Kurt Russell’s Last Word on Remakes

Enough with the remakes, already! Not only has Hollywood run out of good ideas, they’ve run out of bad ones too. I just hope we’re nearing the end of the cycle where every movie and TV show anyone ever liked is remade. We could also do without the sequels to movies of old TV shows as well.

Entertainment Weekly recently ran a Q&A with Kurt Russell aptly titled Remake The Snake? Kurt jokes that Hollywood is “remaking everything I’ve ever done.” With plans in the works for remakes of The Thing (1982) and Escape From New York (1981) he could be right.

The interview is worth a read because Kurt puts things rather well. On the remake of Escape From New York, Kurt says: “I didn’t play Snake Plissken. I created him!” And that’s something that the latest slew of remakes can’t recapture. You can bring in new writers and update the material. But the characters that people identify with, are the artistic creations of the original actors. The recent Casino Royale (2006) only really worked because Daniel Craig was all about redefining the character. For me, Escape From New York and The Thing are Kurt’s defining roles. His whole screen persona can be found in those films, and his recent comments have given the most convincing reason for giving up on more remakes. Kurt is Snake. What’s the point of bringing in new actors to replay someone else’s creation?