Remakes

Is there a film that you think is perfect in its original form and should never be remade? (From LJ’s Writer’s Block.)

There are many films that should never be remade because it was their originality that made them great. When a film is released plays a huge part of how well it will do and how popular it will become. A film which captures a specific moment in time wouldn’t do as well if remade because what made it popular and great has been lost. I think perhaps some movie producers forget that when they do remakes.
All they see is “Oh that film made in 1952 did really well and people still love it. Lets remake it for today’s audience.” *facepalm*
It won’t work.
It would be like trying to remake classic Film Noir now, it would fail so badly. You could have a brilliant script, fantastic cast and it still wouldn’t work. Why?
Film Noir captured a feeling and attitude which has been lost now. It’s faded away. We can still watch those movies and love them but a remake wouldn’t/couldn’t work.
Hmm, gone on a mini rant there, I should probably name some movies now…

Firstly let me say that I don’t think any movie is perfect. I can’t recall many films which I’ve watched where something couldn’t have been changed to make it better in my opinion. Whether that be casting, editing, script or whatever, I think there is always wiggle room. That’s because making a movie is about compromise.
Very very very rarely do the makers get everything they want to make the film they want. Things get in the way, things like cast members, budget, the weather, technology, etc. … you get the idea. So they have to compromise and do the best they can with what they have.
Most of the time what they turn out is brilliant, perhaps better than they imagined, but is it perfect? No. Nothing is perfect. Life isn’t perfect so how can a movie be? People aren’t perfect so how can they make something perfect?

The wording of this question is wrong then for me. So I’ll answer the question of: is there a film which shouldn’t be remade?
Yes, lots.
Examples that I can think of just off the top of my head are: Jaws, Casablanca and Citizen Kane.
(There are of course many more.)

Also worth mentioning are films which were damn good (not using the word perfect) and should have been left the hell alone.
Star Wars. Brilliant film. Just as close to perfect as you can get really in terms of cast, direction, feel and story. It came out at the perfect time as well, nothing like this had really been seen before.
Then you get a second one. OK… not as good as the first but it added to the story and it was good.
Then a third one joined in and this was good too. Still not as good as the first but better than the second.
Then came the prequels and Star Wars was ruined forever. These prequels to me are like lazy remakes. Producers like how much money the original has made and want to cash in without remaking it.

Halloween did this too. They milked an awesome film for all it was worth until finally the original  was remade and it sucked.

I’m sure people have their own examples and I didn’t intend to go off on a bit of a rant about the movies but there you go. I did and you read it. Sorry. 😉

Best Science Fiction Movie Ever?

Time for some more questions. I came across this one at LJ’s Writer’s Block again.

What is the best science fiction movie of all time, and why?

I don’t think it is possible to answer this question properly. Everyone has there own opinions about what makes a great film and where science fiction is concerned the arguments tend to become quite heated. There are many science fiction movies which are excellent, all for different reasons, but could I really name one of them the best of all time? No. That’s silly. Time isn’t done yet… so lets just leave that to future movie buffs.
Right, so I’m going to list some of my favourite science fiction movies instead.

• Forbidden Planet. No matter how many times I see this I’m still amazed by it. So many films and television series made afterwards took their cues from this movie. The plot is, of course, The Tempest but wonderfully reworked (only slightly though). The special effects, although they look dated now, were state of the art and yet are never the focal point of the movie as tends to happen so much today.
• Star Wars IV: A New Hope. The original Star Wars before it was faffed with by George Lucas trying to squeeze more money out of it. The plot is beautifully simple, one of the best and most classic stories you will find, and the special effects were (and still are – again without faffing) mind blowing. It works as part of the original trilogy but also as a stand alone film and I wish I could get a copy of the proper original now. 😦
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I love it. The plot is cool, the drama and tension are just right and the effects never overwhelm the story. They are there to compliment and further the plot not as set pieces. Yes, some of the acting is hammy but lets be honest isn’t that why people love Star Trek? It’s a proper meal instead of a snack. 🙂
• District 9. Brutal, real and intelligent. This film blew me away when I saw it for my birthday in 2009. It’s heartbreaking, brilliantly put together and again the effects never overtake the drama. They are tools not cast members.

Yes, that is a short list but those are the ones which immediately sprung to mind.
Are any of these films perfect? No. Not at all. However are they brilliant? Yes, in my opinion they are.
I know there are loads of movies out there which I’ll think of later and kick myself for not remembering right now. However I think this list is a decent one. 🙂

BBC Work Placement

Just started to apply for work placement at the BBC. I’ve just got seven little essay type questions to fill out so that will keep be busy for the next couple of days.

I’m also going be helping out at The Conference of Graphic Novels and Comics in July.I’ll be helping with the setting up and I’ll get to go to the talks which will be really interesting.

Conference Website.

Pick a genre, any genre.

All right, I’ve come up with the idea of answering questions to get my creative and analytical juices flowing. So I’ll be posting a few of these up and if anyone wants to contribute by asking me a question then please feel free to do so.

Here goes. Short one to begin with.

If you could watch only one genre of movies (or television) for the rest of your life, which genre would you choose, and why? (Question taken from LJ Writer’s Block)

I’ll have to say Science Fiction.
Science fiction is a genre of “what ifs” and tells stories about what is happening now even though science fiction is often (but not always) set in the future. By setting stories in the near or distant futures and using technology as a way of getting a point across or expressing concerns science fiction can cover a broad range of narratives. Science fiction is speculative fiction, meaning it takes a contemporary issue and projects and expands this in a logical way, because of that it can incorporate elements of many different genres within it such as action, comedy or romance.
So if I were limited to just one genre then science fiction would be my first choice. It would be like having the best of them all. You can have moments of comedy, you can have two characters fall in love, the hero can do some action scenes and it can scare the pants off you just like any horror.
Most of what I watch is science fiction in some form anyway so if I did only have to watch that genre for the rest of my life there wouldn’t be a huge change. 😉

Planning in science fiction television series. Star Trek Vs Bablyon 5

I finished watching all of Babylon 5 not too long ago. I never watched it when it was initially on but everyone kept telling me that I’ve love it. Well, I do love it but there is something that’s making me go: “I’m still not sure”. I can’t put my finger on it either and it’s really bugging me.

I’m a girl who was raised on Star Trek which has a pretty standard formula (although it wavers in DS9 – hence why I picked that series for my dissertation) and B5 doesn’t follow this.
It’s good, although poorly acted in parts, but it’s missing something and I can’t put my finger on what. I’m putting part of it down to my over familiarity with Star Trek and how it is sort of “seat of the pants” writing. Seasons might be planned out in advance but only so far. Whereas B5 was totally planned out even to the point where all the characters had “get out” story-lines in case the actors wanted to leave.

I’m impressed with that level of planning and some of the episodes have been excellent. Also once you get into season 2 the overall story arc seems to be coming into it more and I got really into it. I also like how the characters seemed to be fully developed right from the start. This differs from ST where it can sometimes take a few episodes to get into the character.
An example would be Kira – the first time we meet her there are hints of who her character will be but it takes a few episodes for her to turn into the Kira we’ll know for the rest of the series. Another example is Troi. Troi in the first few episodes of TNG is quite different from the Troi she becomes.
Now don’t mistake this for character development, I’m not talking about the gradual change over time as the character learns from events etc. I mean how ST characters are rarely set in stone from the first episode.

There will be an outline, a premise for the character, an idea who the writers/producers want this character to be. eg. Jadzia Dax – they knew they wanted a female alien who was an old soul in a young body. She evolved into a Trill*, an old friend of Sisko’s, with her look and character evolving along the way. Then… you have the input the actress will put in and how she changes the character based on how she plays the part. From all that you get the Dax we know.

*This character also changed what a Trill is known to be. Think about the first Trill seen in TNG and then compare that to what is ‘learnt’ about the Trill in DS9. Actually this is a better example of what I was trying to say. ST only plans so far ahead.
I get the impression from all I’ve read that B5 was completely planned out before any actors were hired. All characters were planned out in detail, all races had their backgrounds fixed and plot arcs planned down to the episode.

Sarah-Jane Simpson Facebook page

I’ve set up a Facebook page for my professional profile. There are two really good reasons for this:

1. One easy to find place on Facebook for updates and information. As I grow as a writer and get jobs, experience and build my portfolio this page will be an excellent place.
2. This keeps my personal Facebook profile and my profession separate. Very important. It amazes me how many professional don’t do this. How I interact with family and friends if different to how I interact with employers and the big wide world.

Sarah-Jane Simpson – writer. Please like and that way you’ll get lovely updates. Marvellous.

Hello world!

Well hello there. I suppose this is the standard first post.

I’m Sarah-Jane and if you want to know more about me feel free to check out the About Me page.

Things look a little empty at the moment but fear not, I shall me adding more soon. Upcoming features will be commentaries/discussions about film and television as well as some of my academic writing and perhaps some short stories.

So keep checking back for updates.