The Crow remake/hack job is just the most recent announcement of Hollywood trying to ruin my adolescence and teenage years. (On this note, I don't understand why it seems to be the "cult" classics being remade... No one wants to blatantly rip-off Pretty in Pink I guess.) I could go on and on about the remake craze, and probably will at a later date; but for today I want to focus on this one.
The Crow for me is one of the world's most perfect movies. It has special meaning for me because it helped me cope with death, and became a staple for Christmas Eve for my mom and I. It was also just amazingly well done; and starred a man, that I think most of my generation will agree, was taken from our movie screens way too soon.
I read a blog by Annette Bourdeau about the 20 reasons why Bradley Cooper should not be Eric Draven. Annette inspired me to come up with a list of my own... The 10 reasons why a remake/reinvention/butchering just SHOULDN'T happen:
10. A remake without the original cast will likely be met by the same ill-fate as it's 3 sequels and one television show.
9. Casting is clearly already heading downhill (and I'm a Bradley Cooper fan way back to Alias, but I just can't be behind this). While I don't think anyone should reprise the role of Eric, it should at the very least be someone with a similar (not same, because there isn't anyone) presence.
8. I don't know how the music will play in this one. At the time true rock and heavy metal were still extremely popular if not mainstream. I would hate for a studio to do to The Crow what another person (::muffled cough voice:: Howard Stern) was trying to do to Rock-n-Roll High School without the Ramones (i.e. can't/shouldn't be done).
7. Why does a cult classic that had good box office numbers the first time need to be another cash cow for someone else? And, truthfully, based on the buzz thus far who is going to buy a ticket to even see that happen?
6. If you do a remake, shouldn't you employ the same rules as the original. In other words, no mega-names to be cast? The script and story are soulful and shouldn't be outshined by anyone.
5. The closest thing to a truly tortured soul character Hollywood has presented (won't say pulled off) in recent years is Edward from the Twilight series. This does NOT bode well for our generation's dark dream hero of Draven.
4. The other problem with a remake of this caliber is the outrage from the fanbase. We weren't behind sequels, despite new characters, because there was no Brandon Lee. Now Relativity wants to retry the original without him? This will denigrate and possibly piss off past Cooper fans and anyone else cast in the film.
3. According to IMDB they have already slated a new screen writer (and it's no longer Nick Cave, who I actually may have liked). Granted David J. Schow hasn't done much of note since the original; he's still out there in the world...unattached to the new re-hashing.
2. Hollywood can't do intense love stories anymore; and at the bare bones of The Crow, that's what it is.
1. To have the character Eric Draven on the big screen without Brandon Lee is sacrilege. It's a slap in his face over his death. At least the other three sequels (if not the television series) were aware of that.
All of this being said, I'm sure my blog won't put a wrench in this butc-er, remake. They should cast appropriately. I'm not sure who this would be because I don't think anyone can be Eric Draven with Brandon Lee in the ground. But a tan frat boy with baby blues doesn't come close. I just ask that Relativity Media give Draven fans the respect they deserve for wearing out our VHS' and memorabilia. Despite what travesty comes from this, we should all remember it "can't rain all the time."
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