The Worst Idea Hollywood Has Ever Had

 

Thanks go to my friend Christina for pointing out this horrible news to me.

 

Hollywood is about to commit a sin so horrible that I will never be able to forgive them for it.  They are going to remake what is possibly the greatest film of all time. A film that has no equal. I speak of course of John Carpenter's 1988 masterpiece...They Live.

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.

 

If you have never seen They Live, you truly are missing out on one of cinema's true classics.  Starring pro wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper, the movie is a sci-fi action film about a construction worker who one day discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see the world how it truly is.  What he finds out is that the earth has been invaded by an alien race and that they are controlling humankind through the use of subliminal messages everywhere.  Only the glasses allow Rowdy Roddy to see who is human and who is alien.

 

What makes the movie so great?  Well, I'll let the wonderful geek website ToplessRobot explain that to you.  They recently posted a wonderful list titled The 8 Reasons They Live Is Cinema's Greatest Achievement, and it does a perfectly fine job of explaining why a film this awesome could never properly be remade.

 

If for nothing else, They Live will forever be known for having the greatest fight scene of all time.  A five and a half minute back alley brawl between Roddy and his friend over putting on the pair of sunglasses.  Never again in all of cinema will we ever be treated to so amazing a fight.  Just watch for yourself.

 



 

UPDATE:  IO9 has posted an excellent list of 6 Rules For Remaking John Carpenter's They Live.  I completely agree with everything on this list, especially the idea of having a professional wrestler play the role portrayed by Roddy Piper in the original.  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would be a great fit for the character.  He could totally pull off the right mix of serious badass and crazy silliness of the character.  And Roddy Piper seriously needs to be cast as the crazy preacher.