Eden Gets Director

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Strike Back below!
by: Daniel Barna Jan. 14, 2009

EAST OF EDEN is being remade. The 1955 James Dean/Elia Kazan classic based on John Steinbeck's literary powerhouse is quite simply, a perfect film. So naturally I'm thrilled that the shiny folks in Tinseltown have decided to do it all over again. If anyone can improve on perfection, it's Hollywood, r-r-right?

Alas, I'm just a chubby kid with a laptop, and if I tell a producer to leave this one alone, something tells me they won't listen. Especially when it's uber-producer Brian Grazer, who has brought on "John Adams" director Tom Hooper to direct the film, with a script written by ATONEMENT scribe Christopher Hampton. The book is a retelling of the Cain and Abel story, set in California's Salinas Valley, which focusses on the Trask brothers and a woman who comes between the siblings. It's raw, it's violent, it's sexual, and it's just right the way it is. But I guess that never stopped anyone before now, did it.

Source: Variety

Extra Tidbit: Ron Howard was originally attached to direct.

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aronnyc
11:53AM on 01/14/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
Well, it's not entirely fair to call it a remake though. It WAS a book first; otherwise Pride and Prejudice would be a remake. The Maltese Falcon (with Bogart) would be a remake.
Well, it's not entirely fair to call it a remake though. It WAS a book first; otherwise Pride and Prejudice would be a remake. The Maltese Falcon (with Bogart) would be a remake.
 
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Netforce
8:55AM on 01/14/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
I admit that some movies need remake or appropriate for remake process. But why can't they leave classics like East of Eden alone? If they are remaking East of Eden, probably Giants would be next. Just leave classics alone please.
I admit that some movies need remake or appropriate for remake process. But why can't they leave classics like East of Eden alone? If they are remaking East of Eden, probably Giants would be next. Just leave classics alone please.
 
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critic_h8er
6:59AM on 01/14/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
*sigh*

Enough remakes. Please and thank you.
*sigh*

Enough remakes. Please and thank you.
 
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esteban
6:41AM on 01/14/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
I'm not sure if this is good news, but it doesn't have to be bad either, I guess.

I think James Franco would be perfect for the role, but since he actually played James Dean in the past (and won a Golden Globe for that), he's not an option. Would be to weird.

My choice? Joseph Gorden Levitt. No doubt.
I'm not sure if this is good news, but it doesn't have to be bad either, I guess.

I think James Franco would be perfect for the role, but since he actually played James Dean in the past (and won a Golden Globe for that), he's not an option. Would be to weird.

My choice? Joseph Gorden Levitt. No doubt.
 
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luke319
5:44AM on 01/14/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
The original only covered a small portion of the book
Wow, I had forgotten all about this. I've always felt that East of Eden was James Dean's best performance and although I've only seen a few of Kazan's films this is definitely my favorite.

However, I also read the novel in AP Lit back in High School, it took me quite a while to get into it but, once I did, I absolutely loved it. That's why I feel that if they have to remake a cl...
Wow, I had forgotten all about this. I've always felt that East of Eden was James Dean's best performance and although I've only seen a few of Kazan's films this is definitely my favorite.

However, I also read the novel in AP Lit back in High School, it took me quite a while to get into it but, once I did, I absolutely loved it. That's why I feel that if they have to remake a classic Hollywood film then this is a good choice. I agree with Barna, Kazan's version was a perfect film, however it was not a perfect adaptation. While it was well made and actually relatively faithful to the source material, it only covered around a third (probably even less) of the novel. They could make a "remake" of the film and, if it were to focus on the first half, it wouldn't even be fair to call it a remake, it'd simply be another adaptation of the novel.

I think Hampton is a very solid choice to adapt, however I wish they would have got a more established director to helm it. Yes John Adams was wonderful (though in my opinion, not quite as some of the other HBO mini-series) but this isn't the sort of project that should be your feature debut.

As for potential actors, I wouldn't be surprised to see Emile Hirsch become attached to this, there are many other talented young actors, but few with such established resumes that are quite as young as him. Plus, he's been compared to Dean and Brando numerous times, and for better or worse, that's what the studio will want in this, whoever's supposed to be our generation's James Dean. I'm not saying that Hirsche is it, just that I could see the media trying to throw that label at him and the studios believing it.