Remakes, remakes, remakes. At least Steven Spielberg is involved in in the remake of West Side Story. Originally made in 1961, it still holds the record for the most Oscars by a musical (ten) including Best Picture. Will it still be Jets vs. Sharks?
Which is your favorite Aretha Franklin song? Respect. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You). Chain of Fools. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman. Spanish Harlem. The Queen of Soul, an original, will have her own original movie. Jennifer Hudson, winner of an Oscar for Dreamgirls, will portray Aretha, with Aretha’s blessing.
Were you a fan of The Night Manager? (I was a big fan.) Are you a fan of John Le Carre? If so, get ready to learn the name of 22 year old actress Florence Pugh. Produced by the team behind the Night Manager, Le Carre’s The Little Drummer Girl is coming to TV starring Pugh, Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Shannon. With Le Carre, you know you get spies. The book was published in 1983.
For those of us who still read a printed newspaper and savor the funnies, the name Mort Walker has been around for what seems like our entire lives. He is the creator of the Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois comic strips. Until this article, I did not know that Beetle and Lois were brother and sister. He has entertained me, and millions of others. R.I.P. Mort Walker, passed away at the age of 94.
Last week, we talked about the fake Crocodile Dundee remake for the Super Bowl. Watch for the commercial as a part of Tourism Australia. It seems that Chris Hemsworth and Hugh Jackman will also appear. This keeps getting better and better.
We all know MI6 is the Secret Intelligence Service for the British government. Except, M:I6 for us Americans is Mission Impossible–Fallout, the sixth in the series. Ethan Hunt is back this July. Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames are familiar characters by now. They add Henry Cavill and Angela Bassett for this sequel. Watch for the trailer during the Super Bowl. As for the usual spectacular stunts, remember that this is the film that Tom Cruise broke his ankle during filming.
The Lego Movie folks have just made a deal to make several Dr. Seuss movies, including another The Cat in the Hat. MGM wants to re-boot the RoboCop franchise. Ryan Reynolds has convinced Fox to re-do Clue, although this time more as a comedy. One of these days I’ll remake this column and see if anyone notices.