I couldn’t believe that news of another Ben-Hur adaptation would appear in the trades so soon after the death of Charlton Heston, but this story indeed appeared in Variety yesterday, detailing plans for a $30 million miniseries to be directed by Christian Duguay (The Art of War) and produced by David Wyler, whose father, William Wyler, directed the 1959 classic starring Heston.
And as is common for modern versions of things, the miniseries will be targeted at a younger audience, few of whom are likely watching Turner Classic Movies for its regular showings of the the Oscar-winning 1959 version (hey, kids, it’s in color, at least), despite the existence of this very, very appealing trailer.
Wyler intends to skew the lead role younger, placing Ben-Hur in his mid-20s. New version will also downplay the religious aspects of the source material.
And yet the miniseries will also reportedly be “based more closely on the 1880 Lew Wallace novel than either the 1959 version or 1925 silent adaptation.” Let’s not forget the 1907 one, which I seem to remember not being that adequate a translation, or the animated film from 2003, which appropriately featured Heston doing the voice of the character he portrayed almost a half century earlier.
It would seem after a cartoon version, we don’t need another attempt to target the youth. And after Heston reprised his role, it would seem we don’t need another attempt to pay tribute to his performance.
But Wyler Jr. thinks we do, and Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere is quite unhappy with the notion:
Problem #1 is that the present-tense Wyler told Variety’s Ali Jaafar and John Hopewell that “in my mind” the miniseries “is dedicated to my dad and [Charlton Heston]…we think it’s a great way to keep his memory alive.” Never, ever make a movie as a tribute to anyone or anything. Make it only for reasons that are tied to the present and future tense. Make it for your own reasons, because you have a vision or at least a concept that you’re burning to put onto a big screen.
I completely agree, and I recall another person’s attempt to honor his ancestor with a modern remake. And Simon Wells’ The Time Machine was probably the worst film of 2002.
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