Sigh…
Alfred Hitchcock was a filmmaker that was one-of-kind. People have been trying to out-Hitchcock Hitchcock for years, with hardly anyone ever coming close (probably the closest was Charade, which starred Hitchcock regular Cary Grant — if you’ve never seen it, check it out for free on IMDB!)
So it’s usually annoying to hear when studios decide to remake a Hitchcock film, usually with people involved that are far less talented than Hitchcock or his casts. Case in point: Paramount is planning a remake of To Catch a Thief, the 1955 Oscar-winning film starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. And who does Paramount enlist to remake the film? Why screenwriters Josh Stolberg (Piranha 3D, Good Luck Chuck) and Bobby Florsheim (who co-wrote the upcoming comedy Man-Witch with Stolberg) and producer Neal Moritz (The Fast and the Furious films, the xXx films, the I Know What You Did Last Summer films), of course!
Now I’ve gone on record as a fan of Piranha 3D, but I don’t think this team will end up being the right team for a Hitchcock remake, especially since Stolberg told Latino Review that “it was fun to come at it from a different angle – make it a little bit more modern and ‘gadgety.’ It’s the first script that I’ve ever written that [encompasses] a lot of heists and action sequences and.. it was a blast”
I thought the whole reason why To Catch a Thief was a classic was because of the superb romantic interplay between the suave Grant and beautiful Kelly, but I guess it should have really been all about the gadgets. Even the producers of the James Bond films learned that too many gadgets lead to a very silly film. The real detective work should be left to those that have a criminology education and can actually use gadgets to crack the case. It certainly bothers me that he didn’t bring up the relationship that is so key to the film and instead brought up the action sequences, which aren’t.
As is my usual hope, at least the news of the remake will perhaps get people interested in the original film. Maybe a young kid will discover Hitchcock for the first time, and will grow up to be a great director. Maybe. Or maybe instead this movie comes out, critics and audiences tear it apart, and it bombs at the box office as a result. Or maybe Paramount should just stop while it’s ahead!
What Hitchcock film would you LEAST like to see remade? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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