Remake THIS!!

I always wonder what warrants a film being remade? It is desperation of the film studios to make an easy buck? Is it a total lack of original screenplays to choose from? Are there no novels out there to adapt anymore? I have no idea what the answer is although I guess a lot of it has to do with pure laziness. With remakes, half the work is done for you, it is just finding a new way to make it fresh and this is where things begin to fall apart.
I was thinking about what films I would like to see remade, and actually deserve a fresh spin. I figured I would do a little multi part look at the movies I want to see remade based solely on the fact I feel there is room for them in the world now.

My first one is one that I just watched last night. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is being remade, and if so good luck.
“Twelve Angry Men” was a classic film of it’s time. Twelve men of a jury deciding whether or not to send a young boy to the electric chair. Intense film, and what was interesting is how every man defends his stance and why they change their verdict. However they were twelve angry WHITE MEN.

If it were to be remade today it would have to find a crime/defendant that would cause both sexual and racial tension. The Jury would be a diverse age range, sex/sexuality and of course racially diverse to heat up the tension. People will say that it is an exercise in stereotypes to have such a mix, but that is not what this is about. It is about people’s reasoning for guilt and innocence and yes, sometimes their background can interfere. This would be more of an analysis of inner prejudices and a chance to tackle serious subjects in an intelligent and thought provoking way. A chance to turn character stereotypes on their head for a change without resorting to uninspired predictable tricks (ohh the woman is on the side of the rapist……the gay man isn’t mincing).

Of course plot lines and such are the job of a good screenwriter, but the idea is good I think. Of course it will be a completely different film, just taking the general concept of the original, so not technically a remake.