MovieChat Forums > The Man Who Laughs (1928) Discussion > How long till this gets remade

How long till this gets remade


Won't be long now that Dark Knight is a monster hit.

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Well, a friend of mine and I are planning to do a remake someday, true to the original novel, so hopefully we can get the funding for it and everything will work out.

Nevermore!

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Can I join? Ever since I read the book I've been dreaming of filming it. I awfully regret some scenes that were not in the film - the whole wrecking of the ship (I'd love to film those people still kneeling and praying while the water is getting higher and higher, not making a move to escape). The agony of Gwynplaine in the snow. Ursus' character.

Anyway, I wish you good luck.

We're the heirs to the glimmering world.

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Well, it may be a few years before the movie gets done, as I'm still in college. That and the fact that I live in California and my friend's from Sweden, so it may be a while before we're able to physically meet up to start planning it (we've talked about it via emails and stuff, but being in the same proximity would help)

I have written a stage play of The Man Who Laughs, though, and it's going to have a reading (where a group of actors read the play aloud in front of an audience but they don't have sets or costumes) on the 22nd. Who knows, it may be actually performed on stages soon. I'm going to be videotaping it and could post it somewhere, if anyone wants to hear and see it.

Nevermore!

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I'd love to read/hear/see it. A stage play is an excellent idea. Be sure to send me the link if you ever film it.

We're the heirs to the glimmering world.

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Thanks, I will.

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Well, the reading went really well.

It's going to be a play with music and my friend Lenka who's writing the score for it is also the artistic director of the theater she works for (Arts Off Broadway in San Diego) and she told me that she's looking to bring in some original works for next season. So, if all goes well, The Man Who Laughs might be performed onstage in February.

I recorded the reading and should have it posted somewhere ASAP.

Nevermore!

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Hey, everyone who's reading this. Sorry for the delay; I will definitely try to have it up by this weekend or early next week. Don't worry, it's coming.

Nevermore!

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I'm so sorry this is taking so long. I've misplaced the recorder that has the audio on it, but when I find it, I will post it.

Nevermore!

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Good news! I found the recorder and plan to upload the audio this weekend; stay tuned.

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I've started uploading the play. It's in a thread on this board titled "A New Play Version of 'The Man Who Laughs'".

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[deleted]

You mean a movie that shows everybody in 1928 making the film so that The Man Who Laughs becomes a movie-within-a-movie? Yeah, that would be really cool! I still would like to see another version of this, though. As much as I adore this film, it left out a lot of things from the book.

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[deleted]

Oh, you're not alone. I love the Disney version of Hunchback. It's beautifully done and has one of the best soundtracks/scores of any Disney movie I've ever seen. I was a child of the '90s, so I grew up with Disney's masterpieces like The Lion King, Hunchback, etc, and they have special places in my heart not only because of their greatness as films, but because of the wonderful childhood memories I associate with them. One of my greatest memories of Hunchback is that, even at the young age of eight, I can recall sitting in the movie theater and being overjoyed that, in Quasimodo, Disney was mainstreaming into the public conscious a character who was like me, an "outcast". I was born three months prematurely and given a less than 1% chance of survival, and if I did survive, I was supposed to have a laundry list of neurological and physical problems. 22 years later, I am alive and well and the only sign the premature birth left on me is that I am visually impaired. I am not completely blind, but I am not fully sighted, either--I'm a kind of weird "in between" person, so I can see through both the eyes of the outcast and someone who considers themselves more integrated into society. I identify more with the role of the outcast, though, and plan to use my life and the gift of writing I've been given to tell their stories. I feel that is my calling. I've actually been working for a very long time on a stage play adaptation of The Man Who Laughs, faithful to the book (with a few of my own ideas mixed in).

And yes, a movie about the cast of the 1928 film making the movie would be so epically amazing there aren't words to describe it. I would love to see Burton direct it. It would be wonderful to see a cameo by Lon Chaney in the movie. I would jump up out of my seat cheering in the theater the minute he showed up on the screen.

Nevermore!

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[deleted]

Oh TheatreRaven....you are a gem!!!

Awww, thank you!
I know it`s daft to ask...but did you ever catch"The Man of a 1000 Faces" with James Cagney...such odd casting but still a brilliant movie...as Chaney.

I did, and I actually have it on DVD. It's one of my favorite movies (even though I know it was shamelessly sanitized and Hollywood-ized). The ending always, always, always makes me cry (and it takes a lot to get me to cry at movies). Seriously, I'm a mess by the end of the movie. I have such a great affectionate respect and reverence for Lon Chaney that seeing him die, even in a movie, leaves me sobbing like I knew him personally and just experienced his death in real time.
Yup.....if Burton made Ed Wood...then he can surely DO Paul Leni..i would love to see Johnny`s take on this....but the casting would be a nightmare especially with Connie and Olga...and if anyone say`s Madonna or Lady Gaga i will give them a thick ear...lol!

Yeah, casting Connie and Olga would be hard. I think Johnny would make a good Connie, just because he's such a versatile actor (and I have a strange desire to see him as Gwynplaine ), but Olga, hmmm . . . I don't know who could play her. Lady Gaga as her? Wow. That would be scary.

Nevermore!

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[deleted]

Yeah. In a dream world (or if we somehow get a hell of a budget) maybe when my friend and I do our remake, we can get Burton to direct.

For reference, here is a picture of my friend Anton as Gwynplaine. He performed a few scenes from the stage play version I wrote (translated into Swedish; he's from Sweden) last November for a college project. (And he designed the makeup himself):

http://s768.photobucket.com/albums/xx323/TheaterRaven/The%20Man%20Who% 20Laughs%20Stage%20Play/?action=view&current=AntonasGwynplaine.jpg

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He is amazing. And yes, we have heard many a time that he looks like Heath.

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How's the remake going?

"I hate censor people, I want to kill all those people" - Dario Argento.

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This screams of a Hollywood remake. Not that I think there should be one, I just feel this type of movie will get one.

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There was a French remake in 2012 with Gerard Depardieu as Ursus.

"I say,open this door at once! We're British !"

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