Is this really a good idea?
A lot of people have been saying Hollywood is out of ideas, or at least that it’s scared to experiment and tell original stories these days. That’s why we’re drowning in a sea of sequels, remakes, and reboots. Sure, those have always been around, but now they dominate movie screens. Case in point: a new Deadline report claims Steven Spielberg is working on a new Bullitt movie.
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The report says there is no script and details for the Bullitt movie are being finalized, so pretty much everything is up in the air. It might be a complete retelling of the first movie, a continuation of the storyline, or maybe something else entirely. The sources Deadline spoke with claim the movie won’t be a remake and instead will use Frank Bullitt in a new storyline, but we’ll see. And yes, the possibility of completely screwing up what many consider a masterpiece is quite high.
Some are automatically going to be excited about this news because of nostalgia. Hollywood knows this, which is why it’s been digging up the corpses of so many past flicks, then reanimating them so people get all excited and start shoveling over the money. But just like with Frankenstein and Jurassic Park, instead of creating some amazing life, these Hollywood producers bring about monsters which usually not only don’t honor the legacy from which the new movies supposedly come, but often mock and deconstruct the source material.
In other words, don’t be surprised if the new Bullitt movie breaks down the original film. This could be done in any number of ways, like making Frank Bullitt look inept next to a strong, diverse female protagonist. We’ve seen this trick pulled with so many reboots and sequels lately.
It’s also entirely possible the new Bullitt will feature electric cars. If Frank is driving a Ford Mustang Mach-E with Bullitt-style wheels, that will cause an uproar. Then Ford might release a limited Bullitt edition of its EV pony crossover.
With no Steve McQueen to play Frank Bullitt, some actor is going to have some awfully big shoes to fill. Few of the men who call themselves actors in Hollywood these days could pull it off. Also, the chase scenes in the new film will be heavily scrutinized, so loading them with CGI ridiculousness like what we’ve seen in the Fast and Furious franchise won’t leave anyone satisfied.
Source: Deadline
Photos via IMDB
