Posted on 04/23/2007 7:27:15 AM PDT by Borges
I can’t help passing along this passage from Wednesday’s Variety:
Cathy Schulman has made her first hires and promotions as president of Mandalay Pictures and Mandalay Independent Pictures. A highlight of the Mandalay Pictures’ slate at Universal is the remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” scheduled to be in production by early fall. “We think we have a very contemporary take,” Schulman said. “In the original, the birds just showed up, and it was kind of like, why are the birds here? This time, there’s a reason why they’re here and (people) have had something to do with it. There’s an environmental slant to what could create nature fighting back.”
Words fail me, much as the American educational system seems to have failed Ms. Schulman. Up next for Mandalay: Moby-Dick battles Japanese tuna fishermen.
Or Godzilla.
Anybody remaking ANY Hitchcock film is doomed to failure. How do you improve on perfection?
““In the original, the birds just showed up, and it was kind of like, why are the birds here?”
In the original did not the lady bird expert in the diner offer some environmental reason for the birds? Seems like she had some sort of theory. ?????
She was denying the attacks had any rhyme or reason.
Maybe it’s just that most of the movie makers these days are making crap. The remakes of Flight of the Phoenix and The Four feathers to name just two.
If the critics like it “Stay Away”.
It was the Love Birds......
I always got a kick out of how when the love birds are in the cage on the floor of the car they tilt slightly.
I have not see that movie for years and years. Perhaps PBS will show it on their old movie night.
Some are better. The Departed....wow can’t think of any more this past year...lol.
Sam Elliot was in that piece of crap?!?
yes he was......
The critics bit was about most movies that come out. I’ve found if the mainstream critics “Love” the movie I’ll hate it. With a 7 year old most of my movie time is now spent chomping popcorn at the animated films and stuff like Narnia.
We get it from both sides, from folks who think that a stripper with a machine gun leg is "art" to the morons who attack the academy for not nominating dreck like Happy Feet and Veggie Tales for best picture.
part of the spookiness of hitchcock’s version was never knowing why the birds were there.
One of the most sure fire ways to screw up a horror story is to explain it. From highly cerebral horror like The Birds to cheesier fair like Halloween as soon as somebody starts explaining it goes to crap. How many Hitchcock fans actually watch the last 5 minutes of Psycho, an absolutely brilliant terrifying movie up until they explain Norman at the end.
or the dimestore Freudianism at the end of Marnie.
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