Hollywood Reporter warns us to expect yet another remake of a classic John Carpenter film, in this case 1988’s THEY LIVE – an amusing satire on the Reagen era, in which former wrestler Roddy Piper starred as a man who realizes (thanks to a pair of special glasses) that many of the “humans” running the world are actually aliens.
John Carpenter’s cult 1988 film is getting the remake treatment from Universal and studio-based Strike Entertainment, which are in negotiations to acquire the film rights with rights holder Les Mougins.
Strike’s Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce, while Shep Gordon of Les Mougins and Carpenter will serve as executive producers.
Strike, whose credits include “Bring It On” and “Children of Men,” had success in the remake arena with 2004’s update of “Dawn of the Dead.” Strike is also working on a remake of Carpenter’s “The Thing.”
THEY LIVE was one of a trio of films that Carpenter made with Shep Gordon (who managed Alice Cooper before getting into the movies); the other two were PRINCE OF DARKNESS and VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED. The films represented an attempt by Carpenter to return to a more personal form of independent filmmaking (i.e., retaining creative control) after some time spent at the major Hollywood Studios, making disappointments like CHRISTINE and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (along with the somewhat more well received STARMAN).
THEY LIVE never earned the fan adulation of Carpenter’s earlier work (e.g. HALLOWEEN, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK). In particular, the extended fight scene between Piper and Keith David is considered a wretched example of Hollywood excess, going on for over five minutes. (On the other hand, the sequence has become legendary, even receving an homage on SOUTH PARK, in which a skirmish between two disabled kids recreates the action shot for shot.) Still, it is an interesting, if flawed effort – in a way, the ideal subject for a remake, because the premise is good and there is room for improvement.
Steve,
I am a huge fan of the original film. You say there is room for improvement, and that may be true. Nonetheless, this is an OUTSTANDING example of another totally unwarranted remake. The main thing that made They Live so wonderful was it’s originality. That trait will, be definition, no longer exist in the remake.
The fact that the original came out in the prime of election season, while the new version certainly would not, pretty much castrates the idea of the film in the first place. If they DO wait four years, what will be the point? That OBAMA is an alien, using government to warm the planet through greenhouse emissions in order to further their race? I don’t think so………!