Friday, June 11, 1999
Fox with a twist: Remaking B-Movies
Everything noir is new again.
Spurred by the critically acclaimed L.A. Confidential,
Fox is entering the realm of femmes fatales, atmospheric
lighting and quirky plot twists. The network plans to
remake three of 20th Century Fox's old B-movies for next
season and hopes to do more if ratings warrent.
First up this fall is a remake of 1942's Moontide, which
starred Ida Lupino and Claude Rains, to be followed by
1936's Half Angel and 1953's Pickup On South Street,
a Sam Fuller movie starring RIchard Widmark.
"A lot of these films you've never heard of, which was more
appealing," says Marci Pool of Fox Television Productions.
"With the bigger titles, you get into the Psycho problem,
where you're trying to remake something that was great.
To me, if something was great, don't remake it."
Each film will be updated with a 90's sensibility.
Moontide's longshoreman (convinced that he has
committed a murder) becomes a studio executive in the
remake Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye. Production began in
Los Angeles Wednesday, starring Nick Lea (The X-Files)
and directed by Jason Priestly (Beverly Hills, 90210), who
also appears as Lea's best friend.
Other films also will feature FOX stars, the better to attract
the networks' viewers.
- Gary Levin
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