Comments on: Comments on 2666

Post number 2666

tiaka — Mon, 31 Jul 2000 10:45:21 -0800

Magnificent Wellesian Flop to Be Remade as Mini-Series Ok, have I got something for you. Well, I think so. Actually, the title could have read : "Teenagers ruin Orson Welles' carrier", or there are a couple of other ideas, not going to bore you with them.

A&E to remake The Magnificent Ambersons at $14 mil, it will star Madeleine Stowe, Jennifer Tilly, James Cromwell, Jonathan Rhys-Myers and Thora Birch (Talk about a bad cast. Tilly? Each!)
"For those who don't know, Welles' second film was cut by over 40 minutes (mostly at the end) by order of his studio while he was away making (or trying to make) "It's All True" in Brazil. The loss of these 40 minutes is generally considered one of the great tragedies in film history, as much for the effect on Welles' subsequent career as for the masterpiece that might have been. (Not that it isn't a masterpiece of sorts, as it is.)"
Problems with this? Chances are that the original Welles script will be buried under too much new content. Then again, We could see the 40 minutes worth of cut content (Damn Teenagers). A&E claims that they have the technology and the resources to make the script better, stronger, and more agile with better reflexes than befoure. Heh. I'm goofy that way.

By: kidsplateusa

kidsplateusa — Mon, 31 Jul 2000 11:01:00 -0800

The loss of these 40 minutes is generally considered one of the great tragedies in film history That sounds impressive until you consider the fact thatBattlefield Earth is 117 minutes of pure film tragedy.

By: aflakete

aflakete — Mon, 31 Jul 2000 17:14:47 -0800

I'd be more concerned about Alfonso Arau being tapped for the director's chair--did you see "Picking Up the Pieces" on Cinemax (where it debuted a few weeks ago, bypassing theatres)? Yikes.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 01 Aug 2000 03:30:17 -0800

Yech for Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Tilly? I'll agree she's an acquired taste, but in the right role ... I've never seen Ambersons. There was that flurry of Welles interest with the re-edit and re-release of Touch of Evil. It's an interesting, though risky, way to honor an artist.