Bryan Singer developing a remake of Excalibur
- Thread starter Out Of My Vulcan Mind
- Start date
Singer's first two films - Public Access and The Usual Suspects - were made from original screenplays.
That's cool. I wasn't being snarky, btw, I genuinely didn't know.
Again, I don't get people's problem here. Most movies are based on books or plays or (these days) comic books and old tv shows.
Look at Spielberg: DUEL, JAWS, THE EMPIRE OF THE SUN, THE COLOR PURPLE, SCHINDLER'S LIST, MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS, JURASSIC PARK, etc. All based on books or short stories.
Ditto most of the all-time classic movies: THE WIZARD OF OZ, GONE WITH THE WIND, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, PSYCHO, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, SHANE, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THE MALTESE FALCON, FRANKENSTEIN, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, etc.
Yet you don't hear people complaining that Spielberg or Hitchcock or David Lean aren't original enough!
^ We had a BSG series which just ended this year and there was a King Arthur movie a few years ago (the somewhat unloved Clive Owen starrer). Why doesn't Singer adapt some novels or stories that haven't yet been filmed (I'd love to see him do a James Ellroy or John Connolly adaptation, for example).
I'm a big fan of Singer's talents but I'm really beginning to doubt his judgement. A BSG remake, an Excalibur remake ... all we need for him now is to return to the Logan's Run remake to which he was once attached. Then he'll be totally established as the 'go to guy' for reviving other people's movies and franchises. Come on, Bryan, let's see you do something that we haven't seen before.
Look how well his contemporary Chris Nolan is juggling Batman movies with original screenplays (Inception) or adaptations of novels that haven't been filmed before (The Prestige). Singer's career is beginning to look rather hackish by comparison.
I'm a big fan of Singer's talents but I'm really beginning to doubt his judgement. A BSG remake, an Excalibur remake ... all we need for him now is to return to the Logan's Run remake to which he was once attached. Then he'll be totally established as the 'go to guy' for reviving other people's movies and franchises. Come on, Bryan, let's see you do something that we haven't seen before.
Look how well his contemporary Chris Nolan is juggling Batman movies with original screenplays (Inception) or adaptations of novels that haven't been filmed before (The Prestige). Singer's career is beginning to look rather hackish by comparison.
Excalibur was a great film. Hopefully they will have more extensive battle scenes in it.
I think Owen's King Arthur had two major problems.
One, it was a Disney film. (Okay, Touchstone.) And Disney can't market a film, unless it's animation, to save their fucking lives. Disney should have marketed King Arthur as "If you liked the Lord of the Rings films, you're going to love this." Instead, they did nothing.
Two, Keira Knightley. She was awful in King Arthur, and once she enters the picture she saps some of the life out of the film. The problem isn't the role, the problem is her. Knightley was cast because she'd worked with Bruckheimer on Pirates of the Caribbean, and she brought nothing convincing to the role. I don't know who, in retrospect, I'd have cast. Recently, I've thought about how much more interesting Michelle Ryan would have been, but she wouldn't have been cast as she hadn't done anything by that point. Based on her performance in Outlander, Sophia Myles might've been ideal.
I love Owen's King Arthur. No, it bears no relation to history, but at least it tries to do something unique. I find the film very quotable, it has a great score, and, except for Knightley, it's compelling.
Whatever this is, I don't want it stripped down of its mythological and fantastic aspects - that turned me off of the Clive Owen movie. I want Merlin a WIZARD, a sword of power, a love triangle.
And yes Excalibur is a classic which was based on Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Perhaps Singer should look to that for his take?
Sharr
And yes Excalibur is a classic which was based on Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Perhaps Singer should look to that for his take?
Sharr
And exactly one of those is a remake. I have absolutely no problem with movies being based on books, I think often they make for the best movies, in fact. My point was that Singer seems to be lurching from one remake/reboot/whatever you want to call it idea to the next. Superman, to BSG, to this.
As I said to OOMVM, I wasn't intending to be sarcy, I just only knew Singer from these and from X-Men, which is hardly a concept dripping in originality either. I was unaware of any original works by him, now I am. Question answered.
Sharr, if you want a King Arthur movie with the fantastic and the mythological, why would you want Singer to use Morte d'Arthur as his basis? Malory has some mystical elements, but it's largely a grounded take, albeit an ahistorical take, on the King Arthur mythos.
If you want something mythological and fantastical, I'd probably go further back, to the Welsh and Celtic sources that Malory didn't use (or probably didn't know about).
If you want something mythological and fantastical, I'd probably go further back, to the Welsh and Celtic sources that Malory didn't use (or probably didn't know about).
Well my knowledge of Morte d'Arthur extends only to Boorman's Excalibur which for me at least had a good balance of magic and myth not to mention a good story to boot.
I'd be all for bringing in Welsh and Celtic elements. My actual point though was don't try to rationalize it all as has been a trend in movies these days.
Sharr
And I didn't mean to pile on you either. I was just puzzled that you were the SECOND person in this thread to raise this issue . . . despite the fact that Singer's VALKYRIE came out only a few months ago!
And nobody has mentioned APT PUPIL, which was an adaptation of a Stephen King story,
By my count, out of the seven movies Singer has directed so far, exactly one was a reboot . . . .
Valkyrie came out on video recently, but the theatrical release was almost eight months ago. People have short memories, and Tom Cruise tended to overshadow Singer on that project, so it is an easy mistake.
When you consider Valkyrie is the only original screenplay Singer has directed (X-Men and X-Men 2: X-Men United adapted from comic books, Superman Returns adapted from comic books, Apt Pupil adapted from a Steven King short story) since The Usual Suspects in 1994, as well as his rumored attachment to a remake of Logan's Run, a remake of Excalibur, a remake of Battlestar Galactica, and a potential sequel in the Superman franchise, it seems like he levitates towards unoriginal material frequently, unless his friend Chris McQuarrie is writing the project (as is the case with all three of his feature films with original screenplays Valkyrie, Public Access, and The Usual Suspects).
When you consider Valkyrie is the only original screenplay Singer has directed (X-Men and X-Men 2: X-Men United adapted from comic books, Superman Returns adapted from comic books, Apt Pupil adapted from a Steven King short story) since The Usual Suspects in 1994, as well as his rumored attachment to a remake of Logan's Run, a remake of Excalibur, a remake of Battlestar Galactica, and a potential sequel in the Superman franchise, it seems like he levitates towards unoriginal material frequently, unless his friend Chris McQuarrie is writing the project (as is the case with all three of his feature films with original screenplays Valkyrie, Public Access, and The Usual Suspects).
Well, even though it may have hurt the bottom line I appreciate they didn't *lie* like this in the advertising.
I think Valkyrie got a lot of crap merely because it starred the much maligned Cruise. I thought it was damn good, considering we basically know the outcome of the plot going in.
As for Excalibur, I say go for it. I loved the original, but it'll always be there, even if the remake stinks.
As for Excalibur, I say go for it. I loved the original, but it'll always be there, even if the remake stinks.
Excalibur, is my favorite sword and armor movie, the armor is the best I have ever seen in any movie, and it's not CGI.
A new Excalibur movie would be awesome, and I love the ideas of Patrick Stewart as Merlin. Bring back Liam Nelson too, he could be King Arthur this time. Ewan McGregor could be Percival. Ray Park could play the evil bastard
A new Excalibur movie would be awesome, and I love the ideas of Patrick Stewart as Merlin. Bring back Liam Nelson too, he could be King Arthur this time. Ewan McGregor could be Percival. Ray Park could play the evil bastard
MeanJoePhaser
Admiral
Three, depending on how one feels about it being a remake of TEARS OF THE SUN set in a different time period. TEARS itself was another Magnificent Seven/Seven Samurai take. Not sure why director Antoine Fuqua repeated himself like.
Neither movie was bad, though.
I actually was surprised by how much I liked the recent Arthur film (with Cliwe Owen) - I thought it was an original take on the character, and it was nice to see an attempt at historical grounding.
But that doesn't mean I want all Arthurian movies to be like that. I still think Boorman's Excalibur is the best Arthurian film.
But that doesn't mean I want all Arthurian movies to be like that. I still think Boorman's Excalibur is the best Arthurian film.
Of the seven films Singer has directed to date, three were made from original screenplays (Public Access, The Usual Suspects, and Valkyrie), two were adaptations of material never previously made into a feature film (Apt Pupil and X-Men), one was a sequel (X-Men 2), and one was a quasi-sequel/reboot (Superman Returns). His next likely film, Jack the Giant Killer, derives from an old fairly tale, but it's a very new take on it. That's a mix of originals, adaptations, and sequels that's pretty standard as far as major directors are concerned these days.
Whether Singer starts leaning more towards remakes in future depends on which projects he actually ends up directing. Aside from Battlestar Galactica, Excalibur, and perhaps Logan's Run, Singer is also developing some adaptations of comic books that haven't been filmed before (Capeshooters and Freedom Formula) and the dark true-life drama You Want Me To Kill Him? as potential directing vehicles.
Whether Singer starts leaning more towards remakes in future depends on which projects he actually ends up directing. Aside from Battlestar Galactica, Excalibur, and perhaps Logan's Run, Singer is also developing some adaptations of comic books that haven't been filmed before (Capeshooters and Freedom Formula) and the dark true-life drama You Want Me To Kill Him? as potential directing vehicles.
