Meryl Streep as Karen Hughes in "The Manchurian Candidate"?

[terrya]

In the current Newsweek, in an article about the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate", directed by Jonathan Demme, Ms. Streep emphatically says that she did NOT base her character, Eleanor Shaw, on Hillary Rodham Clinton. But, according to the article linked below, she says that Karen Hughes was more of a model for her performance.

I've been ambivilent, to put it mildly, about this remake. But now I'm sort of curious about it. :-)

http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/04/07/far04024.html

[wtmusic]

1. It's doomed

every remake of a classic (*every* remake) sucked, and yet they sometimes make money leeching off the name recognition of the original.

[lectrobyte]

2. I'm usually pretty skeptical of remakes, and I think it'd be hard to

improve upon the original Manchurian Candidate, but I do like Meryl Streep's performances even in crappy movies, so I may have to give it a look.

[theboss]

3. I am pissed about this movie

There are a handful of movies that are perfect and should never be remade. "Manchurian Candidate" is one of them. To me, it's like remaking "The Godfather" or "Casablanca." You can't top the original. You can't say anything new. Why do it?

[Connie_Corleone]

4. Can you imagine

someone trying to remake the Godfather?? What a disaster that would be.

Have you ever seen the remake of Psycho? The dialogue and the camera angles were exactly like the first movie except the performances were boring.

I thought what's the point of doing a remake if you're not going to change anything?

[theboss]

10. Ted Turner has been threatening to remake Gone With The Wind for years

I would not put it past him.

[ClassWarrior]

11. I agree that the original is cinematic art of the highest order.

The brainwashing sequences are a masterpiece.

So why remake it? Well, how many people saw the original? Sinatra shelved it when JFK was assassinated, and it wasn't re-released until several decades later. If the remake is anywhere near as good as the original, it will bring this idea to a much larger audience. I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt until I see it.

By the way, Sinatra was BRILLIANT in the original, as was Lansbury. If you haven't seen it and you can rent it, do so.

[theboss]

12. It wasn't shelved because of the assassination

That's an urban legend. It was shelved because of a dispute with the ownership of the movie. As soon as Sinatra got the rights, he re-released it.

[zauberflote]

5. I have hope

Jonathan Demme has made some great pictures in the past, though he does seem to be struggling of late.
The cast is extraordinary: Streep, Washington and the relatively unknown Liev Schreiber, a wonderful actor who may just have the best speaking voice on the planet.
I don't hold the original in quite such high regard as others. The opening scene, yes, one of the best in movies. But the rest is overheated and dated, even though the premise is still a good one.
The new one may bomb. I'm hoping for the best.

[Connie_Corleone]

7. I never saw the original

I just wasn't interested in watching a movie with Frank Sinatra in it. I have nothing against him. He was just way past my time. I'd rather watch the more updated remake.

[theboss]

9. Sinatra was a really great actor when he gave a damn

Unfortunately, he only gave a damn in about ten of the movies he made.

The Manchurian Candidate was one of them. But Angela Landsbury steals the movie; she is absolutely terrifying. It's also neat that she is about five years older than Lawrence Harvey yet plays his mother.

In general, the movie is about twenty years ahead of it's time. In fact, I am going to take a big leap and say it is much edgier than the new version will be, which I am sure is going to be buried in the usual Hollywood, unoffensive BS (even with Denzel and Meryl Streep).

[RodneyCK2]

6. That is funny....

I saw the preview for the film in the theater and thought to myself, "She looks frumpy, sort of reminds me of Karen Hughes." HAHAHA...

[rocktivity]

8. I was not encouraged by the preview

I'm happy they had enough sense to invest in A-list talent (Streep and Washington as opposed to J-Lo and Snoop Dogg). But the real proof is in the script, and nothing I saw in the preview turned me on.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Laughing Mirror]

13. Hilary on the outside, Karen Hughes on the inside

making Mrs. Ieslin's hypnotic command: "Why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?" Leave it to Meryl Streep to pull off such a coup de theatre.

[mandyky]

14. Al Franken said Meryl told him who (not Karen Hughes)

He said it was another GOP lady - my guess is Mary Matlin or Torie Clark.