More news links while I’m on hiatus.

Garth Ennis’ Preacher may be developed for television.
While the news is so far unconfirmed, it looks like AMC, the nice folk who brought us Breaking Bad, has ordered a pilot for the comic adaptation.  The question becomes how much of the comic makes it through the transition.  Preacher is known for pushing boundaries.

It’s a Wonderful Sequel
It took Hollywood sixty-nine years, but the 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life is getting a sequel.  It’s a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story follows George Bailey’s grandson, who, in a twist everyone could see coming, is unlikable.  Karolyn Grimes, who played Bailey’s daughter in the original movie, will return as an angel.  Other surviving cast members are being asked to reprise roles.  Why?  My guess is the studio wants the residuals the sequel will get when stations air it after the original during the holiday season.

Even Lifetime is getting in on the adaptation train.
Lifetime will air Lizzie Borden Took an Ax, starring Christina Ricci, in the new year, based on the murder of Abby and Andrew Borden, Lizzie’s parents, in 1892 and the subsequent nursery rhyme.

The Strain becoming a TV series.
Guillermo del Toro’s vampire trilogy, The Strain, is being developed for FX with a 13 epsiode season.  Chuck Hogan, del Toro’s co-writer for the books, is on board for the series.  The pilot should air July 2014.

Beetlejuice 2 getting more alumni.
Everything is still in rumour stage, but Winona Ryder may return for Beetlejuice 2 as Lydia.  Michael Keaton is confirmed as the titular character, and Tim Burton is in talks to direct.

Fan favourite character to return in Star Wars: Episode VII.
R2-D2 will return for Episode VII.  Disney and LucasFilm confirmed that the plucky droid will be back.  With R2, two new employees for the Creatures Effects team are joining the movie.  Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples were part of the R2-D2 Builders Club and met producer Kathleen Kennedy over the summer.  She recommended them to the executive producer who hired them for the film.  Lesson here: Embrace your inner geek and network.

MuseHack’s Serdar reviews Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.
Read why Serdar thinks the movie missed its mark.

Mad Max being re-imagined.
Where re-imagined means remade.  Expected release date of Mad Max: Fury Road is May 2015, about 30 years after the release of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.  Little is known about what the movie at this point.

Hammer Films dips into archives for a remake.
Hammer Films, known for their genre horror movies, is remaking The Abominable Snowman.  The intent is to put a modern twist of the 1957 original.  Remember, not all remakes are bad.

Reviews & Revues
Apologies again. The reviews will return. Life can sometimes conspire against me.

However, I noticed an ad on the bus ride home recently, leading me to realize that I’ve completely ignored one adaptation completely – musical theatre. A number of works have been adapted, from comic books (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) to alternate interpretation of a character from a movie adapted from a book (Wicked). It’s not a new idea – Andrew Lloyd Webber made his career adapting other stories to stage musicals, including Jesus Christ, Superstar and Phantom of the Opera. However, the source has changed.

The ad mentioned earlier was for Young Frankenstein: The Musical, based on the Mel Brooks movie parody of Frankenstein and other horror standards. Today’s musical is more likely to adapt from pop culture. Among the properties mined are Evil Dead and Disney’s Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. The switch to theatre brings in a different restrictions than in other media. There is no post-production to add in CGI. There are no second takes.  There are no multiple camera angles. The stage adapation has to be able to take the existing work and boil it down so that the invisible fourth wall is believable.

Looking Forward
It’s an adaptational summer movie season. Coming soon, The Avengers, taking Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Avengers and bringing it to the silver screen. The movie follows a string of hits, including Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Two characters won’t be in it, Ant-Man and Wasp, and it appears that they’re being replaced by Hawkeye and Black Widow. Also now being advertised, Men In Black III. Given the length of time since the second movie, I’m hoping the existance of the movie means the writers had what they thought was good idea for a story instead of an exec saying, “Let’s exploit the franchise.”

Future Plans
One thing I have been trying to find is a work that didn’t successfully adapt a work but was still popular enough to be considered a success, either financially or critically.  Real Steel looks like it’d fit the bill; the original short story was about human boxer taking the place of his broken down android in a robot boxing league while the movie was more heart warming for the family. Other suggestions will be welcomed.

Next week, Lost in Translation will return . . .