It seems Brad Pitt is remaking the Steve McQueen classic, Bullitt.
I like Brad Pitt. Even though it makes my job that much harder, I have to admit, he's good. In theory, he's hate-able. In execution, he's actually a laid back-seeming guy, underrated actor and a pretty good movie "tough guy."
What he isn't, is anywhere close to as cool as fucking Steve McQueen. They could've done worse, but, ideally, they wouldn't have done it at all.
McQueen was and is, the coolest. His movies should be left alone, in some place where awesome things go to be awesome. I'd sooner see you remake the bible with a wise-cracking "Hay-zeus" who sports a goatee and drives a jet boat-Ark... Or re-do the Mona Lisa with indiglo paint, a hidden eye gimmick and Waldo. (I found these references in a book on 1998. It was pretty good.)
How about a remake/re-imagining called Citizen Cane, featuring the animated misadventures of a lovable walking stick and the people he helps, voiced with re-cut Orson Welles' clips. How about you take that idea...
Or the umpteenth variation on one of those poignant, "We thought we were teaching him.. but he was teaching us... Hold on, we actually were teaching him after all," feel good films about a mentally-challenged, Native American Martian. (See, he was Native American but raised by Martians who, at some point, accidentally damaged his brain.)
But no, they had to go and try to remake a classic. Did Alec Baldwin do such a good job on The Getaway? Did Pierce Brosnan hit The Thomas Crown Affair, out of the park? The answers are "no" and "no." Oh, I'm not linking to their imdb pages but if you crave mediocrity, go take a look.
I know it's been said far too many times but please stop remaking movies. This film is as kick-ass as it will ever be. '68 Mustang, iconic turtleneck, Steve McQueen playing "Frank Bullitt," and the greatest car chase ever put on film.
Get ready for '08 Mustang (as well as every other car Ford makes thanks to the inevitable product placement), a shirt unbuttoned to the waist for no apparent reason, Pitt playing "Ray Gunz," and a CGI cluster-fuck. No doubt set to the this song, which one guy loved so much in Kill Bill he decided to put it in his own movie. That's cool, right?
Without McQueen this is a standard idea. Renegade cop crosses the line to protect a witness, drives cars fast. Is this a story Hollywood has yet to tackle post-Bullitt? It is? Then go make it and call it something else.
According to legend, McQueen and the film's director were allowed to ride along with the San Francisco Police. The cops didn't care for McQueen and tried to spook him by inviting him on a tour of the city morgue. Unfazed, McQueen showed up carrying a sack lunch... I had a hack joke involving Pitt bringing a vomit bag all set to go, then came to my senses. Like I said, I like Pitt. So, let's just say that maybe Pitt would've shown up with an apple, but I'm betting McQueen ate oysters.
TheCoolerKing, who took his very own name from a McQueen film, is guessing not enough people know who McQueen is to bother clicking on this article.
I loved the car chase n Bullit I really really do, but I think it was trumped by the car chase in Death Proof especially going in with no knowing who was going to live or die, seeing Zoe Bell on the front of that car and not knowing what was going to happen to me made it the most intense chase scene I have ever seen.
I loved the car chase n Bullit I really really do, but I think it was trumped by the car chase in Death Proof especially going in with no knowing who was going to live or die, seeing Zoe Bell on the front of that car and not knowing what was going to happen to me made it the most intense chase scene I have ever seen.
it is not permissible to say blank is the best blank ever until the first blank is at least 10 years old.
Why stop there? Let's remake "The French Connection" while we're at it. I mean, the car chase under the el train was good, but can you imagine it with Matt Damon? And you know the chase would look cooler with tons of CGI and shit. Gee whiz, that would be neat!
Fuck no. The man was a God. He threatened a studio executive with a chain saw, he patented his own race car seat, he was a third degree black belt, broke his foot during a motocross race - and still finished in the top ten, he flew airplanes, he was a Marine, he worked as as stuntman in the movie "Dixie Dynamite because he was BORED, and he punched a horse.
I said, 'This one' and I pointed to the black horse. He'd just been broken, and he had a very tender mouth, and he was shaking all the time, almost like a thoroughbred, very nervous. I got on him, and he bucked me right away, and it took quite a while to subdue him.
So this decided me in his favor, I wouldn't have any other horse. We got him onto the sound stage, and that's where we made a mistake. Because you can't take a horse and put him on a sound stage with all those strong lights and deep shadows. A horse walks from the lights to the shadows and he can' t see. And then he bumps into something, and then he hears strange noises and gets even more nervous. And he starts kicking. So, the first week we were shooting, the horse kicks out four or five lights, bites other horses, broke my big toe stamping up and down and bit me in the back about four times.
That was the beginning and it went on for all of three years. That horse and I fought for three years. Both of us went on winning. He would step on me--on purpose. Just reach over and go right on my foot. Again and again. And I'd punch him each time for stepping on me, but he would do it again. We never did compromise. The sonofabitch, no matter how much he was paid back in kind, he stood his place. He was black with white stocking feet, and his name was Ringo, and we really loved each other. But he never surrendered and this is how he taught me a lesson. He proved better than me, and smarter--and he beat me.
FearTheReaper said:
Fuck no. The man was a God. He threatened a studio executive with a chain saw, he patented his own race car seat, he was a third degree black belt, broke his foot during a motocross race - and still finished in the top ten, he flew airplanes, he was a Marine, he worked as as stuntman in the movie "Dixie Dynamite because he was BORED, and he punched a horse.
I said, 'This one' and I pointed to the black horse. He'd just been broken, and he had a very tender mouth, and he was shaking all the time, almost like a thoroughbred, very nervous. I got on him, and he bucked me right away, and it took quite a while to subdue him.
So this decided me in his favor, I wouldn't have any other horse. We got him onto the sound stage, and that's where we made a mistake. Because you can't take a horse and put him on a sound stage with all those strong lights and deep shadows. A horse walks from the lights to the shadows and he can' t see. And then he bumps into something, and then he hears strange noises and gets even more nervous. And he starts kicking. So, the first week we were shooting, the horse kicks out four or five lights, bites other horses, broke my big toe stamping up and down and bit me in the back about four times.
That was the beginning and it went on for all of three years. That horse and I fought for three years. Both of us went on winning. He would step on me--on purpose. Just reach over and go right on my foot. Again and again. And I'd punch him each time for stepping on me, but he would do it again. We never did compromise. The sonofabitch, no matter how much he was paid back in kind, he stood his place. He was black with white stocking feet, and his name was Ringo, and we really loved each other. But he never surrendered and this is how he taught me a lesson. He proved better than me, and smarter--and he beat me.
It takes a big man to admit the horse is smarter than you.
McQueen was also supposed to be at the Tate's the night of the Manson murders. He was invited, but mugged at knife point in Hollywood. He went to his car, got his gun and went searching for the punks. After retrieving his property he phoned and got out of dinner - he was too wired.
Then everyone at dinner was murdered. The End.
Things would have gone down a lot differntly if Steve was there when Charlie Manson crashed. Nobody would know Manson's name. He would just be the guy that Steve killed first that night.
Gerry_D said:
McQueen was also supposed to be at the Tate's the night of the Manson murders. He was invited, but mugged at knife point in Hollywood. He went to his car, got his gun and went searching for the punks. After retrieving his property he phoned and got out of dinner - he was too wired.
Then everyone at dinner was murdered. The End.
Things would have gone down a lot differntly if Steve was there when Charlie Manson crashed. Nobody would know Manson's name. He would just be the guy that Steve killed first that night.
Oh shit. Every goddamn time I come here to look at beautiful women one of you assholes has to post something that catches my eye. Usually it's nothing a few beers won't cure. But, this takes the fucking cake.
The Hollywood A-holes already fucked up Vanishing Point with the FOX/Viggo Mortenson POS. And Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicholas fucking Cage.
However, If they do go ahead with it, I will support the effort, on one condition. McQueen did most of his own driving. And the film was shot in real time. So...put Brad Pitt in a hot-rodded '68 390 4-spd Mustang and set him loose in San Francisco. Make sure it's got original seat belts, brakes, vintage tires, etc. That should make for a pretty short movie...and no more Pitt. Works for me.
I loved the car chase n Bullit I really really do, but I think it was trumped by the car chase in Death Proof especially going in with no knowing who was going to live or die, seeing Zoe Bell on the front of that car and not knowing what was going to happen to me made it the most intense chase scene I have ever seen.
it is not permissible to say blank is the best blank ever until the first blank is at least 10 years old.
I agree with Freckle on the time point.
However, while Bullit was the car chase that set the bar, there are a couple others (more than 10 years old) I like better; Live and Die in LA comes to mind, as does Ronin and French Connection.
I would have added the second Borne movie (despite breaking the Freckle rule), but I could tell what was going on because Greengrass fucked my eye sockets with all his goddamn stupid shaky cam and shitty editing
And, as I said in the film group, Brad Pitt won't be the make or break new Bullit for me, but CGI car stunts will.
In my head this is the result of a series of escalating dares between two movie studio executives. I just can't think of any other logical reason for this project. I like Brad Pitt, but this is going to suck in a big way.
TheCoolerKing
NEWSWIRE
Los Angeles, CA
JUL 10, 2007 07:41 PM