If You Were To Remake One Of Your Own Films ... ?

Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC

Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC

Since this is a board for filmmakers, I think this is the right place to ask the following question. :cool:

If you were to remake one of your own films, what what would it be and what would you do different? :huh:


Hindsight is better than foresight. So, now looking back, reflect and give your ideas. :)
 
Not film, but there are a few albums that I sometimes feel like I should go back to. The one in particular that comes to mind is called Fever Dreams, recorded in 2002. The narrative of the album is about a man who gets into an accident and is put into a coma. In his dreams, he reviews his life and how he got where he was, deciding whether to fight for his life, or let himself pass. It didn't end well. Of course, it was mostly instrumental, so I'm not sure that anyone really followed the narrative, but at the time, it was more important that people could feel that there was a narrative and create their own. Of course, no one really cared, so there is that.

Now, in addition to 10 more years of recording and arranging experience, the main thing I would do is trim down the tracks. Most of them were too long and too same-y. While I prided myself in my patience at the time, it got a bit excessive at times. Also, an abstract narrative with the only clues wrapped in so much personal metaphor as to be not discernible to anyone other than me, not really the best of ideas.

For anyone who is curious: this is the first track/main recurring theme: http://soundcloud.com/joshloughrey/lullabye-syndrome
 
I hear you Josh. We must make the best we can with the resources before us which can lead to disappointment later.

I was speaking with my prop master this past Friday night. He asked if we will still shoot pickup footage next Spring. I told him, yes we will. I cringe at some of the things shot wrong with the footage I was not able to fix this year due to the bloody rainouts which helped to drain my pockets dry.

I would like to redo the look of the silver demon hunters. They were never suppose to wear sunglasses. The damn costume makers never told me the actors would not be able to see through the material in their masks.

Also, the look was supposed to be pre-Power Rangers and more like The Skrill from Wonder Woman. So, yes, some campyness was planned in the production.

We would used different masks. We will experiment with new masks with silver Spider-Man masks in the pick-up shoot by a new costume maker.

Also, we are re-shooting action essentials such as the silver demon hunters being killed by laser blasts where they fall down and die instead of lying on the ground already dead.

We will also complete the biggest fight scene in the script with the most science fiction action of the cyborgs defending the humans as they slaughter the silver demon hunters.
 
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We will make extensive use of the silver demon stunt dummy for the big fight scene. Since I had trouble with one know nothing DP, I will have to put it in the contract of any future DP refusal to shoot stunt dummies will not only result in immediate termination, but they must refund all money given to them for the shoot.
 
There's no chance in hell I would even think of remaking one of my own movies. However, I understand the spirit of your question, in looking back and taking an honest assessment of what you've done and learning lessons from it. Honestly, there are too many things for me to list, and the subject-matter varied.

If I had to narrow it down to one thing, though, I would say that I want my next feature to have a perpetual forward motion, and that is a tremendous challenge in screenwriting. I want every scene in the movie (not the technical definition of scene, but the colloquial one) to play out like it's own little short film, with a mini-obstacle that needs to be overcome, all the while pushing our bigger story forward. :)
 
Thank you for sharing, CF.

I believe we learn best when an impression is made deep enough where we strive not to make the same errors in the future.

One of my PAs read over my pitch / story bible and thinks it would make a good science fiction series and believes if a producer likes it enough they won't worry about the production values of the short because they will put the resources behind it to make the series a hit.

That is a good way to look at it. But, I cannot rest easy until the film is better than it is right now.
 
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I'm fairly satisfied with my film. I did the best I could with means available. I really would not want to have a do over. It's like a photograph -- a captured a slice of time.

Of course, if one made a seriously sloppy film that had amazing script to begin with, maybe it would be worth considering if there is a $$$ upside to it. But this almost never happens.
 
I'm trying to get someone to re-edit my film so it interprets in Spanish. My main characters are Spanish and 15% of the original movie is in Spanish. If I change the off screen voice from English to Spanish the whole movie could change. Could work. I need to find someone to fund it, with all profits going to charity.:yes:
 
Trey Parker stated interests in remaking the first episode of South Park, despite his constant bashing of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg updating their films from the past. He said the only reason he would do it is to really compare the differences between the quality of then and what they use to animate now.


I can see why someone would want to do that, and have been half-tempted into doing it myself.
 
I will.
Relationship was mutually cut off with the agent in LA I was working with. I was busy with Kohlman Files at the time, and not crazy about the direction they wanted to go. It must strike some kind of a cord with people because it averages close to 10 views a day on vimeo. Not bad for a 25 minute film with two actors that doesn't have a single line of dialogue until about 6 minutes in.
 
I am nervous with a package I sent a producer in LA. I am hoping he sees enough potential in my series pitch and story bible. I have been sharpening the story focus of the heroes journey since I sent it to him as new ideas inspire me.

I just discovered this week that Ron Howard and Gene Roddenberry's son are developing their own robot / AI series for TV The Questor Tapes. I emailed a copy of the article to the producer in Los Angeles in hopes it will help sway him with my series.
 
You really seem to be on top of it.
With The Kohlman Files pilot in the can. I'm working on a story bible myself at the moment. Never done one before, so slow going to a degree.
 
Would never remake a film. I would reshoot stuff if the film hasnt been released but once its out there I would never do it again!
 
It was good enough for Robert Rodriguez...

The idea of re-making a film you made early on that was great in concept, but lacking in execution (because of budget) does have SOME appeal.
 
Yes it does.

Also, in regards to a story bible, my fingers are crossed it has the right amount of information for the reader with the right amount of detail.

That can be tricky and vary from reader to reader. Science fiction has that extra element of how much technical jargon is the right amount?

We have discussions and debates on this topic on a science fiction writers board that I am on.

There is no clear answer.
 
First movie I ever worked on (co-wrote and co-starred in it) is STILL one of the best movie concepts I have ever heard. Production ran totally off the rails due to incompetent director/producer (not me thank god). I'd love to option the script (and totally rewrite it) from them sometime.

I did a fair bit of research on the "bible". Lots of flavors of course. Mine is between 3 and 4 pages. One page pitch, one page (total) character bios, little over a page in 4 or 5 sentence each episode synopses.
 
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