Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. It's not a surprise I'm the one posting this as I'm the resident Monster Squad fanatic around these parts.
It was only a matter of time before the powers that be decided to remake Monster Squad. If it had stayed the childhood favorite not on DVD or Blu-Ray we might be able to keep it, but the trade-off of the DVDs moving like hotcakes and the film getting a second life is that there's now a perception of money in the franchise... and they're not wrong. I'm sure it's a sound business decision? I mean, a kids adventure movie with classic monsters is a great concept.
Deadline's Mike Fleming broke the news that Paramount is moving on a remake with original Squad producer Rob Cohen eye-balling the director's chair this time out.
The big question is what kind of Monster Squad movie could possibly be made in this studio environment? There's not going to be the same edge... don't forget that original director Fred Dekker co-wrote the script with Shane Black. The script to the '80s movie is sharp, funny and edgy for the concept. It's also filled with genuine love and nostalgia for the original Universal monsters. I don't know if a movie like that is going to come out of the studio system today.
This is an uphill battle to say the least. We gotta see who writes and who ends up truly directing, but if it's Cohen I don't think I could get excited for it.
UPDATE:
Quint here again with a little comment I received from original Squad director and co-creator Fred Dekker regarding the proposed remake:
It'd be one thing if another filmmaker wanted to soil my sandbox... but if it weren't for Rob Cohen, the original movie would never have been made. So I don't begrudge him wanting to play in his own sandbox. I wish him well, and thank him for the opportunity he gave me in the first place.
Obviously that's a very political statement and Fred's a very nice guy in general, so I don't doubt its sincerity. But as a fan, I don't know if 2010 Rob Cohen is the right guy to helm this project if the studio is hellbent on forcing a remake. They need someone hungry, someone fresh and someone with a real, deep-rooted respect and love for the classic monsters to even give this flick a chance.
I've never met Cohen, he could have that love in place, but it doesn't sit well with me that he wants to direct a remake to a movie he produced 23 years ago.
We'll see where this one goes, yeah?
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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Quint here again with a little comment I received from original Squad director and co-creator Fred Dekker regarding the proposed remake:
It'd be one thing if another filmmaker wanted to soil my sandbox... but if it weren't for Rob Cohen, the original movie would never have been made. So I don't begrudge him wanting to play in his own sandbox. I wish him well, and thank him for the opportunity he gave me in the first place.Obviously that's a very political statement and Fred's a very nice guy in general, so I don't doubt its sincerity. But as a fan, I don't know if 2010 Rob Cohen is the right guy to helm this project if the studio is hellbent on forcing a remake. They need someone hungry, someone fresh and someone with a real, deep-rooted respect and love for the classic monsters to even give this flick a chance. I've never met Cohen, he could have that love in place, but it doesn't sit well with me that he wants to direct a remake to a movie he produced 23 years ago. We'll see where this one goes, yeah?
