gort Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Universal has been busy readying remakes of many of their classic horror icons -- The Mummy kicked it off to a slow start ten years ago (gee, it's due for another remake!), The Wolfman hits theaters this fall, and allegedly The Bride of Frankenstein, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and The Invisible Man will follow. But they're not just planning on remaking their stable, but option a few younger and fresher versions of their icons too.

According to Variety, the studio has optioned Larry Doyle's upcoming novel Go Mutants! It's a teen comedy / adventure story set in a world where all those classic 1950s alien invasion movies actually happened. A few decades later, the offspring of those invasions have assimilated among the rest of the population, and are happily attending high school.

It's too early to tell if it'll be another Monster Squad, as the book doesn't hit store shelves until next summer, but Doyle promises you'll see cameos from Gort and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. One of those is not like the other, so all bets are off as to who else you might see, but I'd put money on the Mole Man and the Metaluna Mutant. Perhaps he'll reach beyond the creature feature cast, and throw in the Invisible Man -- you can't tell me that sly creep didn't use his gift to father a few brats and avoid the child support.

Wait, they still cast Jennifer Connelly in non-melodramatic roles? According to Variety, the actress has signed on for the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. She will take on the part of "Helen Benson", the character originally played by Patricia Neal (who hopefully will be able to make a cameo), and as she does in every film, the Oscar-winning Connelly will likely emote way too much. Sure, she's fine for a lot of serious dramas, but when it comes to sci-fi/comic book movies, she hasn't really fit the part since Labyrinth, and even then she was a bit too pouty. Of course, she may seem more chipper in this remake, as she'll be acting opposite Mr. Serious himself, Keanu Reeves. As we learned long ago, Reeves will be portraying the alien Klaatu. Variety also reports that Kathy Bates may co-star in the movie, but doesn't mention the role she'd play.

I guess in some ways The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi melodrama, and Neal herself emoted plenty. In fact, she looked like she was going to start screaming and/or bawling in nearly every scene I recall. But then, she doesn't actually cry when you expect her to. She almost acts like more of a robot than Gort. And this should be fine, since aside from emoting, Connelly is good at looking drowsy and a bit empty. Anyway, I can't imagine the remake is going to have the same serious tone as the original. Hollywood just doesn't make movies like that anymore. Certainly the redo will not have Bernard Hermann's iconic music or Leo Tover's beautiful black and white cinematography to give it the same atmosphere. As we've told you previously, the new version is being directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) and has been written, according to Variety, by novelist Ryne Douglas Pearson (Simple Simon which became the movie Mercury Rising) and David Scarpa (The Last Castle), who penned a rewrite. The remake begins shooting in Vancouver next month.