Why do they always do this?

[AndyC]

This morning, on the radio, I heard that Ben 'Cooter' Jones is upset at the casting choices for the planned (and, I suppose, inevitable) Dukes of Hazzard movie. Considering that it's going to star Johnny Knoxville, Jessica Simpson and Stifler, I was entirely agreeing with him. Then I found out his argument was that the original cast should be used.

I hate when actors do this. It blows whatever credibility they had, suggesting that middle-aged actors, who have long since moved on, should be used to play characters who apparently haven't grown up in the last 25 years or so. Bo Duke is playing Pa Kent now, for God's sake.

I think the most extreme case I've heard was when the octogenarian Jonathan Harris refused a cameo in Lost in Space a few years back, because they wouldn't cast him as Dr. Smith, but I digress.

Jones at least seems to have a legitimate beef with the Dukes movie. Would it not have sufficed for him to say simply that the proposed actors suck, and the movie deserves a decent cast if it is to have any hope of being good? That is what often needs to be said with the recent deluge of remakes and TV-to-movie adaptations. If you really feel a need to make them, at least do the story, and people's fond memories, some justice with a respectable cast.

But instead of simply saying that, former cast members, if they do speak up, usually make stupid, unrealistic demands that are easily ridiculed and dismissed.

Honestly, what are they thinking?



Post Edited (09-13-04 09:06)

[AndyC]

I should also mention that Ben Jones did have one good idea for replacing the dead cast members. He suggested Robert Duvall as Uncle Jesse and Danny DeVito as Boss Hogg. That could be interesting.

Still, I don't want this thread to focus on The Dukes of Hazzard. I'm discussing a broader issue here.

[odinn7]

I recall back before Batman (with Keaton) came out, I read that Adam West was trying to get people to protest the movie because he wasn't starring in it. I found that to be real hard to handle. Adam West wanted to be the new Batman...can you picture this? What was he thinking? Batman to the Joker "You made me...you dirty scoundrel."

[Andrew]

I think that the actors think of the character as a piece of their own property.  "Mine" - the roll of Luke Duke is "Mine" or some such.

Of course, if the producer does cave in to the aged actor/actresses demands, you get "Sextette."  Apparently Mrs. West wrote the film back when she was much younger (a long, long time ago).  I guess she insisted on being the lead if the studio/producer wanted the screenplay.

The other option is that somebody thought an ancient crone playing a horny movie actress would be a good idea.  If so, I present that as proof that there really is a Devil.

Ick, ick, ick...

[AndyC]

I finally saw Sextette last month. I can't even think of the words to describe the experience.



Post Edited (09-13-04 10:20)

[Yaddo42]

I was going to mention the Adam West/ new Batman thing. I can remember at the time hearing a rumor (so take it for what it's worth) from the local comic shop owner that the producers had considered offering a supporting role to West out of kindness and a link of sorts to the past. I though he said they were considering either the roles of Comissioner Gordon or Harvey Dent. West supposedly refused, still wanting at least some serious consideration for the lead. I guess the concept that the Tim Burton version of Batman was taking its inspiration from "The Dark Knight Returns" rather than his 1960s TV version was lost on him.

For Jones' idea to work, they'd have to be making another TV reunion movie, which is pointless since everyone is 20 years older and some of them have started to die off. Since the new "Dukes" film isn't picking up from the old series, why reuse the original actors in those roles. I agree the new cast sounds bad unless they are going for a very broad remake like "The Beverly Hillibillies" movie. Maybe they should get people who can act, unlike Simpson (and I haven't seen enough of Knoxville's acting work to judge in his case), or can play convincing Southerners or rednecks. Why not Owen Wilson for example? I like the Robert Duvall idea, maybe David Keith could play Roscoe.

I'm trying to think of other examples of the broader idea from the OP, but the first one popping to mind is Clayton Moore and the Lone Ranger. The movie remake was bad anyway, but I don't think not having Moore was the problem. Cowboys and westerns were already dying off, and the Lone Ranger's time as a kids favorite was passing as well. Kids were interested in "Star Wars", superheroes, and contemporary heroes for the most part. I'd say Moore won the battle, but not for the reason he thinks, the people rooting for him were nostalgic adults, not a new group of kids. I knew who he was at the time, mostly due to adults talking about the reruns of his show, but IIRC the Lone Ranger I knew at the time was the animated version.

[blkrider]

Another big problem with the Legend of the Lone Ranger was that it was way too adult for a kiddie audience--that is, I remember there being cursing and a pretty high level of violence.  I see how they would have had to be more violent but I think they could have eased up on the cursing a little bit.  I think I was around nine or ten years old when that movie came out.  I didn't have big memories of the Lone Ranger or anything, but I remember thinking that there was probably too much cursing for a movie featuring a beloved kids' character.  

I'm not going to get too concerned about yet another TV movie adaptation...it's not like the original show was quality television to begin with.  What would [and probably will] be sad is if the movie ditches the "ruralness" of the TV show, but like I said, I'm not going to worry too much about the integrity of the Dukes of Hazzard.

[Flangepart]

Sextett : What Andrew said.....Eewwwww!

So...anyone else up for a discussion of the Rebel Flag on the General Lee?

[Ash]

Flangepart wrote:

> So...anyone else up for a discussion of the Rebel Flag on the
> General Lee?



I was wondering about the rebel flag myself.
I hope they keep it on there not because of what that flag stands for, but because it's simply a part of the General Lee and always has been.

It wouldn't be the General Lee without the Stars & Bars.
Doesn't that flag also have another nickname?

Oh by the way, check out BUILDAGENERALLEE.COM

I dig the T-shirts on there.
I think I may actually order the orange one that says, "Hazzard County Jail".

Oh, and wasn't the General Lee a Dodge Charger?
(I'm not really a car guy/gearhead)



Post Edited (09-13-04 14:50)

[blkrider]

I bet they change it....which is too bad.  They might as well not even call it the Dukes of Hazzard if they change the General...don't forget the "Dixie" horn!

[Dave Munger]

IMHO, instead of all the TNG/DS9/Enterprise/(Red Dwarf - humor=Voyager) stuff, they should have gone back to animated stuff, like the cartoon that Larry Niven wrote with Kzinti in it that I can hardly remember. Then they could have used the original characters indefinitly, even if they died they wouldn't be too hard to replace. Even I do a decent Shatner, and I don't even do Nickelson.

[peter johnson]

Burt "Robin" Ward had no such desires, thank goodness --
Klinton Spilsbury was cast as The Lone Ranger -- how's that for trivia recall, eh?  Eat dust all you Trivio-Italiano freaks on this board!! -- first and foremost for his looks (He was a model).  He spoke in a high, lispy, not-that-there's-anything-wrong-with-that type voice.  He was dubbed by uncredited radio voiceover talent for the whole film.  The film itself was designed by comittee.  You know, a giraffe is a horse designed by committee?  Anyway, lots of cocaine-sniffing by all the producers later, the horrid film was born.  It didn't have to be that way . . .
Andrew is right that -- some -- people get propritary about their things, and not just actors.  Witness poor Mr. Bakshi's attempt to involve himself with Lord of The Rings.  If you think of yourself as the originator of something, it must burn your craw to see someone else coopt it without so much as a howdyado.
It's always more fun when the old guys/gals play along, like Robert Mitchum & Gregory Peck taking tiny cameos in DeNiro's remake of . . . of . . . that thing where he's the killer with tatoos!!  Damn!  Brain warranty expire!  Me sorry me say bad things about Italio-trivia . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

[peter johnson]

Cape Fear!
Thankyou, brain . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

[loyal1]

That's why they do that stuff.

[AndyC]

It can also be a shameless attempt to grab some of the hype to make a buck themselves. I thought that about Bakshi and LOTR.

Heard a little more about Cooter on the radio this morning (where do they find this stuff?) and he seems pretty sincere. I guess he always was kind of passionate about the show. He's now started a letter writing campaign to the movie's producers. He'd like the original cast members to return as older versions of their characters, to pass the torch to the new generation.

Sounds a little more reasonable, but still hardly seems necessary. The big problem is still that the movie has a crappy cast, and will probably suck.

Of course, Ben Jones is not immune from the make-a-buck angle, since he's been using the Cooter name and persona for years, and even opened a museum that became something of a Dukes shrine. In spite of having been a congressman for years, Ben Jones seems to be the cast member who didn't move on. Mind you, he's probably made good money off the show's memory.