Sure, Ben Affleck being cast as the next Batman might have been controversial, but it was nowhere near as controversial as the mere rumors in the early 2000s that Affleck and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were in talks in the early 2000s to star in a remake of the timeless cinema classic Casablanca. Nothing ever came of it — indeed, it isn’t even clear that the idea was even seriously considered — but the mere thought drove people crazy.
This just might out-do that.
According to Variety, Star Partners and Hummingbird Productions are exploring making a sequel to another timeless classic, It’s a Wonderful Life under the incredibly awful title It’s A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story for a Christmas 2015 release. The film will focus on George Bailey’s grandson, who undergoes a similar “I wish I never was born!” crisis during the holidays. The lone potentially interesting element is that Karolyn Grimes, who appeared as Zuzu in the 1946 film, would appear as an angel in the sequel to do exactly what Clarence did in the original. Grimes has not appeared in a film since 1952. Producers are also trying to get the other surviving Bailey children to appear in the film as well.
The screenplay is by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton. Farnsworth has no previous writing credits, and Bolton has seemingly wrote every Bob Hope special from 1981 to the iconic comedian’s death. Plans are to start shooting in February.
However, I have my doubts. The rights to the film have been owned by Republic Pictures since a 1993 court case over copyright issues because the copyright was never reviewed on the original in 1974. Nothing in the Variety article indicates that Star Partners and Hummingbird Productions have somehow acquired through those rights, and unless that gets sorted out there’s no way this film is going to start shooting in February… or ever. Republic Pictures (now owned by Artisan Entertainment) still holds the rights, and I don’t see its name mentioned anywhere in the Variety article. While the upcoming The Bronx Bull was able to be made because it was based on non-Raging Bull material about real-life subject Jake LaMotta, this is a much different story.
Regardless, I have no words to describe how terrible of an idea I think this is. How about you, readers? Unload your thoughts in the comments.
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