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The Dude As The Duke?? THE BIG LEBOWSKI’s Jeff Bridges To Reteam With The Coens For TRUE GRIT??
I am – Hercules!!
Jeff Bridges may slap on an eye patch to play Rooster Cogburn in the Coen Bros.’ remake of “True Grit.”
Yes, the 1969 original is one of my favorite John Wayne pictures, and I’d probably hate the idea of a remake if I didn’t have so much faith in Joel and Ethan.
Bridges, of course, played The Dude in the Coens’ “The Big Lebowski,” a film I enjoyed; not sure about anybody else.
Based on the 1968 novel by Charles Portis, “Grit” follows a bad-tempered U.S. marshal from 1873 Arkansas to Oklahoma Indian territory on a quest to track down the murderer of a teen girl’s dad.
For the Glen Campbell role I nominate Jorge Garcia.
Find all of Variety’s story on the matter here.
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Readers Talkback
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Just got out of 9.
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They showed the trailer for it before 9 (which was a little adult considering a lot of parents will be taking their kids to see 9, the trailer was adult I mean).
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Surprise Surprise
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Sept. 10, 2009, 9:07 p.m. CST
A remake? Well, it worked when they did "The Ladykillers"
by StarWarsRedux
Oh wait, no it didn't.
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I don't recall ever seeing him in a western.
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Sept. 10, 2009, 9:14 p.m. CST
I'd rather see a really dark Western, or hell a Horror movie
by SoylentMean
The closest the Coen's have come to Horror would either be Barton Fink or Blood Simple.
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I'm excited.
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They're adapting the book, which i have a feeling probably existed before the john wayne original...
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Everybody must make remakes!!
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Spade was right, at the time; but since Iron Man, maybe Bridges has lost the curse. If anyone can do it, the Coens can.
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John Wayne will rise from the dead and kill anyone who does a crappy remake of one of his classic movies.
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Bridges was awesome as Wild Bill. Everyone else around him ruined that movie. David Arquette was lame and Ellen Barkin was annoying as fusck as Calamity Jane. Bridges was great though. No way this sucks.
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But when you come down to it, the suits want name recognition.
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Sept. 10, 2009, 9:18 p.m. CST
Urkh...Onghhh....Gurgle...Gabble Gabble Gabble...
by Half-Baked-Goggle-Box-Do-Gooder
The Coen's doing a remake of "True Grit"? With Mssr. Bridges as the Duke? <p>Now I enjoy getting blindsided as much as the next guy, but THAT I did not see coming. WTF? Please, Ellen Paige for the Kim Darby role. Please, Fucking Christ, PLEASE, Bruce Campbell for the Glen Campbell role.
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...I'll watch Jeff Bridges in anything. I'll watch John Wayne in nothing.
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THIS CANNOT HAPPEN SOON ENOUGH. That is all.
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I am ALWAYS up for a new western (wtf happened to the resurgence that was supposed to happen after Open Range and 3:10 to Yuma???) and I have complete faith in the Coens who seem to be on a hell of a roll...The Coens doing a western...bliss. I'd actually like to see Big Jake modernized like the Sons of Kate Elder for Four Brothers...Aging badass on a rampage with a posse to get his son back set in the present day...
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Sept. 10, 2009, 9:23 p.m. CST
"a film I enjoyed; not sure about anybody else."...
by cheyne_stoking_DMS
Herc, what planet have you been living on these past 11 years? 'Lebowski' has went on to spark its own fucking annual convention.
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well atleast Bridges didn't continue his career by asking people what was in their wallets. Fuck Spade, little prick had NOTHING when Farley died.
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"I feel like David Spade without Chris Farley: alone and useless."
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right.
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Just saw H2 recently...thought it was supposed to be funny. It was...meh. It WOULD have been funny had they taken it MUCH further, but with very limited exceptions, the movie really played it safe, and as a result, wasn't either terribly funny, or edgy, or anything. Just kinda meh all around.
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Sept. 10, 2009, 9:56 p.m. CST
It is amazing the "cult" that's popped up around Lebowski
by SoylentMean
I love the movie, don't get me wrong, it's just that all of a sudden it seems like people are just saying they like the movie because it's culturally popular. Where were these fuckheads when the movie hit theaters?<P> I'm just kidding by the way, relax.
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Yeah Soylent, it is kinda funny...a lot of it is that Lebowski just wasn't all that appreciated when it first came out, and to be fair, a lot of people do say that it took them 2-3 times before they finally "got" it. The very first time I saw Lebowski, I was like WTF! I mean, I enjoyed it, and found it funny, but by the 3rd or 4th time I watched it, I absolutely loved it. Now, it is probably my favorite movie of all time, if nothing else because I can ALWAYS watch it again. It never gets old. Can't say that about many other movies.
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This is a bad idea. Are the Coens finally slipping? I didn't care for "The Lady Killers", the only remake in their catalog to date, but plenty of people (mostly folks who weren't familiar with the original featuring a darkly comic Alec Guiness I'll warrant) liked it plenty. <p> This 'remake disease' hasn't produced much of note so far ("The Day the Earth Stood Still" anyone?) and it seems to be spreading. Dark days ahead for cinema lovers if this epidemic continues I'll venture. <p> But if they must do it, Bridges is good casting IMO. And yes you contrarian wankers/Bridges haters, he can ride a horse. Look him up on IMDB, he grew up in a Hollywood family and has been in a couple of pretty good westerns over the course of his long career. This guy was top billing in major motion pictures years before most of you were born. <p> I wonder who they'll get for Ned Pepper, Robert Duvall was excellent in the original. <p> Shit, why "True Grit"? The original holds up far to well to offer much chance of a worth-while remake, even if it is the mighty Coen Bro's attempting it. Sign-O-the times I suppose. {:-(
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Rio Bravo? I dunno about this one. We'll see. I'm sure it'll be nothing else if entertaining.
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Lol.
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I mean..True Grit is perfect as is...fuck..it is a John Wayne movie, anything they do will be colored, for better or worse, by the original. Isn't there something...ya know...original they could have done?</p><p> I love most of these guys movies...but..I just don't get this one.
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Right.
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Sept. 10, 2009, 10:07 p.m. CST
ZOMFG I HAET THIS FOR A NUMBER OF REAZONS LET ME TELL U!!1
by dr sauch
Seriously. Coens, Bridges, Western, what the fuck else could you possibly want?
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Thanks Herc. I always loved the original and then i read the book and was like "wow, thats a john wayne movie i actually wouldnt mind them re-doing.' and then the very next day, lo and behold, the coens announced they were doing it. then i was pretty disheartened when nothing came out of it and i thought it never would but finally! progress! this movie cant come soon enough. and i agree with the Ellen Page casting idea for Kim Darby's role. I hate Ellen Page but she'd fit the role perfectly.
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...well he kind of sort of does but not in the way youre thinking of. like he doesnt get killed off in the heat of battle or anything but theyre like 'years later, Rooster died.' just of normal old man causes
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and the appreciation for it just goes up. I just remember ordering a White Russian at a bar and my friends started laughing, thinking it was some kinda girly drink. I told 'em to fuck off and watch some fuckin' movies. <P> Do you know how many of my friends fuckin' drink White Russians now because I pointed them in the direction of awesomeness that is The Big Lebowski? <P> A lot. <P> Kahlua fuckin' owes me some goddamn money.
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My friend recommended me a very interesting place ==SeekRichBeauty.Com ==.It is the dating club for seeking the rich singles, sexy beauties and even hot celebs..===
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No one should even start thinking this is a remake of the John Wayne film. This will be the Coen's own adaptation based off the novel. Which means it will fuckin' rock. Btw True grit is my favorite John Wayne film. ;p
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.. of the book I wouldn't call it a re-make. I think that term should be reserved for the regurgitation of what once was original screenplay material. I'd pay to see a Cohen bros western.
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no it's not revolutionizing the way i watch my mopies? <p> do i know when dinner is?<p> not if it's not announced like a damn cavalry charge?<p> who taut jack to spit like rose? and rose like a man? THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN!!!!<p> eat her quim, eat her AVATAR! EAT YOUR EYEBALLLLLLLLLLSLLSLSSLLSSLSNOOOOWWWWWWW IS THE TIME OT LEARN TO CAMERON LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN PLEASE COME BACK TO CAMERON THIS IS ALL CAMERON AVATAR AND LEARNING!
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The Big Lebowski rocks. True Grit Coen bros style? What's not to love! Can't wait.
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I think Herc was being, you know, ironical?
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... is everyones' favorite John Wayne movie Sulla. Well, not really, but it's up there. <p> "The Searchers" is one of the very best westerns ever made. So I guess you miss out Flickapoo.
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Billy Zane<p> THREE D<p> SNIPER 2 D<p> the unsinkable molly brown's sweaty quim <p> yum yumyum
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That movie sucked balls. Except for Anthony Zerbe and his crazy eye, of course.
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right now before he gets out of hand?
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"Sure thing, man...got any Kahlua?"
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No filmmaker should ever be allowed at any time to remake any movie that featured Strother Martin. Amen.
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This could be interesting. We are not talking about a "hack" MTV director doing this. The Coen Brothers have pulled off some pretty interesting projects. It will depend on how faithful they will stick to the original story or will they venture off into the depraved. Imagine Roster building some strange device to "Fill your hands" in the closet?
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As suggested by Moriarty?
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was my choice for Rooster (esp. given his track record with the Coens)... but Bridges could be v.good too. I can't imagine how eagerly sought after/competitive all the other roles are going to be... career-making, -topping opportunities abound.
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Got it, Larry? Shomer fucking shabbos! Iron lungs, bowling balls and coffee can ash-cans for everyone!
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ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, THE THING, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, GHOSTS OF MARS and so on...
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I was pretty much the only person laughing my ass off. A buddy of mine who was sitting with another group (who didn't know I was there to start) gets up at the end and yells out my name. I yelled back at him and asked how he knew I was there, to which he replied "I heard your dumb ass laughing the whole fucking time." I loved The Dude from the first moment we met. The girl I brought with me didn't get it at all. We broke up within the week.
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I fully support this shit happening.
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I want the dude back!
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The last thing I saw Bridges in wasn't that good, except for him.
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A guy from work coming in one morning and saying he watched a film last night and the lead character reminded him of me all the way through. <p> When he said it was The Dude I nearly kissed him.
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Who thinks John Wayne was a one note and boring actor, merely a product of his gung-ho time, and not nearly as engaging as other greats? All the dude does is glare as if he's on ludes, perform wooden script reading, and yell out stupid old-timey quips. Sounds like my grandfather after to many brandies.
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but I'd rather they do something original. Maybe they'll do the book justice though.
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I'll be there on opening day.
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"instant cult" films usually fade away quickly, while films like Lebowski get better with repetition, just like Withnail & I or This is Spinal Tap.
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Also, John Wayne had a real problem with Clint Eastwood's westerns, especially "High Plains Drifter".
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The rug really tied the ranch together....
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.. but he held his place as a kind of walking talking representation of America at the time. He also had the great benefit of working with some great directors and supporting casts. I thought he was mediocre at best in a lot of stuff but I also thought he rocked in "The Searchers" and "Rio Bravo"
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"Herc, what planet have you been living on these past 11 years? 'Lebowski' has went on to spark its own fucking annual convention"..That comment actually mage me laugh out loud at work and now I'm getting funny looks from everyone, lmao! Your irony levels obviously do not go up to 11.
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....from these guys, considering how great the original version of this is.<P>I'm sure Bridges could be good, but Wayne was already perfect in this. Ah well, since the remake bandwagon continues to roll...I hope they make a decent one.<P>Gotta love the 'LIFE' magazine blurb at the start of the original trailer - http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3741254425/
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Are you freaking mad? Have you seen STAGECOACH, RED RIVER, THE SEARCHERS, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALENCE, FORT APACHE, RIO BRAVO, THE SHOOTIST...? Do you genuinely think TRUE GRIT is better than those movies? Fuck.
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His presence in RED RIVER is extraordinary. As he slowly gets more and more determined, the sinister vibe he hits is so strong. And when he is offscreen in that passage towards the end, it's as if he is looming over everything. Not an easy feat to pull off. He makes me laugh in Rio Bravo. And he made me cry in The Searchers. Now, of course he wouldn't make a good KING LEAR, but neither would Cary Grant. These guys did their thing, and they did it brilliantly.
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A series of animated flicks and kids yarns followed by "this motion picture has been rated r by... blah blah" suddenly it's HEY KIDS! WHACK, WHACK, WHACK, gonna be just fine, WHACK WHACK WHACk, ggonna be just fine WHACK WHACK WHACK.
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I don't care if they're good or 'based on the book not the movie' just fuckin' come up with a new movie. Or even rip off a pre-existing movie and call it something else. But NO MORE REMAKES!!!
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Sept. 11, 2009, 6:04 a.m. CST
This is one of those rare cases where it might actually work.
by JackPumpkinhead
I loved the book as a child and I saw the movie some 15 years after first reading it, when I was about 20 - and I remember how disappointed I was by its goofiness. The novel was, in fact, gritty. The film was little more than an often annoying frontier comedy. Will they have the, uh, grit to keep Cogburn's death and Mattie as the bitter woman with her arm cut off?
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I agree with the Gorilla. Wayne turned out far better performances and movies than TRUE GRIT.<p>TRUE GRIT had neither the authenticity of the Seventies westerns nor the action of the Nineties westerns. It was all a bit wooden and caricatured for my tastes.
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...Rio Bravo(Dean Martin rules in it) <p> The Man who Shot Liberty Valance(more a Jimmy Stewart movie but Wayne is great in it) <p> The Searchers <p> I like True Grit but that little girl annoys the shit out of me. "I will not put a thief in my mouth who steals my brains." Shut up bitch.
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Now this is something i can get behind - REAL filmmakers remaking something. You can be sure that a Coen brothers remake will be a movie in itself and not just a cash in like all the other remakes (they are remaking Back to the Future with Shia as far as i heard). Go ahead Cohens, i can't wait.
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Hmm, what other films should be remade? The Godfather I and II, Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur (the 1950s version was itself a remake), Vertigo... in fact, lets just re-imagine all of those. There, that's better. Hollywood, are you listening? Oh, and while we're on the subject of remakes/sequels, I'm sure everybody is busting with joy over the green light for Hancock 2. Awww, hell yeah!
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I'm looking at the quad on my wall right now. It's still their best (in a tie with Blood Simple).
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Why not? The old drunken hillbilly could use the work. He could even do a killer remix of his theme song with JXL. Hire Dakota Fanning for the Darby role, and you've got a HIT, Coens!
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Who else is in the conversation? Scorcese, Mann, Fincher, Speilberg, Cameron, anyone else?
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My grandfather was a devout communist and completely put me off Wayne in my youth. Fortunately, for me, as I grew older I managed to put Wayne's political views aside and appreciate him for the quietly brilliant actor that he was, full of humanity, pathos and poignancy. I used to think Bogart, Cagney and Barrymore were the best but having seen at least 70% of his movies I'd say Wayne was right up there with them. Anyone who got as close to John Ford as Wayne did had to be dynamite.
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And what Blanket-Man said. Glen Campbell back in the saddle again. He's man enough to drink dirty water from a hoofprint and be grateful for it.
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Perfect casting right there. Too bad.
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He's just the right age, just the right "crotchetiness," and it's the exact kind of role that he plays now. Plus, it would be a badass "full circle" kind of deal since he was the original bad guy, Ned Pepper.
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I too saw Lebowski in the theaters and thought it was one of their best movies. Absolute genius. I remember when the movie was over, most of the people in the theater seemed very disappointed. The problem at the time was, i think, the "indie" film crowd was all swept up by Fargo and I think they where expecting something way more austere as a follow up. Instead they got White Russians, Autobahn, and The Jesus. I think Lebowski really needed time to settle in for a lot of people.
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I think that's a defensive wound, yah?
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While you're technically correct, I, too, have read the book and seem to remember that, while Rooster is dead, it's 'cause it's the 20th century and a very, old Mattie is relating the story. I don't remember Rooster dying *in* the book, like, with a death scene. He's just dead when she recounts the story 50 years later. Yeah, I remember it bein' "grittier" when reading it (read: "more realistic") I attribute that mostly to the type of Western filmmaking that was done back then.
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People wanted another FARGO-type deal. And "Logjammin'" probably put off a lot of people now that I think of it. I fucking love that movie.
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Love the Coens. And as for David Spade's comment...talk about the orange calling the non-orange-thing an orange. Spade is, was, and always will be a talentless hack.
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Winter Kills... really liked that film. Haven't seen it in years. I think the Coens should remake Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and cast Bridges in the role originally played by Eastwood.
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And he already had a very long career before playing The Dude.
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You do not know much about Jeff Bridge's career, do you?
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Sept. 11, 2009, 10:49 a.m. CST
"Where were these fuckheads when the movie hit theaters?"
by mr.underwater
Probably at home, because it barely hit theaters at all.<br><br>I was living in Pittsburgh at the time, not the biggest metropolitan area in the world, I know. Still, it has it's fair share of theaters in the metro area (art and otherwise.)<br><br>Yet, on the saturday after it opened, I had to drive 40 minutes to some bumfuck stripmall, because it was the on;y theater running it in a 100 mile radius.<br><br>Most "film geek" folks (the people who would be highly interested in a new Coen flick) didn't even know it came out.<br><br>Whoever release it fucked it WAY up. I'm glad it got a second chance on home video.
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I put Miller's #1, "Blood Simple" #2, and Lebowski #3. And the rest of their catalog is pretty damn great as well, except for "The Lady Killers" (the only 'remake' so far coincidentally), which did not work at all IMO.
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and every other remake is a "reboot"?
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Has everyone stopped dreaming up original material, not that I don't think the Coens will do a good job, but why does everyone have to do shit thats already been done before?
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and I've grown to like Burn After Reading now. It just went through me the first time, but I enjoyed it after rewatching the film. I'm up for this, even though I thought the original was fine as it was.
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Now that is something to get the blood boiling.
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they should at least get him to contribute to the soundtrack
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so it'll look amazing. And Jeff Bridges as a fat, one-eyed, drunk, sonavabitch lawman? Glen Campbell was a hole in the screen in the original, and Kim Darby was fine, but give that role to someone who could go with it, like Saoirse Ronan. The original is loved because it seemed that John Wayne's career culminated with that role. It fit him like a dusty old glove, and was a great role as the western was on the wane.
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there's enough room for improvement for a Coen remake...
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Lebowski is life. LIFE.
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I've been called on my shit from BadMrWonka. So hop off his cock, you fuckin' parrot.
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We all have our nemesis here. Mine are all lame.
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What's fucking insulting is that my nemesis are all very fucking stupid, idiots, retards and lame. Why can't i get nemesis with class, wit and sophistication? My nemesis are no fun!
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This should be totally brilliant. Wayne was wrong for Rooster Cogburn, even though people love him in the role.
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it's another adaptation. I never saw the 1996 Psycho, but from what I hear, that was a verbatim remake of Hitchcock's film, and not a new adaptation of the novel.<p>According to good ol' Wiki - "The Coens plan to be truer to the Charles Portis book, focusing more on Mattie's point-of-view." So what we have here is indeed a new adaptation, or a re-adaptation as you may call it.<p>God, I love inventing pointless terminology.
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"I'll get you a toe....with nail polish"
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Wayne was a GREAT icon, and a damned fine actor. C'mon, what-you watch him in stuff like 'Red River' or 'Stagecoach' or 'The Cowboys' or 'the Searchers' or 'Rio Grande' or 'Island in the Sky' or even 'Angel and the Badman' and you're thinking 'Dahhhh dis guy SUX and gots no range?! Turn in your Roger Ebert badge and go back to watching your Bruce Campbell flicks. <p> Sheesh and if you don't like the Duke's 'range' or whatever, don't even THINK of bringing up, to name but a few-Cooper, Stewart, Eastwood, Bronson, Harrison Ford or Clark Gable. He was the same as those guys, in fact I'd say their Equal and BETTER. <p> You're getting ability confused w/ versatility. Not the same thing. <p> Pacino-Versatile. Pacino got a BIG FAT ASS-well okay, his range has devolved of late. But you know what I mean. <p> CGI Duke Wayne rocks. <p> I think this will be OK, Bridges is a fine actor, but-well, whatever.
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Can someone explain the appeal?
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...mounted an impassioned defense of John Wayne, but it's too late in the talkback and many others have already done so. I would have pointed out that True Grit isn't even in the top five John Wayne movies but that has already been well covered. I would have said that my favorite Coen Brothers movies was Miller's Crossing, but that's already been done. How about this? In The Contender Jeff Bridges became Bill Clinton. He just became him, though the President he was playing wasn't Bill Clinton by name. And he delivers, in this good but not great film, one of the single greatest line deliveries in cinematic history. There ain't shit Jeff Bridges can't play.
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The thing people don't get right away(and the reason it requires repeated viewings)is that it is a noir detective story veiled in a post hippie drug theme. Not until the end does it all get tied together and until the end it seems very disjointed. There are some tangents that just add to the confusion and fun. Quoteable from begining to end.
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