Reboots of ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘The Last Starfighter’ are happening: Hollywood is cancelled
That High Fidelity reboot you didn’t want is happening
Did anyone order a rehash of early 00s relationship angst starring an apparently irresistible curmudgeon with an obsession for mixtapes? What about the same story but featuring (get ready, this is really radical) a woman in the lead role?! Deadline suggested Disney is developing a gender-swapped reboot of High Fidelity for its upcoming streaming platform. The series will be based on Stephen Frears’s 2000 movie starring John Cusack (1408) & Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle).
Described as being “an optimistic-in-tone mixtape / diary rom-com,” the High Fidelity show will be family friendly and focus on a female record store owner breaking the fourth wall as she chronicles past relationships. If you’re not completely sold on the idea (and really, who can blame you?), the show is being written by Veronica West & Sarah Kucserka (Ugly Betty), which actually bodes well for the potential quality of this reboot.
Jay and Silent Bob will strike back again – this time in VR
Blaze up a phat one outside a convenience store (or don’t – whatever, it’s not the 90s anymore) because Kevin Smith (Clerks) is apparently writing and directing Jay and Silent Bob VR. The virtual reality live-action show will be shot from the perspective of Silent Bob (Smith) as Jay (Jason Mewes) “leads the way through a string of idiotic adventures.” Which is (and we mean this sincerely) exactly what the technology was developed for: an immersive experience of absolute stupidity while someone shouts snoochie boochies down your ears every five minutes. What a time to be alive!
More Stephen King movies are being remade
Highlighting a trend that may seemingly never end, a remake of the 1993 ABC adaptation of Stephen King’s 1987 novel The Tommyknockers is being developed. Roy Lee’s original miniseries is notoriously dreadful (even if it did give every 90s kid infinite nightmares at the time), so this is one remake Film Daily can actually get behind. Even better, James Wan (The Conjuring) is apparently producing the movie, which gives us confidence the story (about an alien who infests the residents of a small town) might turn out well as a feature film.
However, it’s worth remembering the original novel is one King himself has called “awful”, so it still might not be the best without some serious overhauling. In similar news, CBS is said to be planning a streaming miniseries of The Stand. Rumors that the 1994 miniseries is being remade comes from The Tracking Board, where it’s been suggested director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) is developing the epic, apocalyptic story as a “10-hour limited series at CBS All Access.” Watch this space, King fans.
Your childhood faves are about to be (potentially) ruined
Remember 80s space opera The Last Starfighter? Of course you do! What about 90s ragtag coming-of-age baseball movie The Sandlot? Sure! What beloved nostalgic memories we have of both of them. Just to piss all over the sanctity of these movies and our feelings for them, both The Last Starfighter and The Sandlot are being remade. Hooray?!
Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) is to team up with the original writer of The Last Starfighter to develop the remake for the big screen. Meanwhile, The Sandlot’s original director David Mickey Evans confirmed to the LA Times he was approached by “a young writer named Austin Reynolds” with an idea for how to “reboot the franchise and give it more life.” From the sounds of it the idea hasn’t been officially snapped up yet, but considering it’s the film’s 25th anniversary this year, movie studios will no doubt be fighting over the opportunity to exploit everyone’s fuzzy feelings about the original. So yeah, that’s happening.
The Office and West Wing could still be rebooted
We have some good news and some bad news, folks. At The Hollywood Reporter’s 12th annual Power Lawyers breakfast on Wednesday (because that’s apparently a thing), NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt revealed there’s no chance of a Friends or Seinfeld reboot ever happening. That’s the good news. The bad news is a potential reboot of The Office may still be a possibility, as is a potential reboot of The West Wing, but only if Aaron Sorkin “weren't busy doing 10 other extraordinary things.”
Noting his excitement for the (apparent) current appetite for what he calls the “reboot genre” [groan], Greenblatt insisted that doesn’t mean it’s open season on every beloved NBC property being rebooted anytime soon, adding, “We can't just reboot everything.” However, from the sounds of it, the industry is certainly trying it’s damndest.
