outland Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'Outland' Heads Back to the Final Frontier
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels », Western »
Allow my paranoia to run rampant for a second because I'm beginning to think the big movie studios are taking their remake ideas from my Netflix account. Languishing somewhere around #57on my queue is Peter Hyams' Outland, which means I'll probably get to it just as Warner Bros' remake of it hits theaters. Yes, that's right -- Warner Bros is remaking Outland. It isn't just an idle fancy either, as The Hollywood Reporter says that the studio is already well into production. Michael Davis is set to direct, and Chad St. John is penning the screenplay. As you might remember, the original starred Sean Connery as a marshall on one of Jupiter's moons. His one year tour of duty isn't exactly peaceful as several miners meet violent ends, and none of the other colonists are willing to assist in the pursuit of justice. Connery is forced to take on the colony's evil administators all by his lonesome. Yes, that is also the plot of High Noon if you hadn't noticed. (But you did. You read Cinematical!)
To be honest, it's not so much a remake as a complete rewrite. The new Outland will be stripped of its western influences, expanded into a bigger "tentpole" movie, and will take place on a city that orbits the Moon. Our hero is a cop who is only a week away from retirement when he stumbles on a murderous conspiracy that's endangering the entire Moon City. He must decide whether to walk away and retire to Earth with his wife, or face "taking on a private army with his overachieving ex-partner and wife's former boyfriend." I think we know which one he picks, or else there's not going to be much of a movie. But hey, even if you can follow the plot from here, at least they're trying something new, and drawing influence from the hardboiled detectives instead of Gary Cooper and Connery, right?
Directors I Like: Peter Hyams
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Drama », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Noir », Remakes and Sequels »
So a few months ago I'm enjoying a stupid cigarette outside of my Park City (Sundance, woo) hotel, and I see my old friend Chris Hyams walking my way. Chris is one of the founders and wizards behind Bside.com, an outfit that does everything from mega-nifty festival schedules to full-bore film distribution. So because I am loud (and also a pathetic movie nerd), I say "Hey Chris! Wouldn't it be cool if your Dad was PETER Hyams?"Chris smiled and said "It sure would be. And he is my dad!" After about four minutes of Chris trying to convince me he was telling the truth, we quickly got rambling about the awesomeness of Outland, which is a film his dad made way back in 1981, and is still the finest "High Noon in space" movie that Sean Connery ever starred in. During my conversation with Chris, my brain kept screaming "Don't mention The Musketeer! You HATED that movie!" So I didn't.
But then Chris was off to see a movie and I was left thinking "I'm a moron. Been a Hyams fan since I was a kid and Outland is all I could come up with?" So in an effort to rectify my idiocy, I offer this (rather eclectic) list of Peter Hyams flicks that I sorta, really, or very much dig.
Capricorn One (1978) -- Elliot Gould and James Brolin star in this dated-yet-interesting sci-fi tale of a FAKED Mars landing. As he would later do (several times) in his career, Mr. Hyams wrote, directed, AND shot the movie.
Hanover Street (1979) -- Follow a sci-fi film with a wartime romantic drama? With Harrison Ford? Sure, why not?
Outland (1981) -- If you're going to do an unofficial semi-remake, you could at least do it with half the cleverness found here. It really IS High Noon in Space, and it works surprisingly well. Even holds up well today. Solid brawls, a nice percolation of tension, great character ensemble and a great performance by Frances Sternhagen.
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