back to article Hollywood to 'retell' Carrie

Film fans who consider Brian DePalma's 1976 movie Carrie an inadequate interpretation of the Stephen King novel will be delighted to learn that MGM is planning a "retelling". Sissy Spacek in Carrie According to the Hollywood Reporter, the studio has teamed up with Screen Gems for the project, and brought on board playwright …

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  1. Cameron Colley

    Surely it will be 3D also?

    Perhaps it should be set in the UK, or Italy, to be truer to the original too?

    1. irish donkey
      Coat

      Truer to the original...

      The original was set in Maine, aMeerka as was the book.

      Like all Stephen King books

      Mines the coat with the Kindle loaded with Stephen King books

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Not all Stephen King's books

        are set in Maine.

        There's that relatively famous one set in Colorado, the recent one in Minnesota and Florida, and don't recall Roland running around Derry :)

        1. yorgasor

          But there's usually a tie in somewhere

          Roland, the Gunslinger, did eventually make it to Maine, and even met Stephen King (yeah, the storyline was kind of falling apart by that point). Now, Eyes of the Dragon clearly doesn't take place in Maine, but it does take place in the world of the Gunslinger. And Randall Flagg, the main bad guy in that book is also the main bad guy in The Stand. There were a couple characters from Maine in that book too. So, now you can play a variation of the game, "the six degrees of Kevin Bacon" with Maine in all of his books :)

  2. Robert E A Harvey
    Thumb Down

    Oh well

    Like "The Italian Job" there will always be the original.

    Why they have to do this over and over again I can't imagine. Do something new, kiddies, and surprise us!

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Coat

      I can't imagine.

      There's ya problem. You have to re-imagine.

  3. Dan Paul
    FAIL

    Hollywood Studios need a major shake up!

    This just goes to show (again) that the Movie Industry can't come up with any original ideas.

    Damn near everything from Hollywood is a prequel, retelling, ripped off comic book/graphic novel storyline, re-written by vestigial cretins who have killed their last remaining brain cell with one last snort of powder du jour (bath salts anyone?).

    For a "B" movie intended to entertain teenagers at Drive in Theatres, Carrie was actually pretty decent. Sissy Spacek played a truly innocent and believable character that made the movie work.

    In today's world of jaded overpriviliged teen queens, there is not one that could even come close unless they find an unknown virgin talent someplace in south Texas. (Lottsa luck with that).

    Todays teenagers could not even begin to relate to the character so the "cretins" would have to ruin the story to get today's "Yoof" to see the film.

    The remake will be on video in less than a month, mark my words!

  4. Richard Joseph
    Grenade

    For an 'inadequate 1976 interpretation' , 'Carrie' was quite adequate enough to...

    ...scare the living daylights out of me, as a kid!!! For some reason, probably being Christmas, I was allowed to stay up and watch this back in the 80's. The scene in the Gym with the split screen could go toe-to-toe with anything from Alien 1, and, to top it off, when I went to bed, a toy box 'threw itself' off of my wardrobe, prompting me to start screaming that "Carrie has come to get me!!!".

    I'm now 39 , 6'9" tall, but I still haven't bought myself to watch it again, since.

    Cheers

    Big Rich

    P.S. I'll probably watch the new one, when it comes out, probably....

  5. Alex Walsh

    the only thing worse..

    would be a remake of the Shining :(

    1. Skydreamer
      Boffin

      Shining already remade...

      ... as a TV mini-series. Maybe it was closer to the book (Steven King was allegedly disappointed with Kubrik's effort), but Kubrik was by far the better film maker and made all the right choices.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      ... starring ...

      ... Russell Brand as Johnny.

      1. Fr Barry

        Obviously

        not filming that in Japan then

  6. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Obvisouly

    In 3D with a fast-food franchise tie in.

    The KFC-Carrie Bucket-of-blood ?

  7. BoldMan

    groan

    3D bloody splattering?

    3D knife/scissor/nail file attack on loony mother?

    3D hand that ***SPOILER ****

    Hollywood Burns in Hell

    or at least it should...

  8. Hud Dunlap
    Thumb Up

    two Oscar Nominations

    How many horror films get nominated for both best Actress and best supporting Actress? They can't do it any better today.

  9. Graham Marsden
    Thumb Down

    What added value...?

    Not added value, just added sex, violence and gore most likely.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What added value...?

      "Not added value, just added sex, violence and gore most likely."

      To appease the prudish ratings board, there will be no sex, but the extra violence and gore will be OK.

      1. bobbles31
        Unhappy

        Title 1

        And dont forget added marketing and promotion to ensure that enough suckers show up on opening weekend before anyone realises its complete shite!

  10. Ralthor

    Meh

    Give us new stories not rehashes of old.

  11. LuMan
    Flame

    Maybe not such a bad thing!

    To be honest, there was a number of BAD Stephen King conversions around that time. Carrie was a bit ho-hum, with the only really frightening bit coming when her hand pops out the ground at the end. John Travolta having a BJ and then slaughtering a pig is only frightening when you think about it! Cujo is totally lame, Christine is a lamentable swear-fest (how many times do we have to hear C*ntingham??), Firestarter is a total missed-opportunity and The Running Man even made Arnie look bad!

    I hope the new version turns out a little more like the more recent offerings (Green Mile, Misery, etc.) with a WHOLE cast of decent actors and at least some credence to the bloody book!

    1. irish donkey
      Thumb Up

      The Stand, Salem's Lott and Dolores Claiborne

      Are some noteable exceptions

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      The Running Man was a typical Arnie flick

      For an Arnie flick from those days it was not that bad. Compare it with Commando for example.

      I agree - it was a missed opportunity, but even in this shape and form it is still worth being shown on TV right before (or after) "I am a twit, get me out of here".

      Firestarter needs to be remade. Properly. With someone like Spilberg at the helm. The book has the potential to become a phenomenal movie which was lost completely in the process.

    3. L.B
      Terminator

      Something I never new.

      I never new that Stephen King had anything to do with "The Running Man". A movie i actually always enjoy watching - a classic old school Arnie movie with OTT Vilans.

      I alway assumed that is was a Hollywood remake/rehash of the French film "Le Prix du Danger".

      (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Prix_du_Danger)

      The main reason I never associated King with "The Running Man" is probably because I find most of his works are rather dull, predictable and derivative.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Running Man

        Another reason you may not have connected King with the book is that it was published under the pseudonym Richard Bachmann. Although wildly different, the book's not much better than the movie, so you aren't missing much.

  12. alwarming
    Troll

    There already was a retelling...

    rage carrie 2: carrie does frat boys.

  13. thesykes

    Hmmm

    Two minds on this one... I like the original film, always have, so a remake may ruin it (Hollywood are good at doing that). But, having read other Steven King books and then watched the 2nd rate movies, maybe the book is better than the film and needs a more faithful reproduction. Unfortunately, Carrie is one of the many Steven King books I have yet to read.

    Whatever happens, unlikely the remake will contain such classic "ouch" moments as James Caans right angle ankles in Misery and the hand creeping from under the bed, with scalpel (?), in Pet Sematary....!

  14. Tony Paulazzo
    Flame

    Title #52341

    Hollywood Burns in Hell

    Pretty much matches my thoughts on this.

    Actually, there was a sequel, it was awful.

  15. Da Weezil
    Thumb Down

    Reheat and rehash....

    ...And there is the reason for falling cinema attendance and dvd sales.

    Nothing to do with piracy, just plain old fashioned lack of fresh interesting content.

    Pathetic.

    1. It wasnt me
      Thumb Down

      Beg to disagree

      Piracy isnt the problem, but its more than producing shite. Even when there is something good on, going to the cinema is just ridiculously expensive.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Oh no ...

    Epic fail. Brian de Palma's was quite sufficiently perfect for anyone.

    I also liked Dressed to Kill -- hope they aren't planning on remaking that.

  17. JDX Gold badge

    always been surprised...

    ... how faithfully S.K. books are covered in the films. Doesn't always _work_, but they follow the books very closely in all films I've seen which is pretty rare. Not sure why this is...

    Why remake Carrie though, he's written about 120 books you could pick from.

    1. yorgasor
      FAIL

      with notable exceptions

      The Running Man was only marginally related. There was a game show, but nothing like what was made in the movie. He mostly spent time hiding all over the country, just trying not to be found.

      The most laughable "Stephen King" interpretation was Lawnmower Man, where they got the title and the profession of the main character right. As I recall, the short story was about a guy who mowed really long grass, and crawled along behind it, eating little animals and other stuff that came out of the lawnmower.

  18. Mystic Megabyte
    Stop

    Lord of the Flies

    Apparently when touting for a re-make around Hollywood, an executive said "Does the fat boy have to die?"

    That sums up their stupidity nicely.

    Also, after being thoroughly shocked by the original I just could not be bothered to watch the re-make of "The Vanishing". What idiot thought that changing the ending was a good idea?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vanishing_(1993_film)

    1. Mostor Astrakan

      Hollywood suits missing the entire point? Surely not?

      Apparently, when Sir Terry Pratchett was negotiating a deal to have Reaper Man filmed in the US, he was told: "Yeah, nice script, but lose the skeleton."

      That deal fell through, for some reason. Possibly Mr. Pratchett telling them that he was already filthy rich, and didn't need to have one of his books violated in that way.

  19. Dave Bell

    Maybe some reasons

    I can imagine some of the technical aspects of the film looking a bit tired, these days. We are talking a movie made with 1976 technology.

    Oh, and there was a 2002 TV movie.

    It also, inevitably, looks 1976 in the setting.

    This could easily be a complete mess, but I can see why the idea would be taken seriously.

  20. aphexbr

    Done

    Stop complaining everyone, since this has already been done... twice. "The Rage: Carrie 2" was essentially a remake, and there was a 2002 TV remake as well. One more isn't going to make much difference!

    @Alex Walsh: The Shining has already been remade as a miniseries in 1997 as King was unhappy with Kubrick's version. If you're looking for sacred properties, King's work is the wrong place to look :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Didn't like The Shining???

      Probably because he wasn't in it AND it was a good movie.

      I still enjoy Carrie even though I was a kid when it came out. Piper Laurie was fantastic in it, playing such a psycho parent. The ending was quite sad. The mother stabbing the daughter was far more horror to me as a kid than the hand coming up, out of the ground. Still don't like seeing that part, because the mother was so brutal.

      King's movie are hit and miss. Think part of that is due to the fact that he can't write a decent ending and that very few hire a decent screenwriter and a director with a vision.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Carrie White Burns in Hell!

    And at this pace, I hope she is surrounded by studio execs.....

  22. Morteus

    Why?

    I am at a loss to see a reason for this. For a Horror movie, the original Sissy Spacek version generated a lot of empathy for the lead character and won well deserved awards. Aside from the social era it is set in, it holds up even today as a classic.

    Hollywood needs to take a lesson from this. HD, 3D and CGI are purely enhancements and do not make a good movie alone. Maybe I'm just out of touch or expect too much, but I'm not impressed by insipid wooden teenies who sparkle in the light and stereo typed clueless grown ups.

  23. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Unhappy

    eltiT

    Actually I've not read a single Stephen King book that I liked. I don't think of them as horror stories at all, just pointless killing off of characters for no discernible reason. Depressing rather than anything else.

    The original film was just as pointless as the book. Doubt I'll bother with any remake.

    1. bobbles31

      Title2

      just pointless killing off of characters for no discernible reason. Depressing rather than anything else.

      Isnt that the definition of horror?

  24. Purlieu

    Oh well

    this is the 21st century, where Hollywood seeas its duty to change the dog's name in "The Dambusters" .... says it all really

  25. Toastan Buttar
    Thumb Up

    Richard Laymon

    If Hollywood is looking for source material for new horror flicks, they could do worse than look to Richard Laymon for inspiration. I'd love to see The Travelling Vampire Show or the Beast House books made into a movie.

    Oooooooooh. Just googled and TTVS is in production, apparently.

  26. Graham Bartlett

    @JDX

    Faithfully?!

    "Christine" misses the point in every way - the book wasn't about an evil car, it was about a car possessed by its ex-owner, and the boy who takes on the car slowly turning into the ex-owner. "Salem's Lot" is just another vampire film. "Firestarter" was gutted. "The Running Man" was fun but missed the point. "The Stand" miniseries cut a load of stuff which led to a lousy deus ex machina ending. And "The Shining" was screwed up by bizarre arthouse directing.

    "Misery" wasn't bad, and "The Green Mile" was OK too.

    But there's actually only one good Stephen King film made so far, and that's "Shawshank Redemption". Sure, it changed practically every detail from the book, but it kept the soul of the book, and that's what matters. Plus it was immaculately scripted, cast, directed and acted.

    Actually the worst of the bunch are the made-for-TV ones where King's decided to do some of the screenwriting himself. He can't write scripts for crap.

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