Robert Zemeckis may be finally be coming to the end of his motion capture obsession. The director of BEOWULF and THE POLAR EXPRESS has been trying to remake The Beatles’ animated classic YELLOW SUBMARINE using the motion capture format. Back in 2011, with the massive failure of MARS NEEDS MOMS, Zemeckis lost Disney support for the remake. But, Zemeckis never stopped trying to get the project off the ground. Until now.
MovieHole reports that Zemeckis is no longer interested in making the film. According to the director, “That would have been a great one to bring the Beatles back to life. But it’s probably better not to be remade – you’re always behind the 8-ball when do you a remake. It gets harder and harder [to make movies]. With the current state of the industry, it’s difficult to stay passionate about it. The hardest thing for a filmmaker as he’s aging is saying, “How much more of this crap can I take?” It’s tough, I can only do it if I have a script to believe in. Like FLIGHT”.
I never thought YELLOW SUBMARINE was a good idea and I am not a fan of the motion capture movies either. I just watched A CHRISTMAS CAROL the other day and the rubber faces just make me wonder why they wouldn’t use live actors on a green screen. Both ways are going to look fake, but at least one doesn’t give the impression of a corpse animated on the screen.
If Zemeckis wants to work with a mix of animation and live action, there is always a sequel to WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? that he could get moving. I’m just saying.
