I watched the Daniel Craig-Rooney Mara version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo again over the weekend. I enjoy that version and I hadn’t seen it in a while, but I kept getting confused because I remembered so much of the Noomi Rapace-as-Lisbeth films (I think I’m going to watch those again this weekend). So, I ended up spending too much time this weekend about remakes and Americanizing films and TV shows that were originally good/better in another language or in another culture. This is has been happening more and more – Fox already canceled Gracepoint, the Americanized version of the UK hit Broadchurch. And now Fox is going to do an Americanized remake of the popular UK show Luther. Luther was one of Idris Elba’s most celebrated projects – he’s won awards for playing the troubled detective and it’s one of his best-known roles. And Idris is on board this Americanized project… as a producer. They’re probably going to get another actor to play Luther, even though Idris can do a flawless American accent.
One of the most acclaimed British series of the last decade, BBC crime drama Luther, is getting a U.S. remake. Fox has given a rich put pilot commitment with a seven-figure penalty to the adaptation, which will be written/executive produced by the original series’ creator Neil Cross. The British series’ star, Idris Elba, is on board as executive producer. The project hails from 20th Century Fox TV, studio-based Chernin Entertainment and BBC Worldwide Prods. Also executive producing are the Chernin company’s Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope and BBC Worldwide Prods’ Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner.
Luther, which ran on BBC for three seasons, centered on John Luther (Elba), a near-genius murder detective whose brilliant mind can’t always save him from the dangerous violence of his passions. While opting to end the original series after a three-season, 14-episode run, Cross has left the door open for a Luther movie starring Elba. The original Luther series, which aired in the U.S. on BBC America, earned eight Emmy nominations for best miniseries, best actor (Elba), and best writing/directing.
Fox has another drama about a brilliant, unorthodox detective based on a European property coming up in midseason, series Backstrom, an adaptation of Leif G. W. Persson’s books. Remaking acclaimed British drama series by U.S. networks has proven tricky. Neither NBC’s Prime Suspect nor Fox’s Gracepoint — a U.S. version of ITV’s Broadchurch, which, like Luther, was adapted by original creator Chris Chibnall — have been able to gain much traction.
[From Deadline]
Is this stupid? Or do people think Americans are too stupid to, like, watch BBC America or PBS Masterpiece? I’ll admit, I never got into Luther, but that was mostly because it was so dark, not because it was “too British” or whatever. And NBC’s attempt to Americanize Prime Suspect was just sad. I still don’t believe that the Americanized version of The Killing was anything other than a poorly written, dumbed-down catastrophe. But… there are some shows that end up crossing the pond and becoming hits. Think… The Office. Or Elementary, which started out as a version of Sherlock. I’ll admit it, I LOVE Elementary – it’s one of the better procedurals on TV these days. That being said, I think cop shows have a difficult journey in “remake” attempts.
So, would you watch an Americanized Luther? Eh… it would depend on who they cast as Luther. And I really don’t understand why American TV puppet masters can’t simply invest in original American stories.
And maybe this was just an excuse to post photos of Idris Elba. Shhh….baby, don’t speak.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Source Cele Bitchy
