Hopefully the unctuous trend of remaking old TV shows, movies,etc. will end some day soon. Especially loathesome is the all too frequent remaking of films that are legitimate classics. More often than not the result is a piece of watered down pabulum that is nowhere near as good as the original. That will likely be the case with a rumored remake of ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ by the Lifetime TV network. And while the film is reportedly still in pre-production the actress that was attached to the ‘Bonnie’ role–none other than Hannah Montana all grown up, Miley Cyrus–has pulled out.
The original ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ directed by Arthur Penn and starting Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty is considered one of the more significant films of the past fifty years. Some film scholars argue that it literally changed everything on a number of levels for American film–among the more revolutionary components of the film was its portrayal of the criminal duo as glamorous. By doing this the film brought the concept of the ‘anti-hero’ to American cinema and is considered as the birth of postmodern film, at least in the Hollywood mainstream.
There’s no official word why Miley Cyrus won’t be involved, but there’s a good chance someone in her ‘inner circle’ finally figured out that the Lifetime remake will be a huge fiasco. No matter how good she was at reprising Faye Dunaway’s role it wouldn’t matter if every other aspect of the film is a huge trainwreck. Given the director attached to the project is Bruce Beresford it’s certain to be a mess. It’s not that Beresford is a bad director–he directed ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ among other things–it’s that he’s all wrong for a gritty crime film.
The gossip press that targets Miley’s teenybopper fans is trying to advance the storyline that she pulled out of the film due to some relationship issues with Australian soap opera actor and her ‘fiance’ Liam Hemsworth. To use a bit of pro wrestling terminology, that’s likely an ‘angle’. At this stage in her career–as she makes the difficult transition from child/teen star to an adult actress–it’s important that she give the impression that she’s a ‘normal girl’. Once she’s established herself as a legit actress she’ll leave that demographic behind and trade up from Aussie soap opera actors.
