7 Remakes for the Cineplex, Part III

With a strike on the horizon for the Screenwriter's Guild, it is a good thing there are options available. Hundreds and thousands of movies, cartoons, novels, histories, and comics are waiting for their modern makeover. So, there are always ideas available for an ambitious playwright. Without further ado, here are the next 7 entries in my remake articles.

Archie and friends has the potential for a fun summer release in the cineplex. Created by Bob Montana in the 1940's, Archie comics focuses on Archie and his friends Veronica, Betty, Jughead, and Reggie. Personally, I would love to see Amanda Bynes cast in the motion picture adaptation as either Betty or Veronica. Steve Howey, who plays Van in Reba, would be a perfect fit for the role of Jughead. Then again, this could be an ideal situation for a director like Steven Spielberg to show his flair for featuring new talents.

Captain Caveman saw his release in 1977 by Hanna-Barbera. He was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. With the success of Charlie's Angel in the cineplex, it would not be so farfetched to believe our heroic neanderthal could rise to the occasion. As beloved as Scooby Doo was and is, I believe, this particular super sleuth could generate an unbelievable turnout for the cineplex. With the technologies available today, this film could have real blockbuster potential. With the popularity of the Geico caveman commercials, I believe the time would be right for Captain Caveman to make an appearance on the big screen. Personally, I would love to see Danny Devito tied into this film with Lindsay Lohan. They may be able to work wonders with the right script.

Cleopatra is another film with tremendous remake appeal. Catherine Zeta Jones would be a fantastic choice for the lead role, with Daniel Craig for the role of Marc Antony, and maybe Anthony Hopkins in the role of Julius Caesar could have significant impact in the cineplex. The right script could vie for an Oscar as best picture. This motion picture has major potential in the box office.

Hawaii Five-O first aired in 1968, lasting until 1980. With the success of television shows like CSI and Law and Order, this might have major remake appeal. This particular film could carry on with the death of Steve McGarrett. Start it off with a bang, so to speak. A drug cartel placed a hit on McGarrett, the rest of his squad are out to get the culperit behind the assassination. This has unlimited potential in the box office. This could get rather interesting if someone decided to cast Jackie Chan as McGarrett's second in command, Sean William Scott, and Natalie Portman as detectives within the unit. The possibilities are limitless for this remake. The cineplex could, once again, fill up rather quickly.

The Bionic Man could be ready for prime action in the cineplex. Lee Majors had great success in the role of Steve Austin, he still has his bionic abilities, but the time has come for a new hero to rise. Oscar has passed on, handing the reigns over to Steve Austin. This time it is a member of the CIA, who has a near fatal encounter with terrorists. The CIA funds the new project and our box office has a new blockbuster on their hands. The undercover officer is betrayed by someone within the CIA. The terrorist cell has the operative drawn and quartered, thinking he is dead they leave him. Fortunately, for us, we find him barely alive. The only way to save him is to operate immediately. Our hero gets superior speed, strength, sight, and hearing, but he gets much more than that. Now they provide him with the ability to hack into anything. Anyone for a serving of Matthew McConaughey as the next Bionic Man?

Gunsmoke is another pioneer in mainstream media. Gunsmoke started off as a radio show lasting from 1952 to 1961, in 1955 it hit the television and lasted until 1975. Marshall Dillon could once again rise in Dodge City, this time we could incorporate the radio version's vision, instead of the much tamer televised version. A big screen adaptation would definitely allow us to focus on the grittier, more realistic, views of the west. The only people I could see in the lead role of Marshall Dillon would be Kevin Costner or Matthew McConaughey, depending on the age we would want to see the sheriff. Either way would be interesting to discover how well it would do in the box office.

Fantasy Island is my next choice for a big screen makeover. Ricardo Montalban was great as the suave and debonaire Mr. Roarke. Sticking to the original ideas behind Fantasy Island, I would reinvent Mr. Roarke with Antonio Banderas in the lead role. In the television show we never really got to know how people learned about this Island. I, personally, would love to provide an answer in the motion picture. For example, I would show people getting invitations to this strange resort with beautiful pictures. Of course, they would not have any idea there was a motive behind their invitations. Maybe I would show one of the guests drowning his sorrows, when he or she utters, "if I could only change this about myself." At that point, they notice an invitation sitting next to their bottle. Another change I would make would be the way the guests arrive. They would have to check through a golden gate. After all, the television series did have a rather supernatural feel to it. There are unlimited casting possibilities to this motion picture adaptation. Any way we look at it, it would bring people by the masses to the cineplex to view this blockbuster.

That rounds out my 7 choices for this entry. Keep an eye out for more on the way.