After hearing Professor Headley's views on German Expressionism, the topic turned to sequel, spinoffs or new episodes. David lamented the current state of filmmaking, where moviegoers wouldn't bother to count the number of sequels and remakes. The professor pointed out that the old studio bosses used to remake foreign films. He cited Ingrid Bergman, whose first Hollywood picture was a remake of "Intermezzo". It was a Swedish film, starred by no other than Bergman herself. He also thought that George Cukor's version of "Gaslight" shouldn't be compared with the original, which was produced in England. Professor Ledford, our instructor in Woman's Picture, would talk about it. I knew no one in the room studied that module this term, so I guessed both professors talked about it.
I saw a few disappointed faces when the professor told us that this new topic won't be our next assignment. We would still have time to share our views on this subject, and it turned out to be an eclectic range of choices. A sequel to "Mean Girls", which I was aware of. (I knew someone in the neighborhood who was bullied and manipulated. She happened to be too nice and generous. It was a good thing that she had a supportive family.) A new season of "United States of Tara". (There was no doubt that she was a huge fan of Toni Collette.) The end of reality television. (It would be impossible.) I tried to recall which ones deserve a sequel, spinoff or new episode. These were my choices:
The Golden Compass. I already guessed that "The Subtle Knife" won't make it to pre-production after it was announced that the first book of "His Dark Materials" would be adapted to the big screen. I didn't know that it was Philip Pullman's retelling of "Paradise Lost" until I read John Milton's classic last fall. On the other hand, I had a suspicion that it might be Pullman's response to "The Chronicles of Narnia". It was easy to judge these series as an attack on the values of organized religion, but the millions of followers of the Kardashian clan might be the only one that have any value at all. I was about to come to the conclusion that intelligence was becoming a rare trait until I heard the professor's voice.
Planet of the Apes. Pierre Boulle's fascinating novel would deserve a follow up. Perhaps I was an optimist to believe that Ulysse Mérou would come back to human civilization, only to see his hopes shattered at a sight of a hairy, four-legged mammal. And it turned out that Jinn and Phyllis, who read his "message in a bottle", were civilized chimps. The final pages could be similar to Atlas letting the world crush him, but I might be exaggerating. The French author described his novel as "unfilmmable", but 20th Century Fox (and Franklin J. Schaffner) proved otherwise. It helped that the script underwent numerous revisions until screenwriters Michael Wilson and Rod Serling thought of George Taylor, played by Charlton Heston, stumbled into the remains of the Statue of Liberty. What remained of the New York populace may have survived, and lived not far from where Taylor cursed his luck. Fox could have given it some thought, but the studio favored a prequel (and its sequel).
Watchmen. Zach Snyder's big-screen adaptation may divide critics, but Alan Moore's graphic novel would make a good TV series. Everyone fancy a walk on the dark side, and many viewers would lose count of the number of TV series during the last five years or so. There are more television producers who are looking for good scripts and unforgettable characters.
Your coursemates looked at you, and you didn't like their expressions. You were thinking of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
