2020-04-01_Total_Film

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CAREER INJECTION

JOHNBOYEGA

THELASTJEDI

DECEMBER 2017 “It’s a

rollercoaster ride. It takes you

through it, it’s a movie full of

heart – I think the fans are going

to love it. It’s very Star Wars – very

connected to past stories, previous

stories and perhaps what will

happen in the future.”

NOVEMBER 2019 “The Force

Awakens I think was the beginning

of something quite solid. The Last

Jedi, if I’m being honest, I’d say that

was feeling a bit iffy for me. I didn’t

necessarily agree with a lot of the

choices in that.”

NOSTALGIA TV MOVIES

Another month, another big-screen let-down for retro-TV fans. Can

decent nostalgia-telly reboots be more than the stuff of fantasy?

T

he island is twisting what

we asked for,” says one

character in the recent

movie reboot of Fantasy

Island. If reports from the US are any

indication, he could have been talking

about the film itself. Be careful what

you wish for seems to be the gist: had

anyone been asking for a remake of the

late-’70s show, Blumhouse’s quasi-

horror makeover appears to offer only

a mangled, muddled response.

While audiences responded with

disinterest, critics fired off the slap-

downs: “The pain, the pain,” went

The New York Times’ genius headline.

But Blumhouse’s belly-flop is not alone.

In recent-ish years, CHiPs, The A-Team,

The Man From UNCLE, The Dukes Of

Hazzard, The Sweeney and Charlie’s Angels

have served reminders that nostalgia is

no guarantee of wish-fulfilment, either

for audiences seeking comfort-food

familiarity or studios seeking a hit.

Of course, the first question is

whether modern audiences know these

old IPs anyway. The answer might be yes

if you got the ‘pain’ gag above, although

whether you want the IP revived is a

whole other issue. Either way, move on

from the sticky subject of pre-awareness

and the problems of reinventing

nostalgia TV get stickier. Sometimes,

audiences who crave the familiar won’t

countenance makeovers; alternatively,

audiences might equally protest if you

merely reheat the familiar. Especially

(and justifiably) when it’s Baywatch.

Many nostalgia telly upgrades fail

because they struggle to map fresh, clear

routes – story-wise or tonally – through

the minefields of these chafing options.

Any remake risks looking hobbled if it

surrenders to homage, or pointless if it

simply squanders a show’s USP.

For solutions, consider the reboots

that work. The Brady Bunch Movie found a

nifty meta-hook and approached the

original with due fun, neither beholden

to its pitch nor neglectful of it. 21 Jump

Street made a commitment to comedy,

The Muppets (2011) to the series’ splice of

song, surrealism and self-awareness.

Mission: Impossible took its source show’s

core conceit and blew it up before

reassembling it in new ways, all while

stretching itself as a fresh franchise.

As for incoming nostalgia movies,

Dexter Fletcher may want to consider

Cruise’s vehicle if he, as is reported,

directs a remake of old spy-thriller

The Saint. Should he accept the mission,

a decisive angle might yet make success

a possibility. KH

FIVE

POINT

FIX

1

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betweenstations

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whetherpiss-take

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revitalisation–

andownit

2

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reinventionBlow

uptheteam

makethe

leadavillain...Mission

rebootneedn’tbe

impossible

3

FindIPswith

strong

distinguishing

featuresShadesand

tightcop-pants

CHiPsdon’tcount

4

Don’tregurgitate

offensiveold

comicpositionsfor

desperatelaughs

Basically

don’t

beBaywatch

5

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ShaneBlack

andFredDekker’s

Avengersnotthat

onerebootnow?

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hopethere...

BACKGROUND ARTISTRY

Celebrating the extras and

bit parters stealing scenes

MONTYPYTHON’SLIFE

OFBRIAN

WHOMr. Papadopoulos

SPECIALSKILLSEx-Beatle George

Harrison so wanted to see Life Of Brian he

re-mortgaged his house to fund it. He then

turns up fleetingly in a crowd scene where

he’s introduced as the ‘gentleman who’s

leing us have the mount on Sunday’.

HINDSIGHT CORNER!

Stars eat their words...

FILM

BUFF

TOTAL FILM | APRIL 2020 SUBSCRIBEATWWWTOTALFILMCOM/SUBS



THIS MONTH

QUOTE

Hollywood speak for the number an actor

commands as a fee. As seen in Sony’s

leaked emails about Mark Wahlberg’s

pay; “His highest quote was 12m”.

PLAIN TALKING

Learn the movie lingo