The hot new trend in Hollywood seems to be remakes of Alfred Hitchcock films. There are several headed our way and, hey, I get it. They are amazing movies! But rather than churn out inferior versions of Hitch's masterpieces, wouldn't it be better to just mount a series of new deluxe DVD reissues of the originals? But I digress.
The latest Hitchcock film to hit the remake trail is Suspicion, the 1941 psycho-thriller starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. Coincidentally, Fontaine also starred in Rebecca, which we just learned is getting a remake of its own.
Suspicion, based on the 1932 novel Before the Fact by Francis Iles, is the story of a reckless young lout (who looks like Cary Grant) that marries a frumpy young heiress (who looks like Joan Fontaine). It immediately becomes clear that Grant married Fontaine for her father's money. Sadly, he doesn't get any of it and is forced to go to work, which doesn't go well. Soon, people are dying, or almost dying, and guess who appears to be responsible. Also, did I mention glowing milk?
Ivan Reitman's Montecito Picture Company has hired Veena Sud to update Hitch's classic tale of suspense. Sud, you may know, is the writer and producer of The Killing, AMC's somewhat acclaimed murder mystery series. Her choice here is a little troubling because, though The Killing is pretty suspenseful, man, is The Killing boring! I guess if nothing else, it will be suspenseful to see if Sud can craft a script that will keep us awake.
Personally, I'm in suspense waiting to see what ending is chosen for this new version of the story. When Suspicion was made originally, the studio demanded the film's screenplay be altered to supply a happy ending, which Hitchcock agreed to for some reason. That was in 1941. I wonder what we'll get in 2013. Light or dark? Seventy years later, I'd like to think times have changed. But who am I kidding. This will probably star someone like Carey Mulligan or Natalie Portman and no studio is going to want to kill them off either.
One thing is certain: There's no way in hell the new Suspicion poster will be as cool as the original.
The hot new trend in Hollywood seems to be remakes of Alfred Hitchcock films. There are several headed our way and, hey, I get it. They are amazing movies! But rather than churn out inferior versions of Hitch's masterpieces, wouldn't it be better to just mount a series of new deluxe DVD reissues of the originals? But I digress.
If they remake NOTORIOUS someone is gonna get hurt.
Oh, wait... they already did. It was called MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 and it suuuuuucked.