Spike Lee To Direct 'Oldboy' remake

[PLAS]

What does American's view of subtitled foreign movies have to do with Spielberg wanting to do a remake? I doubt he's on a mission to save poor American's from subtitles. Honestly, I would imagine he likes the concept but feels he can do more with it.

it's not about Spielberg wanting to make a remake, it's about remakes in general, specially foreign films
why waste millions of dollars on an idea that's already been done, and most of the times very well, in recycling the same stories, characters and situations?
of course, like everything, you've got instances like The Departed/Infernal Affairs, where the remake improves upon the original, and then you've got One Missed Call or Quarantine, and the later outnumber the former, sadly
I would much rather them getting together for something totally new, which would do more for the movie industry as a whole, than another stab at trying to adapt something that already exists
I mean, even cover songs, some add to the original, some just miss the point, same thing here, but way much more expensive

 

[bunk]

That's fine, I just didn't know what it had to do with people not liking subtitles.

Btw, I think it's more about Americans wanting to see actors they're familiar with, as opposed to not wanting to read stuff.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Have you seen the movie?

It's like having them remaking a porn.

It's not in their alley at all. It's not the most Hollywood movie, and I think people are worried about them watering it down.

After news of Smith's son in the Karate Kid remake, I'm sick of it.

Next thing you know it, they'll remake Michael Bay movies with John Cusack's nephew.

Have you seen the movie? That's the point. None of us have. But I hate that even before anything comes out that people are all negative about it and think it will suck. Think positive. Insstead moaning and complaining. Think what could they do to make the film better or expand upon it? You know, when you all complain about this stuff, it usually ends up being the opposite. The you get to try the fine taste that when you were wrong the whole time. Do you think Spielberg will make it soft? I doubt it. Have you seen Saving Private Ryan? He's not a PG-13 guy when it calls for it. SPR is one of the only war films where they never shyed away from the violence.

 

[Octoberist]

have you seen the original?

It has

Spoiler

incest between a father and a daughter

as a major plot point, it's tame to World War II violence because it's nothing what the American expects from these two, unless they can prove me wrong. And that's possible.

Listen, I'm not that negative on The Beard. I don't think Speilberg can handle it and I love the guy. And I could be wrong too. I will always respect him and I grew up with him. I don't think he's doing his best work now, but I still admire his work.

 

[Doctor Jones]

have you seen the original?

It has

Spoiler

incest between a father and a daughter

as a major plot point, it's tame to World War II violence because it's nothing what the American expects from these two, unless they can prove me wrong. And that's possible.

Listen, I'm not that negative on The Beard. I don't think Speilberg can handle it and I love the guy. And I could be wrong too. I will always respect him and I grew up with him. I don't think he's doing his best work now, but I still admire his work.

But does that serve purpse to the story? It's disgusting, yeah. Just because it doesn't have that stuff doesn't mean it will be good. But in order to make a good film after a remake, take what made it so good in the first place. Don't put that stuff in there for the sake of being disgusting and edgy.

 

[Octoberist]

yeah, that's the whole point of the movie, along with other things. That's why the movie is so well liked..and disliked by people.

If they change it..well, I don't know. Otherwise, the orignal movie is visually rich. Watch the fight scene clip from youtube and it's amazing.

 

[Crook]

ever since I was a little kid, I'd go see American movies with subtitles, of course, I eventually learned English, but nonetheless, been watching English spoken movies with subtitles all my life, as well as Japanese, German, French, etc. and here's something interesting: when they're good movies, regardless of the language and/or subtitles, I tend to enjoy them.

what's so difficult about reading subtitles? do American movie viewers lack something the rest of the world has and thus need to remake the whole thing so that it appeals more to them culturally/socially/etc?

To the majority of the American movie-going audience: YES. Absolutely.

I remember when I first brought up Oldboy to watch with a couple of friends, they were already vehemently against it because it wasn't American. I sold them on the story and trailer. I pop in the disc, the movie starts....and they see subtitles. B***h-fits galore. I spent another 10 minutes convincing them to give the movie a shot for a half hour or so. We ended up love the hell outta the movie and we were talking about for days on end after we had already seen it.

Point is that neither foreign flicks nor subtitles are very common to American audiences. Thus, they will immediately reject it in favor of something more comfortable. If they have the option of keeping their film experiences as they are most used to, they will. Most don't have a little angel in their ear telling them to give it a shot.

In some respects, that is exactly why some remakes are necessary. In the case of Oldboy, which features a brilliant original story, it needs to be seen by a vast audience. Whether you think it's necessary or not, this story will triple it's audiences just by being American-made alone. We can only hope it captures the essence of the original, and maybe even improve upon it, so the remake is justified.

But does that serve purpse to the story? It's disgusting, yeah. Just because it doesn't have that stuff doesn't mean it will be good. But in order to make a good film after a remake, take what made it so good in the first place. Don't put that stuff in there for the sake of being disgusting and edgy.

Did you really just read that spoiler without watching the movie first?

 

[Octoberist]

exactly, the Joe Averages of America are not used to subtitles, shocking movies like Oldboy, and what have you. I had a similar situation when I tried to convince my friends to watch "Hidden Fortress" by Akira Kurosawa. But they ended up loving it, and they actually went off to rent his other works too.

If an American version Oldboy was released in the 70s, it would have been a masterpiece hailed by mainstream America. Why? The 70s was a crazy decade where people were more..crazy. That's why I love the 70s and it has the best American films ever.

 

[ord0g]

But does that serve purpse to the story? It's disgusting, yeah. Just because it doesn't have that stuff doesn't mean it will be good. But in order to make a good film after a remake, take what made it so good in the first place. Don't put that stuff in there for the sake of being disgusting and edgy.

Judging from your comments, you haven't watched the movie yet, have you?

 

[GhostPoet]

I'm american born and raised and I use subtitles....just because I CAN!
Lots of people died in lots of different wars, fighting lots of different people just so I can turn on my TV and watch subtitles, dang it!!!

 

[Octoberist]

it's because you're cultured and smart, GhostPoet. Like me. I was raised loving pop culture, and my love for foreign films occured in college.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Judging from your comments, you haven't watched the movie yet, have you?

Nope. I haven't That's why I asked.

 

[Octoberist]

go rent it, dude.

I do have to say out of the trilogy, I like Oldboy second best. I like Lady Vengeance the most. Rent that too.

 

[Doctor Jones]

yeah, that's the whole point of the movie, along with other things. That's why the movie is so well liked..and disliked by people.

If they change it..well, I don't know. Otherwise, the orignal movie is visually rich. Watch the fight scene clip from youtube and it's amazing.

Oh, it is? Hmm. Well I don't know then. You don't know if they're gonna do it or not. So reserve your (negative) judgment until you actually start to hear from the people involved and footage. You guys always jump to conclusions. Think about the positive outcomes of what could be done with a remake. And guys, this is Spielberg and Smith, you're acting like Rob Zombie is remaking it.

 

[Octoberist]

there are more negative people than me, little Jones. Trust me, if I've got a good judgment on movies.

And i've said that I like Spelberg. He really did help me to see movies as an artform. I just hated Indiana Jones 4 (sorry Mr. Jones). I feel like Spielberg needs to put 100% into it, like with Minority Report and Munich. But I don't want to see Steven "Lost World/War of the Worlds/Indy 4" Speilberg at work here.

 

[PWN3R]

go rent it, dude.

I do have to say out of the trilogy, I like Oldboy second best. I like Lady Vengeance the most. Rent that too.

The coolest tattoo can be seen in Lady Vengeance when the gun dealer gives her the weapon. Man that tat is sweet.

 

[Doctor Jones]

there are more negative people than me, little Jones. Trust me, if I've got a good judgment on movies.

And i've said that I like Spelberg. He really did help me to see movies as an artform. I just hated Indiana Jones 4 (sorry Mr. Jones). I feel like Spielberg needs to put 100% into it, like with Minority Report and Munich. But I don't want to see Steven "Lost World/War of the Worlds/Indy 4" Speilberg at work here.

Yeah, at least your not the person that goes haywire and rants how it's gonna suck. But who doesn't like Spielberg?

Heh. I actually liked all the films you didn't like by Spielberg. t:

 

[Dark Victory]

Eh...I don't know. It would be kind of interesting to see what Speilberg does with it, but it's going to be nowhere near as crazy.

 

[Wolfwood]

I've seen Oldboy, damn fine movie, but I'm not at all opposed to a Spielberg/Smith collaboration. I say bring it on, could turn out to be something quite special and I'd love to see if they go with the original twist. I'd go sit in the theater all day long just to hear people's reactions to it. That might be worth the price of admission alone lol.

 

[black_dust]

And guys, this is Spielberg and Smith, you're acting like Rob Zombie is remaking it.

Rob Zombie would have the balls to stay true to the original film, i dont think Spielburg would

 

[Doctor Jones]

Rob Zombie would have the balls to stay true to the original film, i dont think Spielburg would

You saying Spielberg doesn't when he directed arguably the most graphic war film of all time and a film about the goddamn Holocaust?

 

[Octoberist]

graphic in the sense of realism. He hasn't done anything like this yet. This is more David Lynch than Spielberg, Dr. Jones. However, not to say that he can't do it.

 

[Crook]

graphic in the sense of realism.

Explain. How has Spielberg not depicted this with Munich, Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler's List?

 

[Octoberist]

i meant that he DIRECTS graphic violence when it's needed, as in Saving Private Ryan and Munich. I wrote my previous post weird.

Now with OLDBOY, it's going something that's a bit more taboo, and from I know, he hasn't done a subject matter like this before.

 

[black_dust]

Explain. How has Spielberg not depicted this with Munich, Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler's List?

None of these movies involved

Spoiler

Incest, or a man cutting his tongue off in front of camera