Post #47980 by AquaZombie on Fri, Aug 15, 2003 1:50 PM

Man, my movie picketing days are way behind me. We did it as a goof (though I was expressing a very real personal contempt for creatively bankrupt Hollywood and its plastic roster of forgettable "stars") but people took it WAY too seriously (by, amazingly, accusing ME of taking it way too seriously - my sense of humor is just our of sync with the mainstream). Still, it was a fun way to spend a Friday night - a lot more fun than actually watching that horrible rip-off too. I actually used to like and respect Soderbergh, though he started losing me with the derivative "the Limey" and really alienated me with "Traffic" (another lame remake, this time of a British TV miniseries, which I hear is great) and then his smug, patronizing insult to Rat Pack purism (he's not even a fan of the original O-11, and Julia Roberts actually dissed it repeatedly in talk shows, adding fuel to my little fire). The guy who owns the Parkway (I don't, contrary to popular belief, I'm just the programmer/publicist) actually booked the remake over my objections and it ran for a sold out month, though I also stuck the trailer for the original on it just to make a point and piss people off. The 25 year old projectionist had no idea there even was an original - the whole point of my original on-line objection. Anyway, "Solaris" only furthered Soderbergh's descent into unoriginal plagarism. I didn't bother with it - the best possible response to stuff you don't dig.

There are plenty of other remakes I object to personally, like the upcoming "Dawn of the Dead" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and other recent efforts like "Lost in Space" and "Wild Wild West" were equally egregious. I think a lot of people jumped on my bandwagon because I was making a statement against the Hollywood remake machine in general, and even those who mocked my stance now understand my frustration and resentment because their faves are being likewise butchered by the Tinsel Town money factory. I'll save my protests for my on-line column from now on (and in fact, it was only after I got all this attention that I decided I would actually have to physically picket a theater as promised, never thinking anyone beyond my small circle would give a damn what I thought about anything.)

Anyway, once again, the whole experience, ancient as it is, has led to some surprisingly productive exchanges, including my private emails with naughtykitty, whose thesis promises to be quite compelling and multi-layered. You go, girl.