I pity the fool who remakes 80s classics

People of the 80s rejoice, Fox Pictures remake of The A-Team has been pushed back from a 2009 release to 2010. The director John Singleton has left the project and so has the only actor to be linked to playing any of the four characters. I personally am hoping that this project goes the way of the dodo and becomes extinct.
The actor linked to play B.A. Baracus (Mr T), was none other that Tyrese Gibson! No I'm not saying that hes a bad actor, its just that I don't think that there is anyone capable of filling those big gold chains, let alone the guy who so far has had secondary roles in 2 Fast, 2 Furious and Transformers.

There has been an influx of news relating to retro remakes of 1980s film and television of late, especially those concering artificial intelligence. The man who directing Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is now shooting Terminator Salvation, a re-boot of the cyborg franchise. Knight Rider has made a comeback to American TV screens this month, without David Hasslehoff. And rumours are strong that a script for a new Robocop movie are doing the rounds in Hollywood. There is also a planned franchise restart for Beverley Hills Cop, which some say is the only memory left that Eddie Murphy once had a career!

For the love of my childhood memories, this has to stop! I awaken every day fearing that the Variety or Empire wesbites will be carrying a story about Back to the Future 4 or Bill and Teds Lastest Adventure.

Ghostbusters has now been mooted for a comeback by many people in the film industry. Some say that it will be the reuniting of the old cast for one last, which could be good, others sources are stating a new cast (possibly Seth Rogan and the usual Judd Apatow movie suspects), which sounds all kinds of bad.

I think the final message to movie executives would be to find some new ideas, hire inspired people and not to get desperate enough to look backwards to cash in on previous successes. When you re-invent, re-start or re-imagine past movies, you are not just kick starting a commercial venture, you are playing with the happy memories of so many peoples childhood!

Geeks Invade Hollywood!

No you have not missed an assault on LA by spotty, spectacled individuals, what I am referring to is the increasing number of self confessed film geeks who have successful careers among the Hollywood elite.

The list includes people such as Quentin Tarrantino, Simon Pegg (pictured right with fellow film fanatic Nick Frost), Edgar Wright, J.J Abrams and Judd Apatow.

Looking at the projects this type of person takes part in, the pure passion and enthusiasm (often bordering on obsession) comes to the fore. Tarrantino has a habit of recreating classic feelings in his movies, such as the Eastern matial arts tone of Kill Bill vol.1 and the old Western atmosphere of Kill Bill vol.2. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have created films that pack a huge amount of cultural referencing into the running time. And finally J.J Abrams who has reinvented the monster genre with Cloverfield and has now turned his attention to the re-building of the Star Trek franchise with a prequel to the original series.

People who live and breath for celluloid seem to be drawn towards each other by some cinematic version of gravity. J.J Abrams has cast Simon Pegg to play a young Scotty in his new Star Trek, Tarrantino has lent his voice to the commentary on the US DVD release of British TV sitcom Spaced (starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and directed by Edgar Wright) and Edgar Wright has moved into a flat in LA above Tarrantino's cinema.

This revolution has been welcomed by people the world over, as it gives people who are crazy about film the hope that with enough passion, a career in the world they love is attainable. I know this, because I am one of them!