April 14, 2007

Remake Barbarella?

From Variety we hear;

Producers Dino and Martha De Laurentiis have completed a rights deal that will allow them to reinvent "Barbarella," and the producers have set "Casino Royale" scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to pen the script.

The original 1968 Roger Vadim-directed fantasy was produced by De Laurentiis, who wrote the check to secure Purvis and Wade.

"Barbarella is the ultimate science-fiction adventure heroine: smart, strong funny and sexy," De Laurentiis said. "I'm excited to reintroduce Barbarella to a new generation of moviegoers."

In the original film, Jane Fonda played the title character as a kittenish sexpot. That movie comes off as camp and dated by today's standards.

In the remake, the scribes will make Barbarella a free, modern gal who survives in a futuristic world through her intelligence, fighting skills and sexuality.

The year is 40,000. Peacefully floating around in zero-gravity Barbarella (Jane Fonda) is suddenly interrupted by a call from the President of Earth. A young scientist, Durand Durand, is threatening the ancient universal peace and Barbarella is the chosen one to find him and save the world. During her mission, Barbarella never finds herself in a situation where it isn't possible to lose at least part of her already minimal dressing.

I'll be honest, the only reason I watched this film is because I loved Duran and Duran, and when I heard them say in an interview that this is the movie they got their name from, I rented it.
I was surprised by it. I actually enjoyed this very campy sci-fi film with very bad set design.
But hey, it was made in 1968, it was actually pretty decent for it's time.
But they are talking of a remake, and some names that have been tossed around to play the lead, make me shudder.
Lindsey Lohan? While she does remind me of a young Fonda in this film, I just don't think she has the chops to pull it off.
Another name is Scarlett Johansson. While very pretty and quite sexy, I don't think she has the ability either.
Jessica Biel has also been mentioned. Out of the three, I think she has the best physical appearance. This isn't just a sex kitten role, Barbarella is an action hero, she fights and sleeps he way out of problems. A very physical role.

This movie is simply a cult classic with a huge following. Many bands have been influenced by it, not just Duran Duran, but Kylie Minogue, recreated the infamous zero-gravity strip-tease in her award winning 1994 video for "Put Yourself in My Place".
The British band Jamiroquai also mentions a "baby Barbarella" in their hit 1996 song "Cosmic Girl."
The band Matmos takes its name from the underground fluid creature in the film (as does the lava lamp manufacturer Mathmos).
Rock-funk artist Prince also has a history of referencing and being inspired by the film Barbarella. His song Endorphin Machine from The Gold Experience album clearly relates to the sexual torture machine Durand Durand uses on Barbarella in the movie.

With such a huge cult following and the influence this film has had, it just doesn't need to be remade.
I'm sure it will be though, Hollywood has run out of original ideas and is taking movies of long past, and trying to revamp them to a newer generation.
This is one film that simply needs to be left alone.