Comments on Bright Lights After Dark: The Great Roles of Christopher Lee’s Maturity

No, Wonka wasn't sacred - in fact I've always main...

2009-05-28T07:10:19.342-07:00

No, Wonka wasn't sacred - in fact I've always maintained that a really fresh remake would be for Harry Selig to do it in stop-motion.

I loved Burton's Wonka up until Wonka himself appeared, and suddenly the whole enterprise felt wrong. Wonka always had a manic, dangerous edge, but portraying him as a twitchy, pasty-faced sociopath was just off-putting. Wilder's Wonka might have been a madman, but he was the kind of madman who swept you along and made you want to be a part of his crazy world (much like Doctor Who). Depp's Wonka just made me want to back away slowly.

My problem with the addition of Wonka's father was that it was just so extraneous. It was standard Hollywood "character's journey" BS, with daddy issues galore and the most pat, cliche and obvious "explanation" for Wonka's magic. Oh, his mean old dad wouldn't let him have candy! Puh-leez. It's like making a film about Santa Claus that feels like it needs to explain why he's so into toys.

Yes, I remembered him in the Lord of the Rings. Di...

2009-05-28T00:45:32.246-07:00

Yes, I remembered him in the Lord of the Rings. Didn't know but who would forget his role in the famous trilogy

To Diane - Thanks for the clarification. Perhaps I...

2009-05-27T15:15:38.355-07:00

To Diane - Thanks for the clarification. Perhaps I should have said "humanoid" rather than human.

To Seeing I - I don't believe any property is so sacrosanct that it cannot be remade, no performance of a role so definitive (Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka?) that it cannot be reinterpreted. The only real issue is whether the remaker or reinterpreter brings something fresh to the table. In the case of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton brought in some great character actors (Depp, Lee, Missi Pyle) and his own distinctive sense of visual design. That was more than enough for me.

"What better tribute to Lee, one of the finest cha...

2009-05-27T10:52:50.181-07:00

"What better tribute to Lee, one of the finest character actors of his generation, than to play the father of Johnny Depp, one of the finest character actors of the current generation? "

I don't know - maybe some kind of tribute that doesn't involve playing an utterly unnecessary character in a stupid, pointless and brain-dead remake?

Chris, thanks for the great article on some of Chr...

2009-05-27T10:47:25.750-07:00

Chris, thanks for the great article on some of Chrisopher Lee's many great roles. Small correction from this Tolkien geek: Saruman is not a human villian - he's a wizard or maia, the same type of being as Gandalf and Radagast. A bit like an angel is some ways, great powers, sent to Middle Earth by the gods (Valar).

Best,

Diane Roooney