Image Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesFans of the original Fright Night have to be geeking-out over DreamWork’s remake of the fang-tasticly fun 1985 vampire film. According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision Blog, David Tennant (Doctor Who, pictured left) will play the overmatched vampire expert portrayed in the original by Roddy McDowall, and McLovin himself (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is on board as Evil Ed, the nerdy friend who finds himself vulnerable to the neighborhood blood-sucker. With paper-boy faced Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) set to star as the paranoid hero, and Colin Farrell cast as the neck-biter next door, director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) has a remake that just might not suck.
Do you like this casting as much as I do?
Best news I’ve heard all day… Hooray for David Tennant!
Agreed! David Tennant in the Roddy McDowall role is brilliant. Finger’s crossed the remake can be executed well.
Hoorah for lazy filmmaking!
I actually LOL’d at this comment. Is nothing sacred anymore? Although I’ll probably see it out of sheer curiosity, I can’t say I’m excited about yet another 80s remake. I would LOVE to see fresh ideas in entertainment media. This ain’t one of ‘em.
Has virtually never happened and is extremely unlikely to ever happen. It’s simply the remakes are closer to the age of people still going out to the cinema and with home video having established itself in the 80s, and the Internet’s info overload, a lot more people are aware that films are remakes etc. and are aware of the originals.
It’s nothing new and remakes or different versions of books, plays TV shows and movies have been made since about a week after they first started making movies. If that wasn’t the case there would be some great entertainment AND some top drawer films that we’d never have seen.
The source of entertainment shouldn’t matter only the quality of it. If it leads to a good film (by any one or all of the definitions of a good film) then that’s all that matters.
You are so right. Some of the best classic movies were remakes; a few made within 10 years of each other. Gaslight, The Wizard of Oz, An Affair to Remember, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Ten Commandments, A Star is Born (3 times!), The Man Who Knew Too Much, etc. You hit the nail on the head, mentioning home video and the internet. People didn’t always have the convenience of popping in a dvd or referring to IMDB.com. I’ve worked in theatre and a revival is not a big deal. It’s always nice to see what new point of view can be presented with a new creative team.
Ta. The Bogart ‘Maltese Falcon’ was the THIRD version of that book in just TEN years. A fistfull of dollars was a remake, a very good one, without which a host of even better films wouldn’t have been made.
1. Though “Fright Night” is one of my favorite childhood films, which I own on DVD, I’d be hard pressed to put it in the same company as the aforementioned films.
2. I have no problem with adaptations (films based on books, plays, movies — to an extent). However, recent remakes of a lot of these works have proven to be just plain bad. Moreover, I’m quite sure the greenlighting of such projects has less to do with improving on the original than with making quick bucks on a commidity with a built-in audience.
Avatar was just a Dances With Wolves remake.
Most of us hate bad movies and it does seem that bad rewmakes / redos feel even worse, because there’s a comparison. But the list of movies (from me and I think from KissyS006) isn’t there to say all new versions of old material will reach that quality , but to illustrate the error of saying that all redos should be viewed either with trepidation or disdain.
The Film business is just that a business. The overwhelming majority of films have been greenlit to make money and with no guaranteed formulae having been found for making movies that will definately turn a profit then the people who have to risk millions makinf movies will always turn to any advantage they can get. Using some kind of material that has already proved popular before, be it a play, set of books another film or whatever, they will use it and it’s not really fair to blame them either. You can make great ebtertainment from the meagerest and most unlikely sources imaginable; Like POTC: Curse of The Black Pearl, which against all expectations managed to be coherent, witty, exciting.
Or you can make dreadfull movies from the best of sources; Barb Wire from Casablanca, the surprisingly souless Disney’s A Christmas Carol and many more.
My my point has always been that remakes and films based on existing media are not a new thing. It goes back to the days of silent films so totalk about it as a new thing, which many people do (you didn’t I know
), is wrong; also to ask for more new ideas is admirable and understandable but again a little off as there never really was a Hollywood with just fresh ideas. Sequels, remakes new films based on books and plays have always been there and will probably always be there.
Good movies is what we want, whatever the source material. Just more attention to detail for better movies.
Big Walt Wed 06/09/10 1:27 PM
No it wasn’t. Also how can you not be over the snide Avatar comments by now?
There is NOTHING wrong with remakes. Some of the greatest motion pictures of all time are remakes.
As long as the film is good, what’s the problem. No one is forcing you to give up the original (which I LOVE) to watch this one.
Chill.
God, I love good sarcasm. And I’m not being sarcastic.
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Impeach the worthless criminal One-Termer. He is destroying our Gulf Coast, our troops and our country! We are winning ALL the primaries! We will win ALL the elections come November. And, in 2012, he will be defeated and sent to jail for his crimes against America.
Who will play Marcy from Married with Children’s part?
David Tennant? Colin Farrell? I’m there.
don’t like the horror movies, but would see it for the hotness alone.
Tennant yes. Colin Farrell yes.
I could get on board with this. I miss Chris Sarandon. Somebody go get him a movie…
I LOL @ “somebody go get him a movie.” I agree though-I miss Chris Sarandon. He was awesome in Fright Night.
Have you seen Chris lately? Ewwwwwwwwwwwww. He looks like Jerry Dandridge when he was all evil looking. And that’s his EVERY DAY FACE!
Well, this dodgy remake just found a definite fan.
still unsure loved the first one. but bad remakes make me feel icky. Anyone knows who’s playing his girlfriend?
NOW I’m totally in.
Anything david Tennant does is must see for me.
Agreed. Although he’s about the only person on the planet who could get me to see this movie.
I wonder who is going to play the girlfriend???
No idea. But IMDB has Toni Collette listed to play the mother.
You have to have faith for that to work… I can’t believe taht I am excited about a remake but I am now!
Welcome….to Fright Night. For real….
I didn’t like the first one that much, aside from McDowell and Sarandon, so the idea of a remake doesn’t bother me. This cast is actually shaping up really well. Might improve on the original.
OH LORD I LOVE this casting. Tennant is just perfect for the Roddy McDowell role and well its just a perfect cast