Original Wicker Man director mad about sequel
Filed under: Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, DIY/Filmmaking
Director Neil LaBute has, um, taken some liberties with his upcoming remake of The Wicker Man, and that makes Robin Hardy, director of the 1973 original, flipping mad. The most grevious offenses? First of all, LaBute has cast Ellen Burstyn (yes, that Ellen Burstyn) in the role of the pagan leader originated by Christopher Lee; there is apparently also a bit having something to do with killer bees. "I don't quite understand what they're doing," Hardy told The Scotsman. "It appears that not only
is the lady involved, but there are also attacks by killer bees, which
sounds like a really old-style horror film." Hardy has hired lawyers to help him get his name removed from anything having anything to do with this version of the film. He claims that there are press materials circulating in the U.K. that suggest he actually wrote the screenplay for the remake, "which is obviously not true," he says. IMDB, for their part, attribute the sole screenwriting credit to LaBute. Bees and Burstyn notwithstanding, does this particular remake have any chance of being good?[via The Movie Blog]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-11-2005 @ 9:24PM
ExBf said...
Was there really any chance this was going to live up to the original anyway? I mean, we're only talking about one of the classic horror films of all time here...
http://exgfproject.blogspot.com/
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9-12-2005 @ 8:00AM
Otho said...
Hardy's current project according to imdb is - you guessed it - a 'reimagining' of his own film, "The Wicker Man". This time with Christopher Lee in the Christopher Lee role.
I'm with Hardy, any time I see a movie with Ellen Burstyn I think, why not Christopher Lee instead? Like in "Requiem For A Dream".
And having his name removed as screenwriter is an odd move, seeing as how he didn't write the original either.
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5-01-2007 @ 9:20PM
Otho said...
Hardy's current project according to imdb is - you guessed it - a 'reimagining' of his own film, "The Wicker Man". This time with Christopher Lee in the Christopher Lee role.
I'm with Hardy, any time I see a movie with Ellen Burstyn I think, why not Christopher Lee instead? Like in "Requiem For A Dream".
And having his name removed as screenwriter is an odd move, seeing as how he didn't write the original either.
Reply