas Cage's Next is The Wicker Man

Source: Variety March 4, 2005





Nicolas Cage's next picture will be director Neil LaBute's remake of 1973 thriller The Wicker Man, with Millennium Films, Equity Pictures and Emmett/Furla Films producing, reports Variety.



LaBute adapted the screenplay, in which a sheriff investigates the disappearance of a young girl on a remote island off the coast of Maine. His hopes of unraveling the girl's disappearance become increasingly uncertain when he discovers evidence of pagan rituals.



The movie will begin production July 15 in Vancouver.

[mysteriesofedgarwallace]

Good God.



I wish the bloody Yank's would stop raping our Cinema heritage with only one interest; making money.

It makes me spit blood.

[Tony Pendrey]

"Cinema Heritage" may be a little too strong a term to be applied to "The Wicker Man". Remember that it was reviled opon it's release and has only come to be appreciated in relatively recent times. I love the original but when all is said and done it is just a film. The idea of a remake doesn't fill me with horror. The original still stands, and if US film producers feel that there can be a worthwhile "remake" then good luck to them. I was pleasantly suprised at the updated US version of "The Ladykillers". They kept suprisingly faithful to the original "classic".

[smudge]

Simply vote with your feet ; let them waste their money...



I didn't even sniff the remakes of THE ITALIAN JOB, THE LADYKILLERS and ALFIE. Why bother when I can sit at home and watch the originals in whatever format I desire ? And no rip-off popcorn either !



Only one good thing came out of these remakes ; my local cineplex decided to screen the one true ITALIAN JOB as a one-off classic screening. :grin:



A week later we had the proper GET CARTER as well.



Who knows, they might do the same with WICKER MAN ? Not that it'll persuade me to see the remake.



Now MAY DAY, that's another thing entirely....



SMUDGE

[Tony Pendrey]

"I didn't even sniff the remakes of THE ITALIAN JOB, THE LADYKILLERS and ALFIE. Why bother when I can sit at home and watch the originals in whatever format I desire ?"



Sorry Smudge, but why take that attitude ? It is possible to make a good film based on what we now think of as a "classic".



I can't comment on the remakes of "Alfie" or "The Italian Job" , but I re-iterate that the Tom Hanks version of "The Ladykillers" is a really good film.

[DB7]

Originally posted by smudge@Mar 4 2005, 03:07 PM

Now MAY DAY, that's another thing entirely....

Hardy could use the Doves version of Willow's Song.

[DB7]

Originally posted by Tony Pendrey@Mar 4 2005, 06:50 PM

Sorry Smudge, but why take that attitude ? It is possible to make a good film based on what we now think of as a "classic".

Sit thru Stallone's Get Carter (all the way, no cheating) then come back. The Italian Job remake had the most laughabloe 'Italian' connection and could have been retitled Ocean's 11 in Mini's.



Can't comment in an unbiased fashion about Hanks because I detest his films with a passion.