STRICTLY COME NOTHING: FAME 2009

Let me do my Bruno Tonioli or my Craig Revel Horwood on this one: 3,4... "Don't remember my name - Fame!"

Panned by critics, the 2009 version of Alan Parker's Fame (MGM) makes a $10M weekend (http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/cloudy-soars-fame-and-surrogates-flop/). In June, your humble servant wrote: « In a world where Simon Cowell is king, I guess it was inevitable but this is not an excuse ». But please Mr Cowell, do accept my apologies - because produced by the mogul behind the Got Talent franchise the movie would have been a hit.

The original Fame was a masterpiece, the subsequent TV series (1982-1987) was one of the great shows of the 1980s. Gene Anthony Ray (Leroy Johnson in the movie and the series) made me like the Art of dance, I could watch the sequences with Desdemona and the Mozart sonata during hours. In 2003, an ill-fated attempt morphed Fame into a reality TV programme produced for NBC by legendary choreographer, actress and director Debbie Allen (who played Lydia Grant in the original movie and in the TV series). Debbie Allen stars in the 2009 movie but not as Lydia.

What now? Fame - The Animated series? One month before my consternation learning that there was a movie remake of Fame coming, I wrote about Fox's new TV series Glee (sorry for the indulgent self quotes): « Glee, on Fox, is fresh air in this rather bleak coming network season. The trailer and clips recall The Kids from Fame with plenty of humor, singing and musical talent, and rythm ». Fox has just ordered a full season of Glee (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a178522/glee-given-full-season-order.html).

P.S.: I did not mention Fame LA? Really?

See also: http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/09/view-to-kill.html

A VIEW TO A KILL

In the Hollywoodland jungle, the mighty Hollywoodland jungle, will Leo the Lion finally sleep? I've several times expressed my skepticism through comments on Nikki Finke's Dealdline.com website after reading recent optimistic stories about the struggling studio.

But now it seems that Kimberly Shaw's famous line before the explosion of the 1416, Melrose Place (« It's not what it looks like... It's worse ») applies to the MGM situation, according to a piece from She Who Must Be Read written yesterday (http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/exclusive-details-mgm-makes-phone-plea-to-bondholders-for-millions-to-stay-alive-both-hobbit-and-james-bond-in-peril-bondholders-tell-studio-to-go-bankrupt-mgm-calls-that-worst-possible-outcom/).

During a conference between MGM and its bondholders (in the present case I love this word... "Bondholders") Leo's masters asked the latter $20 million in short-term cash flow to cover overhead, and an additional $150 million to get through the end of year and continue funding its projects, and to start Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. But apparently the bondholders answered something like "er, well, thanks... but no thanks" (and we can suppose this is the pre-watershed version).

One of Nikki's sources used the B word (Bankruptcy). Itte missa est? Not quite for the moment as MGM now has to formally to ask for forbearance, and its bondholders to formally respond. But should it happen the king of the jungle would lose the jewel of its crown: the 007 franchise. What new home for Bond then? Sony, behind the two Daniel Craig movies before the implosion of the partnership with MGM (1), or 20th Century Fox - distributor of Die Another Day in 2002?

Many eminent analysts hope for a restructuring of MGM. But why? For more remakes in the wake of Fame (2), Red Dawn or Poltergeist? In February I wrote: « We all love the MGM brand, we owe Leo part of our interest for cinema. But with all the respect due to these three letters, today's MGM means the Bournish Bond franchise, the library and remakes of glorious MGM entries (Rollerball, The Taking of Pelham 123... Please watch the originals first!) »

Rollerball!

« So you lived to die another day... » (James Bond)

See also: http://dknowsall.blogspot.com/2009/09/hollywood-babble-on-on-379-mgm-must-get.html

(1) http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2008/11/the-enormous-fi.html
(2) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/fame-film-review-1004015807.story?imw=Y + http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-fame25-2009sep25,0,5583318.story

GENERATION X FACTOR

And I've seen it before, Desdemona... In a world where Simon Cowell is king, I guess it was inevitable but this is not an excuse: here comes the "reinvention" of Fame, from the musical classic directed in 1980 by Alan Parker and followed by The Kids from Fame - the cult television series (1982-1987). In 2003, an ill-fated attempt morphed Fame into a reality tv programme produced for NBC by legendary choreographer, actress and director Debbie Allen (who played Lydia in the original movie and in the subsequent tv spin-off).

I read that Cowell, producer of The X Factor and of the Got Talent franchise, is in talks to remake Saturday Night Fever (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a158989/cowell-to-remake-saturday-night-fever.html). Why couldn't he, after all? Lost owes a lot to reality tv, is the genre now jumping from the small to the big screen after having influenced television fiction? As long they don't do Big Brother - The Movie, with Keira Knightley as Davina McCall and Hugh Jackman as Marcus... Seriously, I'm curious to see if the reception of Fame 2009 will have an impact in some way or another on Glee, the upcoming Fox show.

P.S.: I did not mention Fame LA? Really? Oh, by the way. Thank you, Nikki.

http://www.generationfame.com/