Warner Bros to REMAKE 1981 comedy classic, ARTHUR

According to the Hollywood Reporter, British comic RUSSELL BRAND (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Bedtime Stories) is developing a remake of the 1981 comedy, ARTHUR, as a potential starring vehicle for himself. Considering Brand walks around looking like he’s half-stoned I guess I can see the appeal of the material, but the thought of it borders on being sacrilegious to me. While there is nothing I can do to stop all the remake insanity that seems to grow worse on a weekly basis, some bother me much more than others.

I’ll never have a problem with remakes that can build on a concept but I have a hard time respecting one where the film clearly belongs to the original actor who starred in it. ARTHUR was DUDLEY MOORE. He was brilliant playing the millionaire playboy lush with a heart of gold. It was Moore’s defining moment on screen and the reason he was nominated for Best Actor Oscar. His chemistry with JOHN GIELGUD, who played his sarcastic butler Hobson, was classic. Brand won’t just be remaking Arthur. In this case, he will be playing with Dudley Moore’s crowning achievement on screen and that is something I can’t respect. This material can not be done any better.