Remake Fun: Who Would You Cast In The Remake of "Baby Jane?"

It was announced at Comic-Con two weeks ago that action director Walter Hill would direct a remake of the iconic Robert Aldrich thriller Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

This is a bad, bad idea for many reasons.  First, the original is a masterpiece, with Bette Davis as the crazed ex-child star Baby Jane Hudson, who tortures her crippled sister Blanche (Joan Crawford).  The 1962 thriller was one of the few horror films to garner Oscar nominations—most notably Davis’s twelfth acting nod.  (She would have won if it wasn’t for Anne Bancroft and The Miracle Worker.)

Director Robert Aldrich was known for his macho action films, such as The Dirty Dozen and The Longest Yard.  But he was also a sensitive director of "women's films," and he brought out great performances in Baby Jane, Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte, The Killing of Sister George, and others.  Director Walter Hill (48 Hrs., The Warriors) once said, "Every film I've made has been a western."  Walter Hill for Baby Jane?  I don't see it.

And what about the casting?  Even Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave couldn't erase the memory of Davis and Crawford in a lackluster 1991 TV remake.

Some films don't need to be remade.  Baby Jane is certainly one of them.  But as long as Warner's is going to do it, let's throw our two cents in and suggest some casting ideas:

Meryl Streep and Glenn Close:  Who better to play the demented Jane Hudson than our favorite psychopathic bunny boiler Glenn Close?  And wouldn't it be fun to see Streep get the stuffing knocked out of her?

Jessica Lange and Sigourney Weaver:  After her knockout Southern-dipped horror performance in American Horror Story, I could easily see Jessica Lange as Jane.  Weaver would be one of the few actresses who could hold her own with the two-time Oscar winner.

Angelica Huston and Barbara Hershey:  Huston has that classic Gothic look (see: The Addams Family) that would be perfect for this film.  The great Ms. Hershey (Beaches, Once Upon a Time) would be perfect to elicit our sympathy as the trapped Blanche.

So what do you think?  Anyone else pop into mind?  (If Elizabeth Taylor were still alive, I certainly would have put her on the list).  Give me your best ideas.

Comic-Con: Walter Hill Tackles Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Remake: http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/comic-con-walter-hill-tackles-whatever-happened-to-baby-jane-remake/

To purchase the original 1962 classic, click here:

Fox Enters The DVD-On-Demand Business With "Fox Cinema Archives"

DVD-On-Demand, where you order the title and the DVD is specifically made for you, has really taken off, thanks to the Warner Archives, MGM Limited Editions, and Sony Pictures Choice Collection.  Last week Fox entered the market, with 35 new titles available on demand as part of the "Fox Cinema Archives" series.

Unlike the Warner Archives, which are available on their own website, the Fox Cinema Archives will be available from a number of retailers, including Amazon.

The DVD-on-demand is an excellent way for a studio to release classic films that wouldn't ordinarily support a wide release. Fox has some excellent titles in this first set, including:

Mr. Belvedere Rings The Bell (1951)--Before the TV series, Clifton Webb added another memorable character to his resume. Webb won an Oscar nod for the first film he played Belvedere in, 1948's Sitting Pretty, which introduced the world to a 50-ish male au pair/babysitter who knew more than his employees.

Suez (1938)--The classic story of the building of the massive canal., starring Tyrone Power.

Claudia (1942)--Frank movie about a child bride forced to mature after marriage.  Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young star.

Diplomatic Courier (1952)--Tyrone Power and Patricia Neal star in this tale of international inrigue and Cold War spies.

Way of the Gaucho (1952)--After he inadvertently kills a man, a gaucho is forced to join the Argentine army as punishment.  Rory Calhoun star.

For the entire list of new Fox releases, click here:
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/fox/fox-cinema-archives-open-business-major-retailers-websites-27578

To order our favorite, Mr. Belvedere Rings The Bell:

Eight Things You Didn't Know About "Singin' In The Rain"

Singin' In The Rain celebrates it 60th anniversary this week with a special one-time-only showing in theaters across the country.  In honor of this occasion, here are eight little-known facts about one of the greatest films ever made:

1.  Jean Hagen was a smash as Lina Lamont, the silent film star trying to make the transition to talkies—but has a voice that could shatter cement. Screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green had worked with Judy Holliday in a Broadway revue.  She was their top choice for the role—but had just soared to fame in Born Yesterday.  Holliday recommended Hagen, who auditioned by performing a drop dead perfect impersonation of Holliday, and won the role.

2.  A very young Rita Moreno was cast as Zelda Sanders, the “Zip Girl.”  The role was based on Clara Bow.  She even had a number, “I’ve Got a Feeling You’re Fooling,” but when her role was trimmed, the song moved to the “Beautiful Girls” medley.

3.  The rain in the title number was composed of milk and water; plain water alone didn’t show up on film the way director Stanley Donen wanted it to.  The “rain” kept shrinking Gene Kelly’s wool suit after each take.  So the story that Kelly shot the number in one take is just that—a story.  It actually consumed over two full days of filming.

4.  For the female lead Kathy Selden, Judy Garland and June Allyson were considered, but Kelly was sold on Debbie Reynolds. She was a gymnast who'd been discovered in a beauty pageant and Kelly felt she had the athleticism to keep up with him.

5.  Just because she was chosen didn’t mean it was easy for Reynolds.  Reynolds later recalled that Kelly was a stern taskmaster, and they performed so many takes that sometimes her feet actually bled.  One day after a particularly hard rehearsal, Fred Astaire found Reynolds crying under a piano.  After that, he quietly coached her for the dance numbers.

6.  Mogul R.F. Simpson (played by Millard Mitchell) was modeled after producer Arthur Freed, but Freed never knew it and no one dared to tell him.  Freed didn't have much of a sense of humor about himself.  As screenwriter Betty Comden recalled, she and co-writer Adolph Green got a call one day from Freed. "Kids," he said, "you're going to write a movie called Singin' In The Rain.  Just put all of my songs in it."

7.  The movie features a bunch of classic songs, but only one original—Moses Supposes—with lyrics by the screenwriters Comden and Greene.

8.  The film received only two Oscar nominations—Best Supporting Actress for Hagen and Best Adapted Score.  Many felt it was inferior to 1951’s Best Picture: An American In Paris.  The film’s reputation has soared over the decades—it is #5 on AFI’s Top 100 Movies list as of 2007.  It has also been named twice in the prestigious Sight and Sound Poll of the best films of all time.  In 1982 it ranked #4; in the 2002 poll it was #10.

For more about the July 12th screening of Singin' In The Rain:  http://www.fathomevents.com/