I really don't see a world where this could be good. I'm very over all the sequels and remakes to movies from 20+ years ago. It's always just nostalgia bait and screams risk averse, and the...
I really don't see a world where this could be good. I'm very over all the sequels and remakes to movies from 20+ years ago. It's always just nostalgia bait and screams risk averse, and the product is rarely worth bothering with.
I just read last night that there's an It's a Wonderful Life remake in the works. Why!
For what it's worth, IMO, the remake actually sounds like it could potentially be an interesting, modern take on the story....
I just read last night that there's an It's a Wonderful Life remake in the works. Why!
For what it's worth, IMO, the remake actually sounds like it could potentially be an interesting, modern take on the story.
Barris is also remaking “It’s a Wonderful Life” at Paramount and centering the story around a person of color. He believes the story made famous in Frank Capra’s 1946 film starring Jimmy Stewart is tailor-made for a POC perspective.
“I feel like Christmas movies are amazing and I think the idea of taking something that has that long of a history and a tale behind it and putting an amazing piece of talent to tell that story,” Barris said. “It’s a guy who’s trying to help out his community and things are going to turn around on him. I think that’s the perfect story to tell for a person of color — Black or brown — to get into that because our communities have some issues and someone trying to help that community out. I think that’s the perfect vehicle to tell that story from.”
Barris added, “I’m still a believer in IP. I think I get shit for it sometimes but I believe that the idea of some of those great stories – stories are all told again and again and again. So having the opportunity to take some of those IPs and tell them from a different point of a view is a gift that I hopefully keep getting.”
And as for why it's being remade now, I suspect it has to do with the fact that It's a Wonderful Life was actually public domain for about 20 years (1974-1993) before Republic Pictures managed to argue they still retained ownership over the music, and portions of the movie that were based on the short story, and thus were still owed royalties every time the full movie was broadcast. But even those copyrights are going to expire soon (in 2030, if my math's correct), and Paramount (who owns Republic now) still doesn't want to entirely give up their ownership of the movie. So what better way to do that than beat everyone else to the punch in making another updated version that hopefully gets as popular, which they will own the sole rights to for another century!
p.s. I bet they will also release a bunch of new "4k remastered", AI-upscaled/colorized, and BluRay "special edition" versions of the original shortly before their copyright expires too, in an attempt to retain their hold on the home video, broadcast, and streaming markets even after the film enters the public domain.
Okay, I’m interested. It’s A Wonderful Life is old enough that for me this doesn’t feel like a nostalgia-bait cash grab. And the POC angle is interesting too. I have to say that I love the...
Okay, I’m interested. It’s A Wonderful Life is old enough that for me this doesn’t feel like a nostalgia-bait cash grab. And the POC angle is interesting too. I have to say that I love the original — as sappy as it is — and I think there’s plenty of room for a respectful freshening up of the concept.
I’m actually surprised we don’t see more movies in a similar vein, the “character receives a supernatural view into an alternate timeline of their own life, is persuaded to make a change for the better” plot. Nic Cage’s aggressively mediocre The Family Man is one, and I guess any of the countless versions of A Christmas Carol count. What else am I overlooking? With all the multiverse stuff lately I feel like this genre would be more frequently visited.
Aside: It’s just set dressing in It’s A Wonderful Life, but I’m kind of fascinated by that movie’s cosmology. It’s somewhat Christiany but the way the angels are represented as talking galaxies, and Clarence’s hinted-at backstory is interesting. I don’t think we ever get an answer as to why he’s carrying around a copy of Tom Sawyer and wearing clothes from that time period? And of course the bell ringing and wing earning. I think a modern remake could have a lot of fun exploring this stuff.
I think for a while lots of TV shows did the It's A Wonderful Plot - warning TV Tropes link trope of recreating IAWL in a single episode of TV. I don't feel like I see that so often anymore so it...
I’m actually surprised we don’t see more movies in a similar vein, the “character receives a supernatural view into an alternate timeline of their own life, is persuaded to make a change for the better” plot. Nic Cage’s aggressively mediocre The Family Man is one, and I guess any of the countless versions of A Christmas Carol count. What else am I overlooking? With all the multiverse stuff lately I feel like this genre would be more frequently visited.
I think for a while lots of TV shows did the It's A Wonderful Plot - warning TV Tropes link trope of recreating IAWL in a single episode of TV. I don't feel like I see that so often anymore so it may be that it felt played out.
There's a list of movies on there and EEAAO is one example done quite differently but fits your criteria!
Oh good call on EEAAO, I'm surprised I mentioned the multiverse but didn't think of that one. I'll bravely dive into the TV Tropes link and see what else is worth watching in there...
Oh good call on EEAAO, I'm surprised I mentioned the multiverse but didn't think of that one. I'll bravely dive into the TV Tropes link and see what else is worth watching in there...
Remakes have consistently shown that they're usually profitable; the film business is a business and its always going to be easier to convince a bunch of stuffed suits that your project is going...
Remakes have consistently shown that they're usually profitable; the film business is a business and its always going to be easier to convince a bunch of stuffed suits that your project is going to make them a ton of money if its just a rehash of something that made a ton of money 15-20 years ago.
Plus millennials and gen-Xers are obsessed with nostalgia so its usually an easy sell to get them into the seats.
Boomers have been just as nostalgic, they're just marketed to less now, but lots of things in the 70s were doing the same call backs and appeals to youth for Boomers that Millennials are seeing...
Boomers have been just as nostalgic, they're just marketed to less now, but lots of things in the 70s were doing the same call backs and appeals to youth for Boomers that Millennials are seeing today (and have been).
Basically everything about how good the 50s were was childhood nostalgia. I'm only saying this because as far as I can tell every generation goes through this and broadly gets marketed for as long as it's effective.
I could often complain about nostalgia baiting sequels, but I am totally okay with this. Happy Gilmore is one of the few Adam Sandler comedies I like, and I know the guy knows how to act from the...
I could often complain about nostalgia baiting sequels, but I am totally okay with this. Happy Gilmore is one of the few Adam Sandler comedies I like, and I know the guy knows how to act from the likes of Uncut Gems and Punch Drunk Love. But comedy sequels can also faceplant incredibly hard, like with Dumb and Dumber To...
I really don't see a world where this could be good. I'm very over all the sequels and remakes to movies from 20+ years ago. It's always just nostalgia bait and screams risk averse, and the product is rarely worth bothering with.
I just read last night that there's an It's a Wonderful Life remake in the works. Why!
For what it's worth, IMO, the remake actually sounds like it could potentially be an interesting, modern take on the story.
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/kenya-barris-richard-pryor-biopic-television-series-1235879679/
And as for why it's being remade now, I suspect it has to do with the fact that It's a Wonderful Life was actually public domain for about 20 years (1974-1993) before Republic Pictures managed to argue they still retained ownership over the music, and portions of the movie that were based on the short story, and thus were still owed royalties every time the full movie was broadcast. But even those copyrights are going to expire soon (in 2030, if my math's correct), and Paramount (who owns Republic now) still doesn't want to entirely give up their ownership of the movie. So what better way to do that than beat everyone else to the punch in making another updated version that hopefully gets as popular, which they will own the sole rights to for another century!
p.s. I bet they will also release a bunch of new "4k remastered", AI-upscaled/colorized, and BluRay "special edition" versions of the original shortly before their copyright expires too, in an attempt to retain their hold on the home video, broadcast, and streaming markets even after the film enters the public domain.
Okay, I’m interested. It’s A Wonderful Life is old enough that for me this doesn’t feel like a nostalgia-bait cash grab. And the POC angle is interesting too. I have to say that I love the original — as sappy as it is — and I think there’s plenty of room for a respectful freshening up of the concept.
I’m actually surprised we don’t see more movies in a similar vein, the “character receives a supernatural view into an alternate timeline of their own life, is persuaded to make a change for the better” plot. Nic Cage’s aggressively mediocre The Family Man is one, and I guess any of the countless versions of A Christmas Carol count. What else am I overlooking? With all the multiverse stuff lately I feel like this genre would be more frequently visited.
Aside: It’s just set dressing in It’s A Wonderful Life, but I’m kind of fascinated by that movie’s cosmology. It’s somewhat Christiany but the way the angels are represented as talking galaxies, and Clarence’s hinted-at backstory is interesting. I don’t think we ever get an answer as to why he’s carrying around a copy of Tom Sawyer and wearing clothes from that time period? And of course the bell ringing and wing earning. I think a modern remake could have a lot of fun exploring this stuff.
I think for a while lots of TV shows did the It's A Wonderful Plot - warning TV Tropes link trope of recreating IAWL in a single episode of TV. I don't feel like I see that so often anymore so it may be that it felt played out.
There's a list of movies on there and EEAAO is one example done quite differently but fits your criteria!
Oh good call on EEAAO, I'm surprised I mentioned the multiverse but didn't think of that one. I'll bravely dive into the TV Tropes link and see what else is worth watching in there...
Remakes have consistently shown that they're usually profitable; the film business is a business and its always going to be easier to convince a bunch of stuffed suits that your project is going to make them a ton of money if its just a rehash of something that made a ton of money 15-20 years ago.
Plus millennials and gen-Xers are obsessed with nostalgia so its usually an easy sell to get them into the seats.
Boomers have been just as nostalgic, they're just marketed to less now, but lots of things in the 70s were doing the same call backs and appeals to youth for Boomers that Millennials are seeing today (and have been).
Basically everything about how good the 50s were was childhood nostalgia. I'm only saying this because as far as I can tell every generation goes through this and broadly gets marketed for as long as it's effective.
I'm curious what a cultural backlash to nostalgia would look like. I think I'll probably find out sometime.
I could often complain about nostalgia baiting sequels, but I am totally okay with this. Happy Gilmore is one of the few Adam Sandler comedies I like, and I know the guy knows how to act from the likes of Uncut Gems and Punch Drunk Love. But comedy sequels can also faceplant incredibly hard, like with Dumb and Dumber To...
I know this is just a teaser, but it would be nice if maybe they included even one joke in their trailer for a comedy film.