It would seem more and more that Hollywood is bereft of new and original ideas, as yet another classic movie is about to get the remake, reboot, or what-have-you treatment. Warner Bros. happens to be the latest perpetrator, as the studio has decided to remake Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 classic, Strangers on a Train.
Variety reports that Warner Bros. has decided to utilize three of the components responsible for the success of their hit movie, Gone Girl for this project. Ben Affleck is being brought on in an as of yet undisclosed role. Although, I believe it’s likely that Affleck will take on the role similar to the one originally played by Farley Grainger. David Fincher will again be tapped to direct a movie based on a script penned by Gillian Flynn, who wrote the novel Gone Girl and adapted it for the screen.
The original story involves two men who each have problematic individuals in their respective lives, that they would both very much like to be rid of. During a chance meeting whilst traveling by train, one of the men suggests eliminating their mutual source of irritation by swapping murders. This is an idea the other of the two believes to be nothing more than talk – until he discovers that the stranger he met was deadly serious.
Flynn’s version is to involve an actor who is making his was along his Oscar campaigning trail by way of private plane, when the plane breaks down. He accepts the “generosity” of a wealthy stranger who offers him a ride on his private plane so that he may reach Los Angeles. No doubt during their flight they discuss the seemingly “hypothetical” murder plot at the root of the original film.
Right there, it’s obvious to see that the film’s title will likely be changed so at the very least it will be something akin to Strangers on a Plane. Nothing else has yet been revealed about what further plot changes will be made other than the two strangers’ mode of travel upon first meeting.
The idea of most movies being remade does not sit well with me, especially any of Hitchcock’s classics. But if there is anybody who can recreate the dark undertones of this particular story – I hope it’s Fincher.