This Sunday night we honor the great films of 2011 with The 84th Annual Academy Awards. Following that prestigious event, audiences and Hollywood will turn their attention to 2012. What movies will slay box offices? What talents will break through into the spotlight? And what films will capture the attention of the next award season? While I don’t have a crystal ball, I have managed to pinpoint 12 films to put on your movie-going radar this year.
The Dark Knight Rises
It’s the final installment in Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed Batman trilogy, and even though the film doesn’t hit theaters until July, some midnight showings are already sold out. According to MetaCritic, the rumored $250 million production features even more scenes filmed in the IMAX format than 2008's The Dark Knight, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway join the already stellar returning cast. Needless to say, this film is way worthy of all the buzz and buildup.
The Hunger Games
This pick doesn’t need much explanation. The amazing book trilogy will now be a four-part film franchise. It will most likely satiate the movie-going needs of both Twi-Hards and Potterites alike, plus all the rest of us who love either the book series, Jennifer Lawrence, dystopian tales, or all of the above. The buzz on this film is boiling over, so thank goodness it comes out in a month. Watch the trailer here.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Cue the collective groans. I know you’re thinking “Another Spider-Man? C’mon!”But if Christopher Nolan proved anything with his Batman franchise, it’s that reboots can not only be vastly better than the originals, but bring in a lot more bucks, too.
Directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and starring The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield and Hollywood sweetheart Emma Stone, the film is based more on the comic book series.Couple these factors with audiences’ overwhelming adoration for all things Spidey, and methinks this will be quite the blockbuster. Plus the trailer looks awesome.
Gangster Squad
Director Ruben Fleischer has changed his pace, switching from modestly budgeted action-comedy like Zombielandand 30 Minutes or Less to a true crime drama set in late 1940s Los Angeles. Not intrigued yet? Well, I have two words for you: Ryan Gosling. Yes, the man of 2011 is staking his claim on 2012, too. Supporting the Gos is Sean Penn, who plays infamous gangster Mickey Cohen, a mogul who started as muscle for Al Capone in Chicago. Gosling and Josh Brolin play the two coppers determined to bring him down. And Emma Stone is the femme fatale coming between them.
The Avengers
Another superhero flick has made my 2012 list. But how could this one not? Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayerand Fireflyfame co-writes and directs. In the film, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor (each of whom had their own movies) team up with Nick Fury, Hawkeye, the Incredible Hulk, and Black Widow to stop Thor’s brother Loki from destroying the world. All these superheroes are sure to deliver a lot of great action. Fingers crossed this doesn’t turn into the New Year’s Eveof superhero movies, though.
Cosmopolis
Originally this film wasn’t on my radar in the slightest, but then The Early Wordreported that Cosmopolis beat out Breaking Dawn, Pt. 2 and The Hunger Games in MTV’s Movie Brawl for Must-See Movie of 2012. So how did it win millions of votes? While Eastern Promiseswas incredible, it most likely wasn’t director David Cronenberg that swayed voters. And even though he is loveable, it probably wasn’t Paul Giammati either.
More likely, voters literally went weak in the knees for R. Pat. Yes, Cosmopolis, based off Don DeLillo’s 2003 novel,stars Robert Pattinson. Fans seemed to have banded together to show their support for the heartthrob’s post-vampire career. In addition to MTV, this film also made Paste Magazine and The Playlist’s film previews. Why? All the non-Pattinson reasons listed above.
The Hobbit
Fans of The Lord of the Rings franchise have long been clamoring for a big-screen, big-budget adaptation of The Hobbit. According to Yahoo! Movies, “a change of directors, lawsuits, and the aforementioned bankruptcy of MGM delayed things for a while,” but Peter Jackson is intending to deliver around Christmastime of 2012. If the Oscar-winning first three films and the teaser trailer are any indication, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey should be dazzling.
Brave
Pixar is finally making way for a female protagonist. They’re also venturing away from the world of sequels. Set in the Scottish highlands, Brave focuses on a 10th century Scottish princess named Merida. Pixar delivers when it comes to movies, so it’s no surprise that Brave made just about every 2012 film preview.
Skyfall
After some MGM drama and many rumors, the next Daniel Craig Bond film is happening. With Javier Bardem starring as the villain and Sam Mendes directing, there’s much excitement swirling around the 23rdBond film. Featuring a completely original storyline—that’s right, no Ian Fleming novel here—the film follows Agent 007 as he hunts down the people who attacked MI6, while struggling with his relationship with boss M.
Prometheus
Originally a prequel to Alien, but now simply set in that universe, Ridley Scott has returned to his sci-fi roots for Prometheus. While details of the film are fairly under wraps, we do know it stars the man who can do no wrong, Michael Fassbender, and the original girl with dragon tat, Noomi Rapace. According to The Playlist, “it’s about a team of explorers who discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe.” Need your interest furthered piqued? Check out the teaser trailer below.
Breaking Dawn Pt. 2
Whether you’re a diehard fan or just happy to see this series end, it’s hard to deny Breaking Dawn, Pt. 2 as an anticipated film of 2012. But that’s what many did. Out all the lists I reviewed, only Yahoo! Movieslisted Breaking Dawn, Pt. 2 on their film preview. Perhaps four movies were too many for most.
Slated for a November 2012 release, the film will follow newly made vampire Bella and her hubby Edward as they team up with other vampire clans as well as Jacob and his werewolves to protect their hybrid baby from the Volturi. Now those of us who have read the books know this whole plot isn’t as climactic as it sounds, but if the rest of the films are any indication, director Bill Condon and his team are sure going to try to make this final the most epic ever.
Additional 2012 Flicks to Get Excited About
The Bourne Legacy
World War Z
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Moonrise Kingdom
Gravity
Men in Black III
The Wettest Country
Dog Fight
Django Unchained
The Great Gatsby
The Master
Argo
Dark Shadows
Lincoln
What movies are you most anticipating in 2012? Did I miss any? Share your thoughts in the comments section below or on Twitter: @midwesttape #filmpreview.
Not entirely surprising, the year’s most well-reviewed and award-season-worthy films turned out to be the ones flying relatively under the radar. But what were 2011’s best films? Ask any Twihard and they’ll say Breaking Dawn; ask the Potterites and they’ll tell you to give the Best Picture Oscar to the entire Harry Potter franchise. Needless to say, “best” is always debatable. Still, here’s my round-up of the top movies of 2011.
Rarely do comedies, especially raunchy, R-rated ones, get their due. This year, though, Bridesmaids changed all that. While Judd Apatow applied his usual formula to the plot, the result was vastly better than any of his previous works. Many critics spent all their time talking about gender and how this film proves that women are, in fact, quite hilarious. But to focus purely on that actually discredits this film.
MovieFonesays it best: “Bridesmaids proves that no joke is too raunchy and toilet humor knows no gender. While critics were too busy talking about what this movie means for ‘women in comedy,’ Bridesmaids simply did one thing: tell great jokes. Above and beyond everything else this year, this movie united its audience; man or woman, young or old, the overwhelming majority of viewers laughed their asses off at it, and turned it into a monster hit.”
If any comedy deserves to receive a Best Picture nomination from the academy, it’s this one.
Full of unexpected surprises, The Descendants, directed pitch-perfectly by Alexander Payne (Sideways), dishes out laughs and tears. It’s George Clooney’s performance, though, that truly makes this film. Many say this is the performance of Clooney’s career (with Batman & Robin coming in as a close second—kidding!) What draws me to this film, though, is the screenplay. The story is engrossing and relatable from start to finish.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
My favorite film of 2010 was David Fincher’s The Social Network. No surprise then that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo made my year in review. Granted, I was once a skeptic of this film, but I have since been converted. Honestly, I was hook, line, and sinker as soon as I saw the trailer. The film, though, does live up to the hype, including Rooney Mara, who is a complete revelation as Lisbeth.
So why see this film if you’ve already seen the Swedish version? According to Entertainment Weekly, “Fincher and his splendid cast…do what the 2009 Swedish film version couldn't: They tease out the full mythological grandeur of the material. They have made a 21st-century vision of women who recoil from, or take revenge on, the men who fear and loathe them.”
The Artist
A black-and-white silent film set in Old Hollywood is now the favorite for awards season? If you’re wondering how, look no further than the director and his cast. As Rolling Stoneputs it: “…director Michel Hazanavicius has style to burn and unexpected soul. Jean Dujardin is stupendous as the screen idol who resists talkies until a perky starlet (Bérénice Bejo) convinces him that art should never be afraid to embrace new forms.” This film, though, teaches us to appreciate old forms. It is also a complete crowd-pleaser—go ahead, try not to smile while watching The Artist.
This film is currently the Best Picture favorite for the Oscars. If it were to win, it’d be the first silent film to take home the award since 1927’s Wings.¹
Drive 2011 might very well be the year of Gosling. He breaks up street fights, loves his dog, and has inspired a few internet memes. He also stars in many solid films, one in particular being the super-cool Drive. While Gosling doesn’t say much in this flick, he puts on an amazing performance. The film also boasts several awesome car chase scenes and a great soundtrack. It’s also completely unexpected: “Drive looks like one kind of thriller in the ads, and it is that kind of thriller, but also another and a rebuke to most of the movies it looks like,” says Roger Ebert.
Hugo It’s true: Martin Scorsese directed a family-friendly movie based on a book and shot in 3D. And surprise! It’s phenomenal. Based off The Invention of Hugo Cabret,Hugo is Scorsese’s love letter to cinema. It enchants and delights; the typically unnecessary 3D effect is quite effective; and most importantly, it “reminds us all of why the movies are a place to see dreams come true.”²
The Help actually didn’t make that many “best of” lists—not compared to the rest of the films in this recap, anyway. But I saw it; I liked it; and I completely understand why there’s Oscar buzz circling around Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. In addition to their (and Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard’s) brilliant performances, this movie has a great plot arc, solid dialogue, and as much humor as heart.
There was some controversy surrounding it, as MovieFone points out: “…there are a lot of reasons The Help shouldn't work—mostly because it puts Hollywood gloss on the civil rights movement and hedges a bit into white-savior myth territory." But social implications aside, "this is just old-fashioned moviemaking of the highest order.”
I did not like Vicky Cristina Barcelona, so I was a bit nervous about this flick. However, after many good reviews, I gave it a whirl and was more than pleasantly surprised. I loved it. Touted by many as Woody Allen’s best film in years, Midnight in Paris is at once a love letter to Paris and a fabulous daydream for lit majors. It also pokes fun at people’s disappointment with modernity and their subsequent nostalgic yearning for past golden eras. I'd yearn, too, if it got me a trip to Paris and a chance to hang with Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, and Josephine Baker.
Talk about Oscar bait. However, this film released pre-award season, so it has since been frequently overshadowed. While it probably won’t be up for Best Picture, Clooney may find he has some competition in the Best Actor category. Brad Pitt hits it out of the park with his performance as eccentric and flamboyant Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane. And director Bennett Miller, doing his first film since Capote, sticks to the book and, according to The Chicago Tribune, “has asserted his rightful place on the shortlist of excellent American directors.”
War Horse
War Horse is a movie you see during Christmas weekend. It is family-friendly and cinematically gorgeous. It is light-hearted, yet it tugs hardcore on your heartstrings. And it makes you leave the theater wanting to be a better person…and wishing you had a pet horse. Perhaps these are the reasons it has been so well-reviewed. It may also be the reason it hasn’t made that many “best of” lists. It intentionally runs you through an emotional ringer, and it is schmaltzy, “but in the best way possible—a throwback to a time when people put aside their differences for the greater good. In 2011, that idea is quaint; perhaps War Horse will remind everyone that quaint isn't always bad.”³
Deemed “the sleeper hit of the year” by MovieFone, Beginners stars Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor convincingly playing father and son. This semiautobiographical drama is immensely original and very smart. “The movie isn't for every taste,” says Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly. “But that's exactly what I love about Beginners: It's as true to its own character as the men in this optimistic tale are to theirs.”
Elizabeth Olsen steps out of the shadow of her sisters and all their zany adventures. This movie about identity is carried by the performances of Olsen, who plays a girl who escapes a cult, and Winter’s Bone’s John Hawkes, who plays the cult’s sinister leader. Raw emotions and dread fill this movie, and many have touted it as, coincidentally, this year’s Winter’s Bone. Here’s hoping it skyrockets Olsen’s career like Bone did for Jennifer Lawrence, who happens to star in my most anticipated movie for 2012, The Hunger Games.
50/50—based on the true story of Seth Rogen and his friend Will Reiser—is a touching yet hilarious buddy comedy that takes place during Reiser’s extensive cancer treatment. In the flick, Rogen essentially plays himself, but Reiser, who wrote the screenplay, is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In What’s Your Number?, Anna Faris is a down-on-her-luck thirty-something who revisits all her past relationships in the hopes of finding true love—and not increasing her number of partners—with the help of Captain America, I mean, her neighbor, played by Chris Evans.
What’s funnier than competitive bird watching? Why, a movie about it starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Steve Martin, of course! The Big Year, a comedybased on a nonfiction book about the 1998 Big Year bird watching competition, hits theaters October 14th.
Lastly, heist-comedy Tower Heist has quite the all-star cast and, even though it’s been in the works for over five years, the film is still as timely as ever. A group of employees at a Trump-esque apartment complex decide to steal $20 million from one of the residents when that Bernie Madoff-ish resident loses all their pension funds in a Ponzi scheme.
Off the Beaten Path
Martha Marcy May Marlene was the all the rage at this past Sundance Film Festival. This is writer-director Sean Durkin’s first feature, and many have labeled it “this year’s Winter’s Bone.” While Martha Marcy May Marlene does star John Hawkes, the female lead is not Jennifer Lawrence. Instead, Elizabeth Olsen, younger sister to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, plays the title character who struggles to adapt to a normal life after she escapes a cult.
Are you ready for a mix of melodrama and horror? Then be sure to check out Antonio Banderas in The Skin I Live In. In director Pedro Almodóvar’s first film since Broken Embraces, “Banderas plays a plastic surgeon haunted by the deaths of his wife and daughter and obsessed with creating an indestructible synthetic skin.”¹ Elena Anaya plays his test subject, a woman he’s holding captive in his home.
Did Shakespeare really pen his famed plays? This is the question director Roland Emmerich addresses in Anonymous, which presents Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford (played by Rhys Ifans), as the true Bard. Initial reaction to this flick has been mixed with many questioning the directorial choice: “Roland Emmerich (2012, The Day After Tomorrow) and period drama go together like oil and water.”² However, as Metacritic explains, “if you like a good conspiracy theory and British costume dramas, this one might be right for you.”
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy is an atypical love story. It isn’t about the first kiss or first intimate moment. It’s about an L.A. guy and a London lady who fall madly in love during college and then must navigate a long-distance relationship when her visa expires and she’s sent back to Britain. While some worry the premise may produce something hokey and contrived, others are predicting it to be “a genuine and moving love story for a new generation.”² If the trailer is any indication, the stars of this film will certainly validate the initial praise.
Controversial director Lars Von Trier returns in November with Melancholia, a film about two sisters (Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg) who find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with the Earth. Dunst apparently hits it out of the park, which may be this film’s saving grace after Trier’s Cannes hullabaloo.
Family-Focused Features
It’s been 18 years since Free Willy, so we were definitely due for a heartwarming boy befriends/saves marine mammal feel-good family flick. And while Dolphin Tale doesn’t have a quintessential Michael Jackson jam as its theme song, it does outdo Free Willy in two ways: 1.) It’s based on a true story and 2.) It stars Winter, the actual dolphin the story is based on. It has faced some stiff-competition at the box office, squaring off against Lion King 3D, but the film has been well received by audiences and critics alike.
While some see Puss in Boots as merely an opportunity to further milk the Shrekfranchise, others see it as this fall’s most anticipated film. It has a family-friendly PG rating, the Shrek style of humor and offbeat fairy tale appeal, and Antonio Banderas teaming up with Desperado costar Salma Hayek for an on-screen feline romance. Plus, it’s Puss. He pretty much made Shreks 2-4. Just watch the trailer:
The Muppets are returning. Yes, you read correctly. The Muppets are back, and in this re-launch, Jason Segal and Nicholas Stoller of Forgetting Sarah Marshall fame have penned a hilarious script replete with “all of the song and dance numbers, celebrity cameos, and offbeat Muppet humor fans have come to expect from Kermit and the rest of the gang.”³ In this adventure, Segel and Amy Adams team up with their Muppet friends to save the Muppet Theater from being demolished by an oil tycoon.
Martin Scorsese is literally bringing the bestselling book The Invention of Hugo Cabret to life—it’s in 3D! Staring Hit Girl from Kick-Ass (Chloë Moretz) as well as Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Jude Law, Hugo is about a 12-year-old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station in 1931 and, when he inherits an automaton from his late father, commences a wonderfully fantastical adventure. This film is quite the change of pace for Scorsese, “master of gritty urban dramas,” but he is a master nonetheless and books-to-film are all the rage, so why not? It may just surprise us all this holiday season.⁴
That wraps up part two of News & Views’ fall film preview. Now it’s your turn. What films are you, your library, and your patrons looking forward to most?
Temperatures and leaves may be falling, but the race for awards season is just heating up. Last week I detailed what albums you should look forward to this fall. In this preview, I tackle the topic of film. For part one, let’s discuss blockbusters and Oscar bait.
Entertaining Blockbusters
Two films already out in theaters begin this preview. One film, Contagion, which follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days, made News & Views’ list of top 25 films for 2011. The other, Drive, which is about Ryan Gosling driving cars, was relatively unknown until trailers started popping up in late summer. Both, though, are making quite the splash this fall. Listed in pretty much every fall preview—from Entertainment Weekly to Us Weekly—these two flicks have both received rave reviews and performed exceptionally well at the box office.
If a high-speed noir thriller about a driver named Driver can do really well, then why not a flick where Hugh Jackman trains real, live Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots? In Real Steel, director Shawn Levy takes us to the not-so-distant future where the sport of human boxing has been replaced with remote-controlled mechanized brawls. The story is truly about a father-son relationship, though, as robot controller Jackman works with his son, whose mother has just died, to turn an underdog robot into a champion. Every fall preview is pretty pumped about this flick even if the premise seems slightly silly. As iO9 puts it: “If you can take both ‘robot boxing’ and ‘father-son bonding over robot boxing’ seriously, this might be a fun romp.”
Not into Ryan Gosling (yeah right) or robots? There are plenty of other action-packed flicks to satiate your cravings this fall. Taylor Lautner breaks from his werewolf pack to star in Abduction, an actioner about ahigh school senior struggling to discover his true identity.
Justin Timberlake continues to not make music and instead headlines In Time, a trippy sci-fi thriller set in a future where humans cannot age past 25. To prevent overpopulation, people are only allowed to live one year after their 25th birthday. After that, they have to either earn or steal additional time. Guess who just inherited a century’s worth of time and a giant target on his back? J.T.
Like your action to be psychologically thrilling? Look no further than Dream House starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz. In this horror flick, a couple and their two young children move into a quaint New England home with a grisly past. Lots of folks have said the trailer (see below) reeks of spoilers, but film execs swear that’s not the actual plot twist.
Like your action in the form of boot-scootin’? Look no further than Footloose. No, we didn’t time travel back to 1984. Hollywood has remade the cult classic. Starring Julianne Hough and Kenny Wormald, this new Footloose has updated choreography and a more racially diverse cast. However, the rest of the story remains relatively the same. Call me a skeptic—or just a realist—but I don’t have much faith in this endeavor. Still, the music and choreography should at least be entertaining.
By now you either love or hate the Twilight series, so you’re either really excited for Breaking Dawn: Part 1 hitting theaters on November 18 or you’re quite miffed that there are not one, but two films remaining. Either way, this movie has three things that will pique interests across the board:
The star-crossed lovers have a human-vampire baby in what is sure to be a memorable birthing scene. (Think Alien.)
Awards Season Contenders
Awards season hits after fall, so traditionally autumn is laden with contenders. This season is no different as several heavy-hitting pictures step up to bat.
Remember how much everyone liked The Blind Side? Well, get ready to like Moneyball, another film based on a book based on a true story by Michael Lewis (who wrote The Blind Side). If that isn’t reason enough, Moneyball also combines two things America loves: baseball and underdog success. The film “centers on Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), who takes over as general manager of the cash-strapped Oakland Athletics baseball team and, through analysis and a new, nontraditional Sabermetric approach to scouting players, creates a competitive baseball team.”² Add Philip Seymour Hoffman and the comedic relief talents of Jonah Hill and you’ve got Oscar bait, my friends.
Ryan Gosling and George Clooney have teamed up—and it isn’t just to stand there and look pretty. They’re starring in a political thriller entitled Ides of March. “Besides directing, co-writing, and producing, Clooney plays Gov. Mike Morris, who is making a run for the Democratic presidential nomination…Gosling portrays his spokesman; Philip Seymour Hoffman his campaign manager. Paul Giamatti is a rival campaign manager,” summarizes the Denver Post.
Based on the book, My Week with Marilyn is the true story of Colin Clark, an assistant working on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, who documents the tense interactions between his boss, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Marilyn Monroe. Oscar Nominee Michelle Williams—who Screen Rant applauds as “one of the most talented actresses working today”—plays the bombshell in all her platinum glory and is rumored to be a knockout in the part.
In J. Edgar, Leonardo DiCaprio plays FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, sporting brown contacts to hide his baby blues and adorning prosthetic makeup to portray the man in his elderly years. Clint Eastwood directs and Dustin Lance Black (Milk) scripts this biopic, tracing Hoover’s life from his childhood in D.C. to his 50-year reign over the FBI. According to Us Weekly, the film “also examines his private life as an alleged closeted homosexual.”
If Ryan Gosling can put out two films this fall, then why can’t George Clooney? In The Descendants, he plays a Hawaiian land baron and father whose life is upended after his wife slips into a coma and he learns that she was having an affair. According to The Denver Post, “director-writer Alexander Payne understands pain and poignancy. And few directors move so seamlessly between those two moods.” And as proven in his acclaimed Sideways, he can ably walk the line between comedy and drama. Here, in his film The Descendants, he apparently does just that with great results.
That wraps up part one of News & Views’ fall film preview. Stay tuned for part two where we turn our sights on family flicks, comedies, and the offbeat and quirky. In the meantime, we’d love for you to share your thoughts. What films are you looking most forward to and why?
In response to Variety’s recent report that Mandalay Pictures has snatched up the film rights for author Sophie Jordan’s new young adult trilogy, Firelight, even though she’s only just released the series’ first book, Entertainment Weekly started a debate on which YA read should hit the big screen next.
But what about books that shouldn’t be made into movies?
There are plenty of folks up in arms right now about Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming attempt at F. Scott Fitzgerald’s modernist classic The Great Gatsby—and it isn’t just because some worry that Carey Mulligan won’t be able to fill the shoes of femme fatale Daisy Buchanan. In an article with The Atlantic, Hampton Stevens explains that most are worrying that “Luhrmann's film will inevitably fail to capture the majesty of Fitzgerald's work, just as have the half-dozen screen adaptations before it.” As many articles profess, Fitzgerald’s work isn’t incredible because of its plotline, but because of its introspection and immense level of emotion—two things that are rather difficult to replicate on film. Do you want to see Luhrmann’s Gatsby? What’s your take on another adaptation of this novel?
Another film ruffling feathers: David Fincher’s U.S. adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. Besides being an international bestselling series, the books are also already movies. The Swedish version of the film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, performed decently in the U.S., hitting theaters through distribution by Music Box Films and grossing a respectable $10.1 million. The series’ third film isn’t even available on DVD yet and The Social Networkdirector is already filming the first installment of the U.S. remake.
Niels Arden Oplev, director of the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has expressed anger over the remake. In a Word & Film Website interview, Oplev discusses his outrage: “Even in Hollywood there seems to be a kind of anger about the remake; like, ‘Why would they remake something when they can just go see the original?’” Of course, what can he expect? As Andrew Pullver of the Guardian explains “recycling already-proven material has always been the film industry's way: whether reconfiguring already-successful books, plays and—latterly—video games, or simply freshening up its own product.”
In addition to those taking issue with Hollywood’s eagerness to overshadow the original film series, like the Daisy Buchanan situation, many wonder how Rooney Mara (Nightmare on Elm Street; The Social Network) will compare to Swedish actress Noomi Rapace at playing feminist heroine Lisbeth Salander. As John Kass of the Chicago Tribune explains: “Like many fans, I live in dread of what Hollywood will do to [main character] Lisbeth… We don't want Lisbeth Salander played by some Hollywood cutie with perfect teeth and skin like peaches… The perfect Salander is already on film.” What’s your take on Hollywood’s remake of the Millennium Trilogy?
So Gatsby and a U.S. Dragon Tattoo are already realities. Are there any other books-to-films that you think are bad ideas? What books do you feel should definitely not be made into films? Share your thoughts below as comments.
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