Another Bad Remake Idea: The Birds

Let me just bypass my usual rant on the over dependence of Hollywood on remakes of movies and movies based on old TV shows and get right to it.

Remaking Alfred Hitchcock’s classic The Birds is a very bad idea.

I don’t care if Martin Campbell is directing (he’s the guy who did the most excellent and recent James Bond movie Casino Royale). I also don’t care if Naomi Watts is set to star.

This breaks 3 of the 5 rules of when it’s OK to remake a film:

-The original is terribly dated in either setting or pacing and style.

Um, no. The orginal was released in 1963, but it doesn’t feel dated. It feels like a look back in time. And although the pacing is slower than today’s movies, it’s not painfully slow - it’s just right at building the dread and suspense of what’s happening.

- The original is not terribly well known or beloved.

Hitchcock’s The Birds is a classic and deservedly so.

- The original was basically pretty cheesy or tongue-in-check in tone and most folks wouldn’t care if it was remade.

Obviously the original does not fall into this category.

Tippi Hedron, who starred in the orginal version gives her thoughts on the idea of a remake of the film here:

I agree with her completely not just in regards to a remake of The Birds but to remakes in general.

There are tons and tons of scripts floating around Hollywood, many of them excellent, by hungry screenwriters trying to break into the business. Unfortunately the gatekeepers are basically clerks who make the decision as to whether a script gets sent on up to a higher level or is just discarded. No doubt in the interest of job security they prefer to send through stuff that is obviously more “money” and has a better chance of appealing to the execs than something that may be geniunely original and interesting but has no history to guarantee name recognition.

Yes, original movies are still made, but more and more films are being based on previous films, TV shows, and worst of all, video games. I know you guys can’t help yourselves, but for crying out loud at least have the sense to know which films to leave alone!

Films by Alfred Hitchcock should be a no-brainer.

Source: MTV Movies

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