Will Smith and Kevin Hart will star in and produce a remake of the 1987 road comedy “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” for Paramount Pictures.
The original “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” was directed by John Hughes, and starred Steve Martin and the late John Candy as a pair of mismatched businessmen trying to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving in the face of a variety of travel disasters.
The remake will be a modern update of the original, with Smith and Hart playing characters who are forced to team up to tackle travel obstacles to get home to their loved ones.
Hart’s HartBeat Productions and Smith’s Westbrook Studios are developing the remake. Aeysha Carr (“Brooklyn 99”) is set to pen the screenplay, marking her feature writing debut. Hart and Smith will produce the film alongside Westbrook Studios co-president and head of motion pictures Jon Mone and HartBeat’s president of film and television Bryan Smiley. [Reply]
The thing is, you could basically make the movie, call it something different, and people would say "it was really good, basically Planes Trains and Automobiles, but it was still good". Now that it's a "remake" everyone will hate it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Cheater5:
So if it wasn’t successful, why remake it?
Because the title is out there in the ether, so it's an easier sell (i.e., funding) than to call the movie something else entirely, then try to find funding.
Someone mentioned that this film wouldn't work because it's so much easier to travel today than it was in 1987.
Enter the TSA, COVID-19, Homeland Security, et al and you have the makings of a bankable comedy with two bankable and proven stars.
Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work and draw a huge box office but it has a better chance with that title than without it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
Because the title is out there in the ether, so it's an easier sell (i.e., funding) than to call the movie something else entirely, then try to find funding.
Someone mentioned that this film wouldn't work because it's so much easier to travel today than it was in 1987.
Enter the TSA, COVID-19, Homeland Security, et al and you have the makings of a bankable comedy with two bankable and proven stars.
Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work and draw a huge box office but it has a better chance with that title than without it.
I feel like they just remade this movie recently. The title escapes me, but it had Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifinakis. [Reply]
Originally Posted by rydogg58:
I feel like they just remade this movie recently. The title escapes me, but it had Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifinakis.
If will Smith is involved I'm sure this will be a lot more karate kid remake than Ghostbusters. It's not hard to take the same concept and spin a very different movie out of it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Deberg_1990:
The reality is, Hollywood has been churning out remakes for decades.
The Thing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Scarface, Oceans 11, Cape Fear, A Star is Born, etc......
Good stories are good stories.
There's nothing wrong with revisiting a story two, three, four decades or more after the original, especially if it was a good concept that failed to reach an audience.
For me, Planes, Trains and Automobiles felt more like Sketch Comedy or an SNL bit, and never really felt like a film. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
Just for reference, Planes, Trains and Automobiles cost $30 million to make and pulled in only $49 million at the box office, which is absurdly low considering it was released on Thanksgiving and had a theatrical run of 58 total weeks.
You of all folks know box office receipts aren’t necessarily an indicator of a quality film.
To your original point, I’m not upset over it, just bummed that the concept can’t be reimagined with a more original approach.
That all said, today’s discussion has made me realize how time flies and I’m getting old!
Originally Posted by rydogg58:
I feel like they just remade this movie recently. The title escapes me, but it had Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifinakis.
