No "Remake" for LOTR
by Rogorn
I think it's very unlikely that LOTR is made into 'motion picture
representation' ever again, or if it is, it will be many many years
from now, maybe when 3D or some other major technical breakthrough is
widely used in film-making. This was the case with, arguably, the most
important remakes ever done, those of 'The ten commandments' and
'Ben-hur', where colour, sound and the increasing popularity of a very
young invention like cinema made possible new versions of popular
stories.
Another reason why a film might be remade is because it's based on a
play, and therefore, they are stories made to be represented over and
over again from their birth. That's why you can't put a face to Hamlet,
for example, and they will periodically be remade without a second
thought in the same way that new theatre montages will be done too.
Finally, another case might be when the first attempt was poor: witness
LOTR's own previous venture from Ralph Bakshi. This happened also for
example with Dune (which showed what could have happened to a one-film
LOTR), but even in this case the new attempt was a TV series, made
because of a) cheaper effects and b) the possibility of extended screen
time.
None of these reasons apply to PJ's LOTR. Whoever remakes it will have
to get at least 12 hours of screen time, whichever the format, and work
for years, whichever the new technical breakthroughs are. And all this
to maybe run the risk of not bettering the present effort: witness 'The
planet of the apes'. A bigger stinker than Gollum.
Highly unlikely. Think back and tell me what's the biggest and
classic-est film you think it's been remade as such. Not reprised, like
'West Side story' would be a take on 'Romeo and Juliet'. I mean
actually made again. You will find that the really big films don't get
remade that easily, if ever, unless one of the three reasons I gave
before applies. 'Psycho'?. Sorry, Viggo, mate, but keep that one quiet
in your CV.
A 100% animated film, with no actors to worry about and only
replaceable journeymen losing their eyesight over thousands of computer
screens is the only feasible possibility I see, and not soon.
Also, when a film is very succesful, it's often expected that copycats
will follow thick and fast, and that is sometimes the case (for example
the judicial thrillers and the serial murderers of the 1990s), but
sometimes is not. 'The western is back' was said when 'Dances with
wolves' was a sensation. It didn't happen. In the same way, a golden
aga of sword and sorcery was prophesied after LOTR. It's also not
happening. In a few years LOTR will be bracketed instead with
Gladiators, Troys, Arthurs and Crusaders in what could be called the
'Massive' era (after the programme that makes possible all those
enormous battle scenes). Or maybe it will be called 'the Bloom', as
Orlando seems to be in most of these films.
