“Do we not have a bell?”
Too bad John McCain’s not a grizzled, old indie director. Zing. Wild and crazy guys, Werner Herzog (above) and Abel Ferrara (right), are exchanging heated words and grumpy disses in regard to Herzog’s 2009 remake of Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant, with Nic Cage starring in the role once inhabited by Harvey Keitel. Whaaa happen? Well, Ferrara drew verbal first blood at Cannes by dreaming up a deranged hypothetical befitting a Slashfilm commenter’s luv for Brett Ratner…
“I wish these [Herzog and remake people] die in Hell. I hope they’re all in the same streetcar, and it blows up,” Ferrara told Spout.
As Ferrara said this, the hair in Don King’s ear twitched oh so slightly across the pond. This week Herzog responded to Ferrara’s fiery remarks with a “Who’s that?” battle strategy utilized by so many rap artists.
“Defamer: Have you talked to [Ferrara]?
Herzog: No. I have no idea who Abel Ferrara is. But let him fight the windmills, like Don Quixote. …I’ve never seen a film by him. I have no idea who he is. Is he Italian? Is he French? Who is he? …Maybe I could invite him to act in a movie! Except I don’t know what he looks like.”
Is “let him fight the windmills” the new “Nuke the Fridge”? Herzog also cops to not having viewed or even knowing much about the original film. In the past, Slashfilm and many of our readers have asked why this remake is needed. And it’s not the usual case of an exhausted, “Why Hollywood Whyyyy?!?” per se. Without question, Herzog is a talented guy (Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn, Aguirre), but how would he feel if someone remade one of his more personal films like Fitzcarraldo without bothering to see it or check in with him? Bad Lieutenant is Ferrara’s signature film (alongside his awesome The King of New York); it just seems uncouth. But here is what drew Herzog to the material…
“There’s an interesting screenplay; it’s a very, very dark story. It’s great because it seems to reflect a side of the collective psyche - sometimes there are just good times for film noir. …We have seen a lot of New York in movies; we have not seen New Orleans in feature films. Or very few feature films. After Katrina it’s a particularly interesting set-up. The neglect and politics after the hurricane struck are something quite amazing. It has to do with public morality.”
Switching the setting from the Rotten Apple to the Big Easy is intriguing to say the least, but that gives him even less reason to use the title; Ferrara’s is a cult classic, certainly, but the NC-17 flick’s name recognition amongst the mainstream is slight. Moreover, the title character’s name is different in the remake. The lone major link between the films is producer Edward R. Pressman. Who do you side with here? Herzog compares his film to a new actor taking over James Bond, but that doesn’t cut the mustard. I side with Ferrara, unless he goes through with real indie terrorism. Good exposure for all.
Discuss: Does Ferrara have a right to be aggro? Will this escalate? Do you have a fave director rivalry?
June 5th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
After seeing Herzog’s ‘Encounters At The End Of The World’ at SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival), I’m confident that he’ll make something interesting.
Peter - Is that line about ‘how would he feel if someone remade Fitzcarraldo’ supposed to ironic? Because I heard that someone is actually remaking it…
June 5th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
its a slap to the face for ferrara, so i would be pissed too. and i would have said something more threatening
June 5th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
@ b-nasty
Awww. I wrote this post, not Peter.
The Fitzcarraldo bit above is not ironic. If you heard that someone is remaking it, you might be thinking of our April Fool’s Day prank where I stated that Peter Weir was remaking it with Daniel Day-Lewis in space.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Like I said before, it doesn’t need to be remade. The original isn’t that old at all. The original is potent and intact as is. Herzog needs to fuck-off and go do something else.
“Herzog compares his film to a new actor taking over James Bond, but that doesn’t cut the mustard.”
Pretty much.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
So when are they gonna remake Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction? Or Clerks maybe? How about remaking Henry?..
…or maybe they should just not remake things for a while.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Yeah Ferrara really hates people who do remakes….oh wait =
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106452/
June 5th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I just read that Paul W.S. Anderson will remake Grizzly Man. But the remake will feature a very big change than whats found in the original. A all-CG Yogi bear befriending a real Grizzly Bear.
“Ten-year-old kids, 12-year-old kids don’t really know the old Grizzly Man. So it’s an opportunity to make it new for kids,†Anderson said. “The same way it felt for me watching Grizzly Man when I was a kid, that’s what I want to do for kids today.â€
June 5th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Isnt Ferrara responsible for the horrible body snatchers remake?
June 5th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Perhaps Herzog read the screenplay and agreed to do it before he even knew it would be a remake as is implied in his statements there. The fact remains that Herzog is one of the best living directors right now and although doing a remake is one of the last things you want someone to do, let alone someone as great as him, I’m still confident it will be great.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
it’s weird that Herzog doesn’t know who Ferrara is, when Ferrara was the director of the original film. So strange.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
@ Ferrara’s Body Snatcher Remake
Ferrara did the Body Snatchers remake for cash, but if you know anything about him, he’s not a sell out. And Body Snatchers had already been remade at least once. The Pulp Fiction comment above by Ron is a better example for what’s going on here.
Again, I know we can debate the general purpose of remakes all day long - this trend will not end anytime soon, though.
What’s unique about this instance is that a bag of money is not at the center; egos are. Moreover, the talent/players involved on both sides have their integrities intact (well, sans Cage, but he can deliver when he wants to). In the end, it’s Herzog being a major ass, in my opinion. They should change the title on good faith.
June 5th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Psh. as much respect as I have for Herzog, ummm his remake will be NOTHING without Zoe Lunds writing… THATS what made that movie awesome.
Props to Ferrara too, holy balls they are both excellent directors. But seriously for one let’s have BAd Lieutenant be what it was back in the day and lets see a new take on it. Some remakes can easily be fucked up, but I doubt this one will
June 5th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
The German could kick that crack addict’s ass any day.
And, no offense to the crack addict, but he’s made, what, two marginally good movies (BAD LT & KING OF NEW YORK) while the German has made at least a dozen that are what I’d consider “very good.”
June 5th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
It’s not a remake:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=45673
June 5th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Well, this response has to do with Hunter’s 3rd question as I know virtually nothing about this film. My favorite director “rivalry” has to be Uwe Boll and Michael Bay. Bay is clearly the better filmmaker (although, in my opinion, the only thing he really has going for him is his ability to blow shit up and make it look cool), yet he stoops to Boll’s level to argue with him. It’s freakin’ hilarious.
June 5th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
i love Bad Lieutenant. But isnt it kind of a remake of Sono otoko, kyôbô ni tsuki / violent cop with nuns in? i remember thinking at the time the weird tone of it was very familiar. Anyway,
June 6th, 2008 at 8:07 am
” Is “let him fight the windmills†the new “Nuke the Fridgeâ€? ”
Well, since the former is a term derived from the oldest novel in Western culture, and the latter is only a rather-lame example of a few Lucas-obsessed fanboys with ‘urbandictionary’ registrations attempting to ‘impact’ culture by ‘forcing’ a phrase that isn’t analogous and doesn’t really flow or apply (and that no one really says) within a few weeks of the source-film’s debut…… I’d say: ‘obviously, no. No, it isn’t.’
But nice try ‘promoting’ the phrase. Again.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:42 am
does GW stand for George W.? ass hat
June 6th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Um, no. I am opposed to “George W.” in every way.
So sorry if you’re one of those fanboys I mentioned. I’d certainly hate for someone who calls himself “Big Daddy” to possibly “say something more threatening” than Ferrara.
(Trust me, Ferrara has far, far more knowledgeable and literate fans & defenders than you.)
June 6th, 2008 at 10:22 am
@GW
what the hell are you talking about? first you bitch about the nuke the fridge comment, which is what i was commenting on. Then you call me a fanboy? what am i a fanboy to? urbandictionary.com? or ferrara? if you are going to defend a comment, at least be consistant.
fyi, i dont give a fuck about ferrara or herzog, but if i was in ferraras shoes, i wouldnt wish a simple car wreck on the other guy. you would think he could be a bit more creative. again, my good man, i say ass hat
June 7th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
The reason I said “…if…”, ‘Big Daddy’, is because your silly 8-word insult contained absolutely no indication what your ‘problem’ with *my* comment was. It was only “Ass Hat”.
The only party that could have taken any offense to my comment were the ‘fanboys’ I indicated. You responded. Therefore my assumption. And why I said ‘…if you’re one of those [particular] fanboys I mentioned….’ I did that because you had been - in an 8-word insult - anything but specific. “Consistent” has absolutely no place in the equation, silly.
(This is why you are wearing, to anyone with reading comprehension, that “hat”)
August 4th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Kubrick, Kurosawa, and Bergman are gone. Herzog is one of the few truly great filmmakers left. Ferrara knows this, so insulting and threatening him openly is just stupid and wrong. Herzog’s comeback - pretending not to know who Ferrara is - is just classic. Ferrara is talented, but not in the same league. Herzog knows this, too.
IMHO, WHO is doing the remaking is at least as important as WHETHER a remake is being done at all. Joel Schumacher remaking, say, Ozu’s Tokyo Story would be all kinds of wrong, and worthy of scorn. But, in the hypothetical example given in another post, Peter Weir trackling a remake of Fitzcarraldo (hopefully not set in space!) would probably be worth seeing.
This is not a fight between two giants. Ferrar needs to shut up.