Could it ruin a good thing or bring a much-loved story back to life?
There seems to be a resurgence in doing that very thing, revamping movies for television.
The Robert Rodríguez film, From Dusk Till Dawn, starring George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino has recently been made into a television series in the US.
It stars Wilmer Valderrama (from That 70s Show) as criminal overlord, Carlos, and tells the same supernatural crime saga as the cult film. The Gecko brothers go on the run, taking a family hostage after their bank robbery leaves many dead.
It is getting mixed reviews so far but Robert Rodríguez who is the writer, director and producer of the series already prefers it to the film. He says you can do and show much more now than when he made the original film:
"“It’s just a lot different today, I mean like what you can do."
"It’s really powerful and I really like this version more than the film.”
The Cohen brothers classic Fargo was also recently made into a 10-episode limited series based on the feature film and is currently airing on TV.
Now apparently there are a few more classics on the way.
The Jim Carrey film 'The Truman Show' is to be turned into a TV series and Paramount has confirmed the Patrick Swayze Oscar-winning classic 'Ghost' will also be adapted for television.
At the moment there are no details confirmed as to who will star in them or when they are due to be broadcast.
There has been a long history of remaking films into series for television. Some have been good, some have been absolutely terrible. Here are just a few:
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was remade in the early ‘90s with a re-vamped version starring a not so well known actor Charlie Schlatter and introduced TV audiences to a young Jennifer Aniston who played Ferris’ sister Jeannie.
Blade: The Series made for another unsuccessful transition to the small screen with small budgets leading to third rate actors, bad special effects and terrible story lines.
Clueless was a hit movie in the 90s, showing spoiled rich American kids spending their way through high school. The series remake was not so popular. The fun that director Amy Heckerling and Alicia Silverstone added to the movie was sadly missing from the 1996 series.
