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Ben-Hur Redux
A $30 million Ben-Hur mini-series has been launched by Alchemy TV, producer David Wyler (son of Willam Wyler, the director of the 1959 Oscar-winning classic) and director Christian Duguay. Fine...except for two problems.
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.
Problem #2 -- and certainly a major challenge -- will be the chariot race sequence. The only way the miniseries version will stand up to the '59 version will be if they shoot it entirely "live" and CG-free. And what are the odds of that happening, given the realities of present-day production?
I love that Wyler and Duguay intend to "downplay the religious aspects of the source material." Well, naturally. The original Lew Wallace novel was subtitlled "A Tale of the Christ" but that kind of thing would only play in the Christian marketplace today. Besides, Ben-Hur always and always will be a story about revenge. What kind of dramatic satisfaction would the '59 or '26 versions have delivered if the evil Messala hadn't been beaten and died from injuries in the chariot race?
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 9, 2008 at 7:42 PM
comment #1
Mr. Muckle
says ...
Plus, no modern actor could possibly sweat as much as Heston could. The slave-ship galley rowing scene scared the crap out of me as a kid.
Posted by Mr. Muckle
at April 9, 2008 9:02 PM
comment #2
Mgmax
says ...
So were they waiting for Heston to die to announce this because they were afraid he'd come looking for them packing serious heat?
Posted by Mgmax
at April 9, 2008 9:07 PM
comment #3
Mgmax
says ...
"that kind of thing would only play in the Christian market today"
Yeah, damn, how could you make money going after a mere 80% of the American public?
Posted by Mgmax
at April 9, 2008 9:10 PM
comment #4
actionman
says ...
Christian Duguay is a hack
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0240995/
THIS is who gets to direct a Ben-Hur miniseries?
I am all for a new Ben-Hur, just not one directed by the guy who directed Art of War and Scanners 3
Posted by actionman
at April 9, 2008 9:21 PM
comment #5
scooterzz
says ...
i hope they emphasize the gore vidal subtext that heston so vehemently denied existed......
Posted by scooterzz
at April 9, 2008 9:23 PM
comment #6
BurmaShave
says ...
"I know this man! His name is Jesse... Joshua? Joseph... eh, it's not important he's just some guy I met. Moving on."
Posted by BurmaShave
at April 9, 2008 9:34 PM
comment #7
Aladdin Sane
says ...
It's not a tale of revenge as much as it is a tale of one man's redemption...Does Ben-Hur really find satisfaction in seeing Massala broken and mangled? Not that I remember.
As with most of us, what he wanted wasn't what he needed. It's about seeing Christ through one man's wounded life...and how that ultimately leads to personal restoration.
I really don't see how you can lose the religious aspects of the story and make it work. While not the driving factor, it is a major underpinning. With that subtitle lost, you may as well call it Kill Massala: Vol. I, II, III and so forth.
Posted by Aladdin Sane
at April 9, 2008 9:36 PM
comment #8
Geoff
says ...
It's such an awful moment when Messala gets the last laugh so to speak. It's a revenge film in a sense, but one that really shows you how it's a dish best served cold.
I don't even want them to touch any of the boat sequences. "RAMMING SPEED!" belongs nowhere else but in that original film.
Posted by Geoff
at April 9, 2008 9:44 PM
comment #9
CinemaPhreek
says ...
$30 Million?
They expect to make a "mini-series" for just $30million???
To give you some idea - HBO spent over $100 to do "John Adams" which has virtually no action sequences.
So a $30 million BEN HUR remake pretty much screams "Suck City!"
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at April 9, 2008 11:59 PM
comment #10
MAGGA
says ...
30 million bucks is about three times as expensive as the most costly Norwegian production in history. For Ben Hur one would obviously need more, but I sometimes wonder where all that money goes
Posted by MAGGA
at April 10, 2008 1:50 AM
comment #11
BurmaShave
says ...
And who can forget the most expensive Norwegian production in history?...
Posted by BurmaShave
at April 10, 2008 1:52 AM
comment #12
Dellos
says ...
can't these people find new stories to tell.
David Wyler why don't you take your 30 mil and fund
a package of indie movies and sell them to cable.
don't bother us with warmed over left overs with your stamp on it.
-+
Posted by Dellos
at April 10, 2008 4:22 AM
comment #13
Rich S.
says ...
First, they shouldn't remake the Wyler Ben-Hur. They should give a big-screen treatment to the SCTV Ben-Hur (by General George S. Patton). "Oooh! He DID say leopards!"
Second, ditch the chariot race and replace it with a pod race. Claim the Romans were visited by ancient astronauts. Pow! That's your movie!
Posted by Rich S.
at April 10, 2008 5:33 AM
comment #14
MAGGA
says ...
Burmashave, that's funny, but I still wonder. I have never heard an adequate explanation for why even so-called indie-movies cost millions of dollars. All they use are actors, sets, location, lights and film, just like movies in other countries, and yet modest films are hugely expensive. Where on earth does all that money go?
Posted by MAGGA
at April 10, 2008 5:56 AM
comment #15
MPNeeb
says ...
Ben-Hur at $30m?
Ben-Hur could sit down to drink tea and you're talking $55M minimum.
Posted by MPNeeb
at April 10, 2008 6:04 AM
comment #16
nemo
says ...
"Where on earth does all that money go?"
Up the producer's nose?
A lot of it is probably nothing more than Hollywood creative accounting. Don't forget, there has never been a Hollywood movie in the last half century that ever turned a profit.
That's why powerful Hollywood stars demand a percentage of the gross, not a percentage of the profit. For some mysterious reason known only to the accountants, there's never any profit.
Posted by nemo
at April 10, 2008 7:52 AM
comment #17
PaulKolas
says ...
I feel like Finlay Currie as Balthasar, as he sadly looks up at Christ on the Cross, and says "I have lived too long". The thought of anyone trying to approach the majesty of William Wyler's "Ben Hur", even his son, makes me ill at heart. Whatever this mini-series hopes to achieve in honoring both the senior Wyler and Charlton Heston, it will never come close to the emotional impact of the 1959 film. Does anyone think there's an actor out there who can fill Heston's shoes in terms of integrity and gravitas, let alone the brilliant performances of Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim and Stephen Boyd as Messala? Is there a film composer who can come up with a music score as magnificent as Miklos Rozsa's? I had the fortune of seeing "Ben Hur" at the Coronet Theater in San Francisco in March of 1960, on a 6th grade field trip with my dad in tow, and to this day, it remains the greatest film experience of my life. I knew there would be a day when yet another remake (keeping in mind the 1926 silent film) would rear its ugly head. The idea of a 30 million dollar mini-series isn't a tribute, it's an insult, even worse than that pathetic TV remake of "Spartacus".
Posted by PaulKolas
at April 10, 2008 9:28 AM
comment #18
anti-sardine
says ...
In other news:
Wyler & Duguay will also do a remake of Gone with the Wind but will attempt to leave out all of that "civil war & slavery stuff, you know, all the southern issue elements."
The budged is projected to be around $86.09
Posted by anti-sardine
at April 10, 2008 9:39 AM
comment #19
Matthew Lucas
says ...
If they want to honor Wyler and Heston, they should leave the original alone and let it speak for itself instead of tainting its legacy.
Posted by Matthew Lucas
at April 10, 2008 10:01 AM
comment #20
bill weber
says ...
Beaten to the punch above! Leaving aside from the chariot race, the SCTV version is the best Ben-Hur.
Posted by bill weber
at April 10, 2008 12:45 PM
comment #21
huisache
says ...
actually, you could make a pretty good version of Ben Hur if you adhered to the religious themes and ditched all the gladiator stuff with the guys prancing around in sandals and shirts that reach to just below the crotch.
What is expensive is the military stuff and the chariot scene---which could be shortened easily by having Messala get run over during a short race.
The Rookie showed that you can make a lot of money off a movie with just some religious themes and Ben Hur has got a serious family theme, revenge and redemption.
I don't like most religious movies but this one could be worth making. But where would they get the music to match the original?
Posted by huisache
at April 10, 2008 5:58 PM
comment #22
huisache
says ...
actually, you could make a pretty good version of Ben Hur if you adhered to the religious themes and ditched all the gladiator stuff with the guys prancing around in sandals and shirts that reach to just below the crotch.
What is expensive is the military stuff and the chariot scene---which could be shortened easily by having Messala get run over during a short race.
Ralph Fiennes
The Rookie showed that you can make a lot of money off a movie with just some religious themes and Ben Hur has got a serious family theme, revenge and redemption.
I don't like most religious movies but this one could be worth making. But where would they get the music to match the original?
Posted by huisache
at April 10, 2008 5:59 PM
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