Gore Verbinski, the director of the Pirates of the Carribean films, is going to produce an American remake of the Korean monster movie The Host. The Host was hands down the coolest monster movie around when it came out in the US in 2007, so it's strange to think that so soon afterwards it's going to be Americanized. Commercial director Fredrik Bond will helm the film.
What doesn't make sense is what exactly Universal thinks it's going to improve upon. Go out and rent The Host today if you haven't seen it already, for it is a nearly flawless film (get the subtitled version, don't watch it with English dubbing). The cinematography is incredible -- it was one of the best looking films I'd seen in a long time. The acting is at once hilarious and touching; which is to say, it's very good. And Bong Joon-ho's directing was right on, to say nothing of the (mostly) great visual effects.
So why remake it? Leave this monstrous tadpole on steroids the way the good people at the chemical company made him, don't go mucking it up with Mark Poirier's script. Yeah, he wrote Smart People, and that was really good. But writing a wry dramedy about college and family is a long way from writing a monster/horror film!
Anyway, let me know your thoughts on whether you think this is a wise decision or not. I'll be interested, but cautious, to see how exactly this remake works out.
