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Robert Zemeckis and Jim Carrey say "Bah! Humbug!"
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Boy, these two dudes love Christmas. Robert Zemeckis' POLAR EXPRESS gets play every Christmas season now thanks to IMAX 3-D and Carrey was The Grinch for Ron Howard.
I guess he has to take on the other iconic Christmas-time villain.
Zemeckis has written and will direct an adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL with Jim Carrey in line to star as Scrooge as well as the ghosts of Christmas' Past, Present and Future. Disney is footing the bill. Zemeckis is planning to mix live action with performance capture animation.
If the word about BEOWULF being damn near photorealistic it's possible that this could be the first movie to integrate live action and completely realist computer representations of human beings. Of course, Zemeckis could go for a more cartoony effect.
Rumor has it that Bob Hoskins is also in talks to join the film as Mr. Fizziwig. I guess there's a law that says anytime Robert Zemeckis has a live action/cartoon mix Bob Hoskins has to be a part of it.
I'd love to see Zemeckis focus on doing something new, something original like BACK TO THE FUTURE... that kind of feel. But I also liked POLAR EXPRESS and BEOWULF sounds like it's coming together very well, so I can wait for that particular creative bug to sink its teeth into Zemeckis' brain. Thoughts?
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But this sounds cool.
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Thought he went Scientologist...
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Is there a pitch on earth less appealing than that one?
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And they'd save money on the Gotta Take a Shit mask too, 'cause Jim can do all sorts of contortions.
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...IMHO is 'Scrooge', 1971 version with Albert Finney. You 1951 Alistair Sims people can go take a flying leap. Nothing tops the musical song and dance of Thank You Very Much! when Scrooge finally kicks it.
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Safe and boring
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Ugh, kill me. ARE THERE NO MORE ORIGINAL IDEAS IN HOLLYWOOD?????
Seriously, Doctor Who, Heroes, and Scrubs are more interesting than nearly anything Shittywood has come up with in the last 5 years. -
The only people who like performance capture and computer generated backgrounds are the filmmakers. Audiences would rather see the real Angelina Jolie than a computers interpretation. Bob Zemeckis has become a filmaker whos trying to do exciting things in the most boring way.
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Jul 06, 2007 8:46:39 PM CDT
Do we really need yet another version of this story?
by allpowerfulwizardofoz
Fucking Jesus H Christ on a popsicle stick I mean come the fuck on! Lets just agree that Alistair Sim was the best Scrooge and call it a day you know? And how many versions of this movie would that make once this is one is made? Besides the overall best version of the story to be taken to film is of course The Muppets version.
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Damn you, Jim Carrey!
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if you don't recognize Bill Murray is the best Scrooge ever.
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I agre Bill Murray in Scrooged was great. I will check this out though. Zemeckis makes some quality stuff. But I also agree with AllPowerfulWizardOfOz... how many times are they going to recreate this story in film.
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and write something original and cool.
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i can picture carrey just doing uncle olof again. plus this storys been done done done. and scrooge was fine, theirs not much more you can do with this story. carey should play nutty roles like ace v and lloyd christmas instead. he's lost it i'm afraid to say. anyways make a live actionversion of 'life and adventures of santa claus' by l frank baum. its cooler anyways.
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Shame on you Quint, have you not yet learned? This is Hollywood. Originality Need Not Apply.
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The 1951 version is the best by far. No one, and I mean no one, could top the spectacular performance by Alastair Sim. Not even George C. Scott. Albert Finney isn't even in the running.
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you're not a film buff if you don't know what I'm talking about...
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Best modern translation. Hands down. Zemeckis, don't do this. Please. Not while we still respect you as a human being!
FUCK!
FUCK!
FUCK!
FUCK!
FARK!
FUCK!
FUCK! -
I really miss the other Zemeckis. Oh well.
Back in the day he would have been an interesting director for Transformers. -
... this one is digital.
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Of course, I'm basing that on his uncanny resemblance to Mr. Toad in the Scrooge McDuck Christmas Carol.
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Great "Chinatown" reference! Bill Murray rules! "Used Cars" is still my favorite Zemekis picture. As "Sheriff Lucky" would say, "Yessir...we'll blow the livin' shit out of high prices!"
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Polar Express was crap. You could play a drinking game to all of the time one of the characters hands clipped through a solid object. What a bunch of crap.
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Love that movie. The idea of seeing Jim Carrey overacting in a remake of A Christmas Carol really makes me appreciate Alistair Sims interpretation of Scrooge.
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why the hell do we need this shit? Why does Hollywood still give money to this Zemekis hack! There used to be an old saying in hollywood.. you were only as good as your last picture.. I guess its changed to..you are only as good as how well you blow me.
Motion Capture! Wow.. wonderful thing!!!
Lets make it look and act like real people.. nice imagination going there you freaking chimps! When are we going to start doing films that have some original thinking behind it? I guess I ask waaayy to much its easier to spend 200 million dollars on a film, then forty dollars of paper and a pen to actually write. -
CASTAWAY is my favorite Zemeckis flick. It's not necessarily his best, but it appeals to me personally, as it is about a guy who is all alone. I watch it at times when I'm feeling very, very lonely.
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what, yall forgot?
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At still hold out hope for that one.
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.. but I think they have already made a live action Christmas Carol. Maybe even two of them. Oh wait, no there were about 50 movie incarnations and every damn sitcom that ever was had ripped it off for their 'Very Special Christmas Episode' from Flintstones to the Bundys to Blackadder to Saved by the Bell. It's almost a prerequisite for the few sitcoms that make it to the Christmas Season. It's like all the writers are gone for Xmas vacation and they need to fill the air with their special version of this dead horse classic.
And you know what else? It's not even a great story!!!! I'm pretty sure this won't rape my childhood, but I feel raped none the less... -
And I will take anybody to the mat over this. Bill Murray is without doubt the funniest rendition. But really, Scrooged was as much a paraody on the overdone reworks of Dickens classic as it was anything and for that Bill Murray did an execellent job.
But for truly portraying the real character, Patrick Stewart's TNT rendition is so far above any other out there. I include Allstair Sims excellent performance in this group.
Most actors Portray Scrooge with such a passionate hatred of the Holiday that the transformation to a benevolent person only makes the character into a caricature.
Stewart was the first to understand that Scrooge's view of Christmas is only an extension of his view of people. And that view is not hatred, but apathy. It is so much more real feeling. Scrooge's anger at christmas is from the exceesive number of people who seemed determined to take his money and wish him to a merry time while so doing. Nobody else has ever picked that up. This is a field that has been done and redone with over 60 adaptations. Its been a musical a number of comedies, and a serious piece of work most of which have been lame. Before Stewart I was bored with it. After Stewart, all other performances have been embarassing (Kelsey Grammer should be ashamed).
So to Carrey......I heard nothing of this being a humourous piece and if George C. Scott can't avoid overacting the part, I doubt Carrey can. Its mixing of animation with live action does nothing to make it more inviting.
Its like a challenge to the film industry to say I am good enough to make A Christmas Carol better than anything before. And the streets are red with the blood of those who thought so and wound up butchering it. Its worse than the number of country singers who try to go pop.
I like Carrey, but I have no hope for this film.
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Jul 06, 2007 9:59:22 PM CDT
Which of the roles will we get the most scenery-chewing
by carmillavondoom
??? Huge toss-up
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"...High Prices!" BLAM! "Yahhhh, you got me Sheriff Lucky...yahhhhhhhhh....." "Holy shit!"
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Coming out Feb 14, 2008.
CGI WEREWOLVES!! starring Mandy Moore and Seth Green. Directed by Bret Rantner
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That post made me sad. Now I must watch Castaway.
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What is it with this 3D thing? Please, Bob. I want the you that make "Back to the Future", "Forrest Gump", etc. The closest thing to animation that I like from you is "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Hated "Polar Express". When i watched that, I don't feel like watching A ROBERT ZEMECKIS FILM at all. And I have a feeling that it will be the same with "Beouwulf" too. Please, when I was small, you were my second favorite director (a tie with James Cameron) after Steven Spielberg. So guess where you are now.
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I miss the days of scrappy, Rube Goldberg comedies like Used Cars and Back To The Future, instead of these sterile, eerie "photorealistic" CG mocap features. If you want to see realistic humans, then CAST actual humans.
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You'd pay to see Jim Carrey's tongue stuck to that pole. Don't lie.
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(sings to the tune of the Transformers theme...) "Mi-chael Bay! Jacks off in your eyes!"
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I stand corrected. Thank you.
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He will get all the major film roles he can. Mark my words. They must have the same publicist.
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...so many f'ing times its not funny. How many variations of the same story can you do?
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No. No. No. Failure.
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I have to agree with AllPowerfulWizardOfOz, the Muppet version has been the best.
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Cast Away was even more a concept in search of a story than the equally painful (and pandering) Forrest Gump...
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Unexpected casting for its time, but he was great in that role. Of the various versions of this story, I found "An American Christmas Carol" one of the most memorable.
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Because we all totally needed yet another Christmas Carol movie. Only this time we get it in creepy 3D children of the corn o vision. I always wanted to see a CG version of Scrooge with the new and state of the art lifeless eye technology that Zemeckis and his team invented. I mean, it totally worked for Polar Express. The children in that movie had eyes that would make the Children of the Corn jealous. There were only two good film adaptations among the several fucking thousand of the Christmas Carol and one of those two starred the Muppets.
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"When a cold wind blows, it chills you, chills you to the bone..."
Fuckin' A. Best Adaptation. But whatever. Make it so, Zemeckis. -
Amen sir, it's still considered the closest to the book. Oh, and, "And there's nothing in nature that freezes your heart like years of being alone."
"It paints you with indifference like a lady paints with rouge."
"And the worst of the worst."
"The most hated and cursed."
"Is the one that we call Scrooge."
"Yeah."
"Unkind as many."
"And the wrath of many."
"This is Ebeneezer Scrooge."
"Oh, there goes Mr. Humbug. There goes Mr. Grim. If they gave a prize for being mean the winner would be him." -
You could bet he would be sour.
Screw discussing, lets just quote the muppets. -
Now we're watching movies going, "WOW that tree looks so real!" L-A-M-E
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Is that it reminded me of the Muppets Christmas Carol. "Not even the vegetables like him."
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amen to that. I would LOVE to see them do something again. "Used Cars" ("this car's just too *gunshot* FUCKIN' EXPENSIVE!") and BTTF are brilliant.
Regarding "Where the Wild Things Are", I'm still wary of Dave Eggers' involvement with it. That pretentious, self-aggrandizing bastard was not my ideal choice of screenwriter. -
But this the 10 millionth version of A Christmas Carol. I mean you have that old old one, the old one, the Patrick Stewart one, Scrooged, The George C. Scott one, the Kelsey Grammar musical one, the Disney Scrooge McDuck one, and on... and on...
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Yes, we CERTAINLY need another version of that story. A quick title search at IMDb turned up 50 instances before it stopped showing results. http://us.imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=christmas+carol
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And you know, Carrey has already visted this theme with the Grinch. Cold-hearted Christmas hater learns the error of his ways and does an about-face by the end of the movie and LOVES Christmas and everyone on planet Earth. I'm just... arrrggh, the whole concept of another remake of that goddamn story is making me ill. Because, yeah, it's not enough that we have to suffer through every sitcom doing a version, an ABC Family version with a "twist" where it's a modern career woman as Scrooge, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Isn't there someone out there with an idea for a NEW Christmas tale? FUCK!
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Those havent been done to death yet...
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No doubt Z. is a very capable guy. I only wish he'd flush this cartoon bullshit and get back to being a real filmmaker! I believe he's in the same realm as Marty. Perhaps not the master he is, but who is? Nobody! Point is, I just think it's wasted talent that could go to more interesting projects. Because I know the dude has chops.
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My money woulda been on Will Smiff.
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The Polar Express isn't what I would consider a classic. The simple fact that you CAN see it in fantastic 3D technology is the reason it picked up steam. Otherwise it was a dud. Monster House was great though. But I think I've had enough; I like the Muppet Christmas Carol (well I love Muppets) but that was definitely sign the remakes should stop there. Hollywood's running out of angles.
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i was fortunate to see mr stewart perfrom his adapation of a christmas carol at the new vic theatre about 10 years ago, it was a one man show and he was brilliant in it. i've also enjoyed murray in that role as well. carrey whilst i thought did excellent in the truman show hasnt had in my mind a decent his since pet detective. stick to the funnny stuff fella, and actually be funny in it.
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in case Beowulf fails at the box office - A Christmas Carol, Carrey, Zemeckis, 3D and the possibility of yearly exhibition - it's a no-lose situation, though like most people I'd like to see him get over the motion capture thing and make a few actual live action movies again.
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I want no connection to Christmas after this bullshit.
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Love Zemeckis's work!
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which i hope and think it will, i want more cgi mocap stuff, but not another childrens christmas tale.
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I told people about this on this very site on wednesday....WEDNESDAY. I was actaully joking the following day with another talkbacker the next day about how long it would take AICN to report it. 3 days apparently. Whats next-AICN EXCLUSIVE-ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS POSTER!! yep...saw that ages ago....and its not like I spend my days trawling through the internet looking for stuff-this sotry has come and gone in mainstream circles DAAAAAAAAAYS ago. This site usually does a fine job-you just get plum lazy sometimes....
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my point still stands though....
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Carey will drop out of this, as he has with most other projects over the last couple of years.
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why he has to go and attach himself himself to projects that are designed to revert him to his notorious annoying gurning idiot persona is beyond me...I loved Ace Ventura at the time but I cant even watch it now....
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Jim Carrey as Scrooge? No thanks.
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Long time ago...
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I love "Scrooged", but since he's playing ALL the ghosts, this should be interesting. I hope this can take me back to the days when I watched him on "In Living Color"....
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like a week old. like tiny tim's stale ass piece of crust. this has also been remade a kajillion times. give me 'elf' any day, just for being original, to go on my shelf with the other ORIGINAL Christmas movies.
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"okay, get this, we are going to do a cgi animated version of....A CHRISTMAS CAROL!!" "Has anyone remade it this year yet?" "no sir, but I believe "According To Jim" is planning to do an episode based on it, and maybe "8 Simple Rules"" "Ah go ahead-ya cant have enough Christmas Carols remakes!"
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I've always like A Christmas Carol. The novel, and several other versions. By no means have I seen them all. Have yet to watch the earliest version, but love the Alastair Sim. I'm not sure that I've seen Finney's version, but I rather liked the George C. Scott version back in 84. The Stewart version wasn't too bad either. No doubt that tv programs have done the story to death, but I love the Blackadder version, which at least puts a spin on the story with Rowan Atkinson going from nice to mean. Also sentimental for the Mr. Magoo version, because I watched the repeats as a child in the 70's. And, I liked the WKRP Christmas Carol episode. Then again, most KRP ep's are a step above most sitcoms on tv today! As for the Kelsey Grammar take, I didn't see enough to comment. Doubt I'll be buying. Here's a question...when the Hell are we going to get Rich Little's Christmas Carol on dvd. Loved it when I was younger at least. For my dvd collection, it would have to be Simm, Scott, Blackadder, Stewart, WKRP's version,Magoo, and (if it's ever released)the Rich Little special. Just my opinion. Your's may be different.
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Two words, Uncanny Valley.
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Was Mr. Magoo.
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He's been raped worse than Linda Blair in that coke bottle scene.
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laying the exact opposite of every Jim Carrey role ever. This has the stench of too much Jim gurning mixed with scmaltz and all those two people who saw The Majestic know the dangers of Jim with schmaltz. The only Jim gurning I could stand was on Larry Sanders-"Im here for three good reasons Sanders-last show, big ratings, new movie coming out...." One of my lecturers reckons Jim would have been perfect in Jake Glyenhaals part in Zodiac which I thought was interesting...
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Have Scrooge talking thru his butt! Jacob Marley would howl even LOUDER at such insolence, lol !!!
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It has already been said a million times but WHO NEEDS ANOTHER VERSION OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL!?!?! FUCK!
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Doesn't he realize that he's way overdue for a Ace Ventura-ish comedy?
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How on earth could anyone CARE one way or the other? O_o
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I'm pretty sure there have been all-black remakes, but what about the hispanics? asians? eskimos? The only way to properly remake ACC is to make the cast a different race.
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That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me. (Well, not really, but the song got in my head.)
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Yes, when so many other films needed to be made, like Transformers. Christmas Carol is timeless and has risen to the level of Shakespeare. It will always be redone, because it is about redemption and at times we all feel like we need to be saved from ourselves. So, actually, "Thank you very much", Zemeckis.
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I agree. The Magoo Christmas Carol was great. I would love to see a live action version of that--songs and all--"We're dispicable!"
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has to stop playing with the motion capture, and get back to film-making soon. He hasn't made a plain old film since cast/away, and I think it's time to stop with motion capture, put it aside, and give us and honest to god film. I really never see motion capture becoming all that is film like I heard Zemeckis say a few years ago. Yes it will be used in the making of a film, hell it already is, but it won't take over the medium period.
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I'd just like to mention that "Death Becomes Her" was hilarious for the first 3/4 of it (after they try to convince Bruce Willis to drink the potion the movie seems to quickly lose steam), "Roger Rabbit" is some kind of masterpiece and an amazing technical achievement for it's day. CGI would make a sequel a lot easier, but it wouldn't be the same at all. Also, "Romancing the Stone" was fun to watch, but I haven't seen it in forever. "Contact" was pretty good as I remember, not too many mainstream, vaguely serious science fiction films being made these days, or ever, really. I think '1941' was his first produced script, with that Bob Gale fellow, and it was directed by none other than Steven Spielberg. Sure it was a bomb, who cares about how much money it made, at least it was interesting. Wow, I wonder what happened to Robert Zemeckis? He used to make funny, exciting, or at the very least, interesting movies. I felt the rot setting in during "What Lies Beneath," I couldn't bring myself to see "The Polar Express," and now the guy who directed all these wonderful movies (You guys mentioned all the others) is doing "A Christmas Carol" remake? In 3-D? Jesus Christ, has it come to this? What has happened to all these used-to-be-great filmmakers? I know all artists go through different periods, ebbs and flow, but, come on. Unless it's "Scrooged," at this point, the "Christmas Carol" template is strictly made-for-TV.
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He is perfect for material like this if he is really acting and not hamming.
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Is the definitive version of this story.
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or take place in 1870 or whenever. its gonna be for kids so itll suck. but im sure theyll be some good elements to it, like the future ghost being scary. but id rather have jim play tiny tim and make fun of handicapped people like he would have done on in livning color.
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he must be trawling for new actresses to bang. Carey is such a sad fucker now, he used to be so funny, then he went into the "nobody takes me seriously phase" which is regrettable. life is serious enough, what we loved about Jim was taking us away from that, then he stabs us in the back. so anywho, Carey is in 2 movies... 40 million dollars i hope it cheers him up.
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Who cares if it's been done before? Stop the Zemeckis bashing, this guy made Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump and the Back to the Futures! I think it sounds like a perfect for him.
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I realy like the advance that cgi has given us in effects but i also hate the fact that we may in the near future, not need actors and just have virtual actors. This for me will be the death of cinema as we know it.
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I've always had mixed feelings about Robert Zemeckis. You summed it up for me. Thank you.
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You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me. Better idea: Zemeckis and Carrey remake "The Passion of the Christ."
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...with delight. Sorry about that. Anyway, as stupid as this project sounds, Jim Carrey is at his best when he's let loose like this, so it will probably be pretty funny. Can't wait until Will Ferrell's Ben-Hur remake comes out.
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Sorry to break your bubble, but last week I was standing in line at a rollercoaster at Six Flags and James Cameron was standing behind me. He seemed like a pretty nice guy until I heard him say 'No matter how hard I try to tank these movies with overblown budgets , shitty directing and writing to get my tax credit from the German government, these suckers still keep buying the tickets and making the movies actually succeed. What a bunch of retards. Especially that WeinerPenis, he is a total faggot and I would never hang out with him'.
After that I just couldn't look at James Cameron the same way. -
You know, this Live Earth concert is pretty good so far. And KT Tunstall kicked off the Giants Stadium concert with a bang. Tres' excellent.
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Michael Jai White confirmed to appear in The Dark Knight. Methinks Nolan took the fight cinematography criticisms seriously and intends to up the ante.
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Live Earth is simply another wasteful and self-indulgent concert to make the self-proclaimed "enlightened" elite feel like they're actually making a contribution to the world.It have as little impact on real-life and public policy as Live Aid, Kool-Aid, Band-Aid and the endless other "Save The World" concerts these losers have been having since the 80s.And I'll pass on yet another film with Jim Carrey mugging for the camera for 2+ hours. When's he doing a dramatic role? I'll actually pay money to see that.
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WOO-HOO!!!! About TIME someone used this untapped natural resource in a major action film!And no, Spawn DOESN'T count! >:(
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So very underrated. Castaway is another great underrated Zemeckis film.
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Personal favorite is George C. Scott's lavish CBS movie, just a beautiful version, its become a family tradition to view the DVD every Christmas Eve since '93. Henry Winkler's "An American Christmas Carol" was a good take on the tale, wasn't a parody and it took place during the Depression. Albert Finney's "Scrooge" was the first version I saw back in '74 as a kid. The "Thank you very much" sequence still stands out, the most heartbreaking moment is when the Ghost of Christmas Past shows his fiance leaving him and the old, bitter Ebenezer screaming at his younger self "Just don't sit there, go after her you fool!"
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Muppet Christmas Carol is actually a great film, with Michael Caine being one of the best Scrooges even though he's playing opposite Kermit, Miss Piggy et al (also, you can't beat Fozziwig, I'm sorry). If you think about it, Eternal Sunshine has some similarities to A Christmas Carol with Carrey going through events in his life (even if Eternal Sunshine wasn't a great movie, with Carrey and Kate Winslet giving excellent performances, it would still be worth seeing for Kirsten Dunst dancing around in her underwear (and also having a role that doesn't suck for once) great movie)
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everyone makes money. i love the George C. Scott version too. he comes across as an ordinary everyday arse.
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-Norm McDonald
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Jul 07, 2007 7:08:21 PM CDT
I want David Lynch to direct "A Christmas Carol" . . .
by themanwithtoomanynames
. . . and Dennis Hopper to play Scrouge.
"Christmas? Fuck that shit! Let's hit the road, Tiny Tim. You crippled fuck." -
A note left for "The Gas Man". Marley's response: How does he know I have gas?
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i will watch this new version with an open mind because jim carrey is so fucking funny and because the animation is so fucking amazing. i do agree this story has been done to death and i have played scrooge before years ago in a school play and believe me, it's not an interesting charector.
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Hurm.
rorschachsjournal.com -
Just got back from the late show. My fiancee wasn't even scared and just about every horror movie has her jumping in my lap (hence our attending 1408).
That said, I'd rather watch it 500 more times over watching Robert Zemeckis directing CG Carrey in yet another fucking Christmas Carol.
Bah, Humbug! indeed.
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...than yet ANOTHER version of "A Christmas Carol." Sigh.
www.unseenfilms.com -
Just call it, "The Mother Fucker." People would be lined up around the block. Check please.
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More or fewer than the number of times Christmas Carol has been remade? And BTW - on XM yesterday - the Live from Japan concert was blubbery ass - the playlist seemed taken from the latest edition from Dance Dance Revolution.
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Weird, corpse-like characters with their dead eyes... get back, devils!
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Move on.
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Nosferatu Jones is correct.
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yup, I woke up this morning and thought. Do you know what, the world really needs another adaptation of A Christmas Carol. I hope we get one. redundant, just utterly redundant.
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Hollywood has no balls whatsoever to make a new film. Lots of good scripts out there collecting dust because of this nonsense.Stop it already!!
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He must do Scrooge entirely in that Riddler voice or the film won't work.
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Frank Cross for President.
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I was chomping at the bit to bitch about this one on Friday, but the talkback broke out late (shocking). SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. Let's see, u have 3 classes of Scrooge movies. Top Tier: Alistair Sim & George C. Scott; In-Betweeners: Bill Murray and the crap I stepped on during my walk to work: Henry Winkler & Susan Lucci. Gee, I wonder where this will fall?! Forgot Michael Bay raping people's childhoods over a bunch of toy robots. This is Zemeckis and Carrey raping classical literature (although Dickens didn't think much of it when he wrote it) and a time honored holiday tradition. WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?! Carrey needs to stick to making faces and leave the "acting" stuff alone. UGGGGHHHHH !
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Loo - hoo - ser ! Alrighty then!
(Oh God!) -
I have, I think, every version of Christmas Carol. The three best are 1.the 1938 version directed by Edward Marin starring Reginald Owen. The film has a great period feel, some nice allusions to church, and the absolutely luminous Ann Rutheford as the ghost of Christmas past. 2. Next would be the magnificent George C. Scott version. His performance is magnificent, and Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas present gives a tough interpretation of the role. The best is, of course, the 1951 version directed by Brian Desmond Hurst starring Alistair Sim. Interestingly, this seems the oldest of the versions, though it was made thirteen years after the Hollywood version. What makes it the best is not just the performance of Sim, but the screenplay which brilliantly focuses on Scrooge's love of his sister, and on the business dealings of Scrooge and Marley. The film is absolutely perfect. Also worth mention are the Scrooge musical with Albert Finney, and the underappreciated Muppet Christmas Carol with a heart wretching performance by Michael Caine. (there are actually two versions, one which has a long musical number that was cut from the other). Murray was good in Scrooged, but the movie was all over the place in terms of quality. I might also mention the American Christmas Carol starring Fonzie, which wasn't half bad. And no discussion of the topic would be complete without mentioning Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, which had better music than the Finney version.
Christmas Carol is not a joke. It does not lend itself to parody, as it is a deadly serious discussion of poverty and Christian virtue. If Christmas Carol works, you better be crying when Tiny Tim dies, and when the great line, "And Tiny Tim, who did not die" is read. I read it ever year, and watch a version every night between Thanksgiving and New Years. The work gives us a design for living our lives as caring human beings.
All of that being said, I will certainly see this version, but am not looking forward to it at all. Carey is a terrible choice, and the idea of having him play the three ghosts is even worse. Why? Why should he play the three characters, unless the idea is that he is not haunted, but simply haunting himself. This destroys the premise of the story. Remember that Marley is dammed for all time to walk the earth, as Scrooge's only friend, he uses whatever force he has to save his friend. This brings up the idea of hell that Dickens devised, that hell is not being able to help others. The occupants of hell must wander the earth, seeing those they could have helped, but didn't. Death brings understanding, and if you lived your life like a piece of shit that understanding will torment you forever. Christmas Carol is a plea for charity for your fellow man. It is hardly the place for Jim Carey and his mugging.
Maybe it will work, you never know, but I doubt it. I actually thought that about half an hour of the Grinch worked (the part taken from the book), but this is a much different work. I have always imagined a version with Pacino as Scrooge and DeNiro as the ghost of christmas present. Hugh Grant as Scrooge's nephew Fred, Rachel Weiss as the ghost of christmas past, Ralph Finnes as Marley. I love Hoskins, but he is way too old to play Cratchit, who is supposed to be younger than Scrooge. And he doesn't have to be fat, frankly he shouldn't be, because he doesn't have enough food for his family. Liam Neeson would be good.
I have no doubt that this will be a blight upon this wonderful Dickens work. -
I forgot to mention the 1935 version with Seymour Hicks, who had played the role on the stage for years. It was directed by Henry Edwards, and, interestingly, you don't see the ghosts at all. A little more about the work, it doesn't need nor lend itself to a bunch of big special effects. The film should be almost clustrophobic, with the streets of London being a near prison for Scrooge. That's why it works better in black and white, because the shadows and fog of London reflect Scrooge's sick mind. All you should have is a transparent ghost effect for Marley, a floating spirit effect for Christmas past, some bright light for present, and a faceless reaper for the future. All bit effects will do is take away from the focus on the story, which is the star. Oh, how this has tormented my mind today, to think about the cinematic abomonation we are about to recieve. As Tiny Tim said, God bless us, everyone, and save us from this horrible spectacle.
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version of which all others are measured against.
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What is that-- One every year since the advent of film?
Please, stop. It's been done. To. Death.
While you're at it, Hollywood, could you stop remaking "The Prince and the Pauper" too? Thanks. -
Saw the tagline on AICN's main page and went "No, not that. It can't be!" Unfortunately ... Someone wrote of how idiotic it is to cast the same actor in multiple roles. It never works, so forth. Not, strictly speaking, true. Peter Sellers did a marvelous job of handling multiple roles, one of them female, in the very amusing THE MOUSE THAT ROARED. Carey is no Sellers, however. He's certainly no Stewart, or Sims, or Scott or ... And a pox on Zemeckis and the studio heads who think this is a good idea. Now, if you'll excuse me, time to go put on the DVD of the Sims version just to get this abomination out of my mind.
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Howards Grinch is seriously one of the worst pieces of shit ever to grace a movie theater. I think Id rate Action Jackson and Raw Deal over it. Every copy in existance shoudl be destroyed. As for this - it sounds liek the perfect opportunity for Carrey to go overboard. I like the guy, but nowadays prefer him in more straighfowards roles. His comedy routine has been done to death.
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