Well, the constant changes in cast and directors so far has been comedic, that's for sure. The project is now on its third director after Bend it Like Beckham helmer Gurinder Chadha walked away, possibly leaving the project in the hands of Betty Thomas, who previously directed the bigscreen adaptation of The Brady Bunch.
Many big names were attached to the project, including John Travolta, Jennifer Garner, Meg Ryan, Luke Wilson, Jennifer Lopez and Shirley MacLaine. Travolta, set to play oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, is the only one who still remains.
If you're a purist and angry that they're turning a great primetime soap opera into a comedy, allow me to make you even angrier by pointing out that the studio doesn't seem to care what you think. The movie is now aiming for a younger audience, and with the addition of screenwriter Pam Brady (Hot Rod, Team America: World Police), fans of the original series can pretty much forget about a straight adaptation.
Some may disagree with me, but I thought The Brady Bunch Movie was actually quite funny and charming. It's impossible and somewhat naive to think a decades-old TV show can be translated to modern movie screens without some changes, and that seems to be what's happening with Dallas. I won't argue with anyone calling it an unnecessary bastardization, but it is what it is.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-26-2007 @ 7:24PM
Rachel said...
I think adding Betty Thomas is a very good thing. The only way that this movie could be tolerable is if it's a comedy. They really screwed up some comedic opportunity with "Miami Vice." Sure the comedy/TV thing doesn't always work, but they could have just called that one "Generic Action Flick" and it would have done just as well...
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8-27-2007 @ 1:52AM
Chris said...
Stupid doesn't even begin to describe what they are doing. The people they are targeting (my generation mind you) weren't even alive when the whole world wanted to know "Who Shot J.R." Why on earth would these movie studio idiots think the 18-35 year old demo would even remember DALLAS like true fans would?
I WAS planning on seeing this movie whenever it came out. Now I'll be sure NOT to watch one second of the movie. I'll just go back to my DALLAS DVDs and watch a real DRAMA.
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8-27-2007 @ 10:46AM
kel said...
Why? Seriously, why? TV remakes aren't necessarily cash cows. For every Brady Bunch movie (which did well) there are about 10 flops like Bewitched. So why are they taking a chance with this one?
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