Just yesterday I mentioned how the newly
announced remake of Soapdish would, by my count, be only the second Hollywood remake of an English-language film from the 90's and I had hoped it wouldn't start a precedent or trend. Well, not even 12 hours later, and
Deadline report that Warner Bros have hired writers
Jeremiah Friedman and
Nick Palmer to remake
The Bodyguard, the mammoth 1992 hit that paired Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston and hit a pop culture wave to gross $411 million worldwide. Simply put, it's one of the biggest films of the 90's and ironically the Warner Bros deal to remake one of Costner's signature hits comes the same week that the studio have offered him the
Jonathan Kent role in their Superman reboot, easily the highest profile part that has come his way in years. The new take on the action/romance drama will find an Iraqi war veteran who becomes a bodyguard to the stars but in the 21st century has to deal with the complications of social media and celebrity journalism - but what stays the same is him falling madly in love with his client. The Whitney Houston female singer part will be portrayed by a young female singer with global appeal. Fine, there's loads of those, but can you think of any of them who can actually act? I'm guessing Beyonce will probably end up with the role, she seems to be one of the few who don't embarrass themselves everytime they appear on screen - though we should note she is due to lead a
remake of A Star is Born for Clint Eastwood and Warner Bros - so perhaps it's to similar. I hear the internet is claiming Battleship star Rhianna would be a good fit. Whomever they chose, will they also have to do a cover version of the #1 single, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston? Oh I would bet my life on it but what a performance to try and top... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14ivtcelIo0 Of course remaking The Bodyguard isn't one that will be easy for Hollywood. The original film is not even two decades old yet and will be in the memory of late 30-somethings who will remember the original and will likely be the main demographic for this film, as they were with the original. And you can't doubt the quality of the script by Lawrence Kasdan and also, when you remake The Bodyguard, you are remaking a pop culture fever and not a classic film - it's kind of like trying to remake The Blair Witch Project.... it's not something that's easy done as lightning rarely strikes twice.