Hollywood - it's time to draw the line!

[Donut]

Hollywood are at it again. I can live with the rewriting of history, I can live with the fact that the US were the only country fighting against fascism, I can live with the fact that Errol Flynn won the war in Burma on his own, I can live with the fact that every Briton in the history of the world was an evil child eating sadist but this time Hollywood has gone too far!

I can hear you all asking - 'what can it be that has caused the usually mild mannered Donut to vent his spleen against the American film industry in this manner? What subject could be so important to him that he is absolutely, totally and vehemently livid?'

I'll tell you what it is, Hollywood is going to film a remake of the film Fever Pitch AND THEY ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE ENDING !

For those of you who don't know about Fever Pitch it is a British film made about 6/7 years ago. It was written by Nick Hornby (who wrote Hi Fidelity) and is semi-autobiographical. It is a love story and tells the story of a man trying to balance the love of a woman with his love for his football team. The climax comes at the end of the 1989 season when his team (Arsenal , having led the league all season, now have to beat Liverpool by two clear goals away from home if they are to win their first championship for 18 years. Liverpool hadn't been beaten at home by 2 goals for hundreds of years and were practically unbeatable.

The game by which all title deciders are measured, an all time football league classic. The scenario was very simple, it was the final game of a season dominated by Hillsbrough and Liverpool has already won the FA Cup and were top of the league by three points going into the game against second placed Arsenal . The Londoners needed to win by TWO clear goals to pinch the title, a draw or even a one goal win would give Liverpool the title and the double.....

The game itself was actually surprisngly open and following a goalless first half when either club could have scored, Arsenal went ahead on 52 minutes. An unmarked Alan Smith headed home from close range following a free kick that was chipped into the area. Liverpool complained to the ref, about what exactly still remains a mystery and the goal was allowed and set up an edge of the seat second half, however........

.....Despite good chances spurned at both ends, it was still 1-0, and therefore Liverpool`s title, as we entered the second minute of stoppage time. Arsenal keeper Lukic rolled the ball out, it was launched forward, flicked on by Smith and into the path of Micheal Thomas. A couple of ricochets put him clean through and as the defence closed in on him and Grobbelaar came out, he neatly flicked the ball over the keeper and into the net to give us arguably THE most amazing title finale ever!!

So why do the Americans want to change it? They want to change the sport to Baseball - well I can understand that. They aren't putting in a happier ending because boy and girl end up together anyway. No, they want to change the ending because the original ending was too improbable. It wasn't improbable it was f****** impossible! But it really happened that way and Hollywood should not change the facts to suit themselves.

Nick Hornby caved in for Hi Fidelity and the character became american and the location changed from a bookshop in London to a record shop in Chicago but I know that he loves the Arsenal as much as I do and I hope he opposes this move.

Rant over - return to mild mannered mode.

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Save Chip - Don't let Sarah win!
Official Titterer of the Laughing Hyenas

[This message has been edited by Donut (edited 08-14-2001).]

[Diogenes Of Pumpkintown]

Hmmm . . . well, if they are changing the entire sport it is arguably another story entirely and so not really a rewrite.

As a Brit, you should be more upset by the recent movie U-571

[Istaron]

Ye! Smash'em!
I don't know what film you are talking about... but holywood is evil!

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We call him Bobby Corwen

[Donut]

Originally posted by Diogenes Of Pumpkintown: Hmmm . . . well, if they are changing the entire sport it is arguably another story entirely and so not really a rewrite. As a Brit, you should be more upset by the recent movie U-571

The ENIGMA codebreaking machine, I didn't want to mention that one!

No I disagree, changing the sport won't change the essence of the story but changing a happy true ending because it is improbable is plainly ludicrous.


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Save Chip - Don't let Sarah win!
Official Titterer of the Laughing Hyenas

[Diogenes Of Pumpkintown]

Originally posted by Donut: The ENIGMA codebreaking machine, I didn't want to mention that one! No I disagree, changing the sport won't change the essence of the story but changing a happy true ending because it is improbable is plainly ludicrous.

If I was a Brit, U-571 would have burned me up. Hell, I'm not a Brit, and it still burns me up

Yes, you are right about the ludicrousness of changing the ending if it was true, especially in light of the fact the Hollywood has no problem with making implausible fictional endings all the time

[MILAMBER]

I don't want to sound stupid, but why would U-571 piss a brit off? I haven't seen it since it came out, but it's not really about them.

And why the f*ck would anyone want to use baseball to replace football (or soccer, I can never figure out which one you are talking about)? The last successful movie that had anything to do with baseball was Major League and that was in the 80's. Every subsequent baseball movie done has been a flop. I don't think anyone likes the sport anymore.

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"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."
-General George Patton (1885-1945)

Member of CLAN HADB

[trux]

This, unfortunately, is the way of Americans - adopt it (or steal it,) change it and dramatize it so the American Way is the ONLY way.

No, they want to change the ending because the original ending was too improbable. It wasn't improbable it was f****** impossible!

That's a funny answer for an American film production company to give, considering 75% of American movies end in the most off-the-wall, improbable and unrealistic manner some drivvle-writing screenwriter can imagine.

Well, like yourself Donut, I find this upsetting. Why they change a sport like football to baseball is beyond me - and the very fact that Americans adopted the word "football" for "that other" sport when it makes so little sense to call it that is also beyond me. I also dig Arsenal, and would rather see this story the way Hornby meant it to be.

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a bunch of long hairs.
trux

[MILAMBER]

Originally posted by trux: This, unfortunately, is the way of Americans - adopt it (or steal it,) change it and dramatize it so the American Way is the ONLY way. That's a funny answer for an American film production company to give, considering 75% of American movies end in the most off-the-wall, improbable and unrealistic manner some drivvle-writing screenwriter can imagine. Well, like yourself Donut, I find this upsetting. Why they change a sport like football to baseball is beyond me - and the very fact that Americans adopted the word "football" for "that other" sport when it makes so little sense to call it that is also beyond me. I also dig Arsenal, and would rather see this story the way Hornby meant it to be.

If I didn't like American movies as much as you, I probably wouldn't see them so I didn't have to bi*ch and complain about it.

I gotta be honest, we don't get a whole lot of foreign films over here, but most of the ones I have seen are pretty good. I gotta give you guys some respect over there for Monty Python. Probably the best comedy ever (BTW, I hear talk that we AMERICANS are going to be remaking that too soon). I have also seen some wierd completely unentertaining crap that you guys call cinematic mastry. It all cuts both ways. Not every movie you guys turn out over there is first rate, and if you don't like ours, spare yourselves the anxiety and don't watch them.


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"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."
-General George Patton (1885-1945)

Member of CLAN HADB

[trux]

Originally posted by MILAMBER: If I didn't like American movies as much as you, I probably wouldn't see them so I didn't have to bi*ch and complain about it. I gotta be honest, we don't get a whole lot of foreign films over here, but most of the ones I have seen are pretty good. I gotta give you guys some respect over there for Monty Python. Probably the best comedy ever (BTW, I hear talk that we AMERICANS are going to be remaking that too soon). I have also seen some wierd completely unentertaining crap that you guys call cinematic mastry. It all cuts both ways. Not every movie you guys turn out over there is first rate, and if you don't like ours, spare yourselves the anxiety and don't watch them.

Well, I'm not sure who you're talking about when you say "you guys over there", but I'm an American. I live in Washington, DC.

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a bunch of long hairs.
trux

[SSJ4Sephiroth]

well lets face it: hollywood isnt concerned with facts, just entertaining people. they dont care how wrong something is, if it makes money they'll film it and send it out. and why would they change an ending because its improbable? ive seen some really weird crap in movies, and that never even happened! if it really happened, i cant understand why they would change it. well, they dont care about anything but money. its just that simple pretty much.

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Proud member of the HADB. And remember, when you're thinking of giant heads, why not think of the Big Giant Head?