Remake???
I'd love to see this one re-visioned for today's audiences...Matt Damon would be a terrific choice for McQueen role.
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MovieChat Forums > Le Mans (1971) Discussion > Remake???
AND MICHAEL_BAY COULD DIRECT AND THEY COULD CALL IT DRIVEN2!!1!
No joke, that's exactly what would happen.
I see 2 things wrong with the Professor's post.
1) I'd love to see this one re-visioned for today's audiences...
And
2) Matt Damon would be a terrific choice for McQueen role.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8wPu8-wemM&feature=related
All I can say is, No, Please Don't, step away from the remake machine....
Hollywood never knew how to make a movie like this, ever. Equal parts for the actors, the race itself, the cars as stars themselves, and they never will. The qualities of such a great film like this one comes from the simple fact that McQueen with his ego (larger than life) forced this movie to be about the race and not his star power. I'd love to thank him for that if only I could. No matter who you name to play his role they wouldn't play their role as quietly as McQueen did and allow the driving to speak for itself. They would simply focus on that one person and Poof you'd have Days of Thunder meets Driven, yuk!
Absolutely agree, mlmerit.
"...and if the bible has taught us anything (and it hasn't)..." Homer
Matt Damon does quiet very well. I don't think he'd have any trouble keeping his mouth shut if the script called for it. But that's the problem isn't it. The Hollywood of today would want to put in incomprehensible storylines and CGI and sex scenes and audio to make your ears bleed and of course there's 3D. Leave Le Mans as it is and just be glad there's Talladaga Nights.
shareTo remake is one thing. To successfully remake is something else again. And for any studio or director or producer to tackle this particular project, they would have to be largely ignorant of at least one of two things (and probably ignorant of both of them):
1. How difficult it was to make the original (and how much racing expertise and commitment it took), and how much more difficult and expensive it would be to re-make this film; In other words, how utterly daunting this project would be today.
2. Auto racing itself. You cannot expect people who are simply filmmakers to know the ins and outs of auto racing the way McQueen did. A remake could not help but display the difference in knowledge between people who knew the sport (and that race in particular), and "others" who might foolishly attempt to even come close to duplicating the successful interpretation displayed in the original.
You cannot simply plug in a favorite actor's name as the lead, and assume the movie could be remade as anything even approaching a respectable imitation, let alone a "successful" film. But looking at some of the stuff that is put out today, maybe somebody with more money than brains will be dumb enough to attempt it.
Touche tomcattv1 & dancooper99!!
The other (& maybe main) issue is liability.
I have no doubt McQueen waived whatever life insurance, face insurance, voice insurance, hair insurance etcetera (you get the point?) he had imposed to make the original. Would any contemporary actor do this?
A remake using cars of 1970 would be as laughable as using cars of 2011 or later.
How much of the circuit has been butchered?
"...and if the bible has taught us anything (and it hasn't)..." Homer J.
Other than the obvious reasons for not re-making this classic (artistic reasons, respect for the original, etc) there's one killer-reason - and that is: money.
I think they mentioned it on the excellent bonus-DVD for "Grand Prix" that movies like these simply couldn't be done today, because the rights to film the actual events would be so hugely expensive that nobody in their right mind would finance the show. True: The LeMans-series is not *quite* as otherwordly WRT money as current Formula 1, but my guess is that there wouldn't be that much of a difference. Besides: With all the sponsoring and other industry-involvement going on in today's professional motorsports, does anyone really believe they would let a filmcrew onto the grid/into the pits? Plus our fixation on "safety" in every aspect of life would probably prohibit getting insurance for such a project anyway.
And that's another reason why such films wouldn't be made today, or if they were, wouldn't be as interesting: Racing just isn't what it used to be. Back in the 60s/70s, you could bet that at least 2 or 3 drivers wouldn't live to see the end of a season. Today, deaths on the track are a pretty rare occurence. While I'm not saying that fatalities are integral to racing, I do think that in the old days the very real risk added to the excitement and to the mystique surrounding the drivers. And let's not forget driving aids, electronic monitoring from the pits, etc. If you did "Grand Prix 2011" or "Le Mans 2011", it'd probably be, well, boring. Kinda like re-making "Top Gun" with all the main characters piloting drones from a comfortable office instead of sitting in a cockpit.
The course is still as it was in McQueen's day, but they put a small kink in at the end of the Mulsanne Straight to slow the cars down a bit before they hit the curve. Simply a safety measure since the cars are even faster now.
sharerjvstudios - The circuit is heavily modified from the circuit used in 1970, specifically the complex from Maison Blanche to the pit area. And the first corner after the pits.
And there are TWO VERY tight chicanes on Mulsanne. A lot of the surviving gentlemen who raced there before these abominations will not even drive there in Historic events, because these changes have ruined the circuit. Both corners at either end of Mulsanne Straight. The corner entering the Esses.
As a matter of fact, it would be much easier to relate parts of the circuit that has NOT been modified. As far as I can make out, the area known as Indianapolis & the following corner, Arnage.
"...and if the bible has taught us anything (and it hasn't)..." Homer
Matt Damon? You must be kidding.
shareNo remake would work today, because IMO, it would not have the heart and soul, that McQueen put into it. The movie was McQueen's passion and fans of Lemans get it.
Today it's all about the money, hollywood would have a smart talking kid in it, and some hot woman with an attitude that she is good as any man as a driver, and ton's of product placement, oh but no cigarettes ads
I was about to jump up and down all over this, but then it got me thinking...
Remake Le Mans? Hell, no! There's no point now anyway. Part of the thrill for me was watching those damn near uncontrollable 1000BHp monsters being driven right on the edge. Slip up just once...well, we saw what happened. These days, it's just too safe. Still thrilling to watch, but losing that edge just takes something away, for me at least.
And then there's the lead. You need a petrol head...a proper petrol head...to get the most from it. I'm sure Matt Damon has some nice cars, but he's no McQueen. McQueen was the real deal, once describing himself as a racer first, an actor second. And he wasn't half bad either, coming 2nd to Mario Andretti at Sebring in his own Porsche 908/2, the very same 908/2 that he would use for the camera car in Le Mans. He was rumoured to have actually raced in secret and under an alias name in the actual 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours after the producers told him that there was no way he could enter the race. I don't know how believable that is, but if you watch the movie, there is one very brief glimpse of the camera car racing past the pits during one of the pit scenes (I think it was after McQueen crashed out, not the early pit stops). It is very brief and you have to pause it dead on the right frame, but the driver is wearing this helmet:
http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/sipa-steve-mcqueen. jpg
That's McQueen himself in the camera car in that picture.
I don't know if the rumour is true, but with McQueen, it was certainly possible. He was the right actor for the role, making the character believable.
So that got me thinking. A remake of Le Mans wouldn't work for me, but how about a new race film, made by a petrol heads by a petrol head who puts racing above acting? A film centred around a race of endurance, huge brass balls and danger done in a similar way to Le Mans, where the racing comes first? Old school cars with big engines, fat tyres a steering wheel and a believable character. Bathhurst V8/Eric Bana project anyone?
We'll keep the Red Flag flying high,share
'Cos Man United will never die!
Well said my friend, off the top of my head I can not think of any motor heads in Hollywood now. I know that some are collectors of fine cars, but true racers at heart I don't know?. The only one that does come to mind was Paul Newman.
David Letterman (not an actor) is a big race fan and is/was part owner of a team.
Thanks. Agreed with the lack of petrol heads in Hollywood, which is why I suggest Eric Bana. If you've seen Love The Beast, he's actually well into his racing (even though he stuffed his Ford Falcon 'The Beast') and isn't too bad at all behind the wheel. Only a race race driver could reprise a similar role to McQueen's character and capture the intensity of man vs machine in the same manner.
Either that, or take a charasmatic racer coming towards the end of thier career. Say Jenson Button for example. Pretty enough to keep the silver screen happy and a character in his own right. As long as who ever it is can bring the essence of a pure racer to the screen, acting ability would be a secondary consideration.
Rumours are afoot that there is a big screen account of the late James Hunt's career in the works. I don't know if it's a documentary style affair, like the excellent Senna production of last year, or a more dramatised acted out account of old Shunty, who is my all time favorite race driver. If it is going to be a role performed by an actor, it will be essential that they find someone who as a minimum shares the same passion for racing as I would imagine most of us on this board have, as a minimum requirement.
We'll keep the Red Flag flying high,share
'Cos Man United will never die!
Thanks for the info on Eric Bana, I didn't know he was a motorhead, and I will be looking for Love the Beast on Amazon.
Agreed! "only a race driver could reprise a similar role to McQueen's character"
I wonder if Button is he even interested in a acting career? Might be a good fit, hey Schumacher was in CARS...lol
I am at a bit of a disadvantage on current events in the F1 world being in the states with no satellite tv and living in NASCAR country. Not a NASCAR fan!
Let me know if you hear any more on a film of Mr. Hunt.
Man I miss the BBC and Top Gear.
Evo, the rumours of a James Hunt project are indeed true!
It's title is Rush, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth as Hunt.
The bad news, I don't personally rate Hemsworth as an actor.
The good news though is that it's in the hands of a great director, who on the face of it seems to understand exactly what fans of F1 racing during the Hunt/Lauda era want. The actors do at least look the part (the guy playing Lauda has an uncanny likeness), the CGI is being kept to a minimum and the cars being used are the ACTUAL cars that were piloted by the actual drivers back then (action shots using VERY accurate recreations).
Filming has been taking place here in the UK at lesser known tracks (Snetterton and Croft, I think) over the last few weeks and from the very few photos that a few onlookers have managed to get are certainly enough to make me hopeful enough that this will be up there, or there abouts, with Le Mans.
Here's a small vid clip that has surfaced this week of some of the filming at Snetterton. I think there may have even been the 6 wheel Tyrrell P34 lurking towards the back of the pack there too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-SE60DiheU&feature=related
We'll keep the Red Flag flying high,
Cos Man United will never die!
Muttley...You have made my day, thx...
sharePatrick Dempsey (plays in Grey's Anatomy) is a racer. he has his own racing team in the States and he also took part in Le Mans 2009 I believe, in a Ferrari F430.
He would be the most passionate about racing of todays actors for sure.
Muttley & evo - there is a film doco out now, or very soon, about Ayrton Senna.
And there was a 'fillum' which 'fell over' about Bruce McLaren's life, due out in 2009, reportedly with a 9 digit budget & heavy duty film fellas from NZ. We can only hope that it gets resurrected soon, or eventually.
"...and if the bible has taught us anything (and it hasn't)..." Homer
Snore... I have been waiting for the Senna movie to hit the DVD shelf. I doubt it will be here in the theater in NASCAR country! I read there is a uncut version with another 40+ minutes?
sharePatrick Dempsey - major petrol head, nice guy, good racer. He's a regular in the Grand-Am GT class in a Mazda. All the above from first-hand experience, BTW.
shareA remake is obviously an awful idea, but a spiritual sequel to Le Mans could be cool. Shoot it in that same highly experimental style, with extremely little dialogue and all the drama carried by the jousting of the cars on the track. Set it during an endurance race again, only at Nuerburgring this time. With a Hollywood budget behind the film they might get the track reset to its "Green Hell" layout.
Applying the advances in motorsports cinematography to a road course endurance race shot like Le Mans could be fantastic. The modern prototype cars aren't as dramatic as watching the old 917's and 512's twitching through the corners, but they're still fantastic machines to watch wheel-to-wheel at speed.