Say it Aint So! Rebecca (1940) is Getting a Remake
Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 10:31PM by Nathaniel R
Nooooo. Rebecca (1940) doesn't need to be remade. Essentially no Hitchcock picture needs to be, you know. But word is out that Lily James and Armie Hammer are risking the ghosts of Joan Fontaine and Sir Laurence Olivier to star in a new film version of the Daphne Du Maurier story about "the second Mrs de Winter," her cold bossy husband, a sinister lesbian housekeeper, and an old creepy gothic mansion. The foolish or ballsy director that's going to try to live up to collective memories of Alfred Hitchcock? That'd be Ben Wheatley of High-Rise and Free Fire fame.
Hey, let's do a "Cast This!" in the comments for the story's best role: Mrs Danvers, that creepy housekeeper with an obsession for her late mistresses undergarments. (You may recall that The Film Experience spent a lot of time with Rebecca a few years ago for a pass-the-baton retrospective.)
Reader Comments (65)
I hate that people cannot come up with new ideas. Classics are just that... classic.
I don't mind remakes as long as there is something new to explore. Is there any other way to reinterpret this story?
Also, can Ann Dowd do a British accent? If so cast her as Mrs. Danvers.
How about Michelle Pfeiffer with a wig :-)
Sarah Paulson was giving me Danny vibes in AHS this year as Miss Venable.
Dame Emma Thompson as Mrs Danvers - or as I call her, Danny.
Billy, that is a brilliant choice.
I’m with billy.
I knew this would happen someday. For years I've watched other people (almost all other people) get really bothered when they hear about some remake, bemoaning the lack of original stories, accusing the participants of tainting the sacred. Generally, remakes don't affect me, but I would always ask myself: would you feel the same if someone remade Rebecca?
And now I know. It's really no big deal. There are so many precedents of remakes that barely registered, at most a footnote to the legacy of the original. Originals endure, while remakes make money (maybe) and are forgotten. I cannot think of a remake that has ever ruined an original.
If it looks good, I'll give the new Rebecca a chance. Maybe it does something different that gives it value. More importantly, it will give me cause to revisit and reconsider the original.
cold as ice australian with an immobile face? nicole
Olivia de Havilland (in the ultimate feat of sibling rivalry)
Brevity, I'm still upset by last year's remake of Murder On the Orient Express. No respect for the classic source material. Flimsy in how it laid out the mystery. And a blatant vanity project for narcissist Branagh. In no way does it do anything better than the original.
Let's not speak of the recent remake of Ben-Hur. I'm sure Wyler is still turning in his grave.
I can't un-see Mrs Danvers other than the great Judith Anderson in the 1940 original.
How about we cast a non-traditional Mrs Danvers, like
Juliet Stevenson
Kate Nelligan
Judy Davis
Isabelle Huppert
Joely Richardson
Remakes are fine. And it's not a remake of the movie, it's another adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel. I don;t hear this level of complaint every time "Macbeth" or another Shakespeare gets a new version.
If it's shoddy, we don't go and see it. If it's great, we do.
Pat - absolutely. The BEST choice :-)
Lesley Manville is the only choice for Mrs. Danvers.
I've gone through all the stages.
1. Ew no why would they do this? Hitchcock's is perfect.
2. Well, the 1940 version does change a lot of things, specifically in the last third of the book.
3. Ooh I love Lily James and Armie Hammer.
4. I'll see it!!!!! I should rewatch the 1940 this weekend.
5. Oh wait. I'm far more excited to watch the 1940 again than to watch this ever. Why would they do this?
This has Liz & Dick written all over it. Yikes!
Lesley Manville is a *great* choice for Mrs. Danvers, as would be Fiona Shaw.
I haven't been terribly impressed by Ben Wheatley so far but I generally avoid kneejerk reactions to remakes. They aren't always terrible; they just need to have a raison d'etre beyond an IP-cash grab.
I'd like to see a Southern Gothic take on this story with Patty Clarkson, Diane Ladd or, heck, even Reba McEntire stepping into the Danvers role. Maybe throw in a stunt casting cameo to fill the George Sanders part: Michael B. Jordan or Channing Tatum or Justin Timberlake. That could be a lot of fun and opens the door for a modern take on the original's themes.
Harriet Sansom Harris, Bebe Neuwirth, Frances Conroy, Christine Baranski, Parker Posey, Catherine O’Hara, Lisa Kudrow, or someone unexpected.
Pat -- i love you!
What about Viola Davis? The ultimate flip on The Help, driving a little white woman crazy. Would be insanely fun.
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas!
It’s got to be Olivia Coleman, Kristen Scott Thomas, or Lesley Manville
Lesley Manville would be the obvious choice for Mrs. Danvers. She already sort of played that role in Phantom Thread after all, which in some senses felt a lot like a twisted Rebecca remake anyway.
I'm surprised no one has suggested Gillian Anderson yet...
Given that it's Ben Wheatley, I wouldn't be surprised if he cast Alice Lowe, or another British comedy/TV star. Keeley Hawes would make an excellent Mrs. Danvers.
Julianne Moore, Tilda or Pfeiffer!! I can see Cate in the role too
But i tink they will likely go w someone British.In tt case, Emma, Kristin, Colman or Lesley all seems perfect as well... actually Manville has alr played a sorta Mrs Danver in Phantom Thread alr 😂
It's a plum juicy role for a mature, veteran actress!
All I wanna do is recast Lilly James.
It's fairly obvious Colman will get first dibs on Mrs Danvers.
"It's a plum juicy role for a mature, veteran actress!"
Anderson was 42 at the time of filming.
I'm with Travis C - it is not a remake but a new adaptation of a novel.
You know they'll probably give it to Meryl. :(
Christina Hendricks as Mrs. Danvers
Melissa Leo with a southern accent as Mrs. Danvers
I don’t like when my classics are redone. For that reason, I somehow never bothered with the Kate Winslet/Todd Haynes ‘Mildred Pierce.’ Find new material, Hollywood!
I've always had the fantasy in my mind of Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Anjelica Huston and Jeremy Irons in the main roles - the movie made in my mind in the early 1990s. Anjelica Huston, of course as Mrs Danvers.
I read recently of how audience reactions in test screenings made the makers change the better ending to Suspicion, so go fix that first. But honestly remakes only matter if they're good.
Kathleen Turner!!! ;-)
Frances McDormand
I love this thread (even if this remake is unnecessary)! I'd be excited to see several of the actresses already listed in this role - Lesley Manville, Fiona Shaw, and Kristen Scott Thomas especially.
I don't mind it - but the Hammer casting is all wrong - he's far too young to play Maxim (as was Olivier at the time but he's Olivier). Colin Farrell would be my choice.
but Colin is not refined at all!
If you're going to remake Hitchcock, try something less successful and less famous. You could even choose a du Maurier piece, like Jamaica Inn.
Sawyer is right: Armie is too young to be Maxim. And can he get the tortured aspect of the part? I have my doubts.
The correct answer is Tilda Swinton.
I’d recast the Maxim part. Armie Hammer has just no appeal for me.
Maxim should be somebody that your head snaps around when you see him, you can’t stop looking, and when he says “come with me to my isolated mansion”, you say “yes, okay, that sounds like fun”.
I’d pick Luke Evans, who the director, Ben Wheatley, has already successfully worked with.
And since Luke and Lily both sing, let’s make it a musical! A moody Gothic musical. Can’t you already imagine Mrs. Danvers’ song?
Miranda Richardson of course.
At first I thought this photo was Richard Madden and Lily James, and I was excited. Then I realized it was Armie Hammer and I was not.
I see Armie more as Jack Favell (George Sanders' role from the original) than as Maxim. As for who to play Mrs. Danvers, I have a perfect pick: Isabelle Huppert.
Vicky Krieps and Juliette Binoche.
Sigourney Weaver.
And who for Mrs Van Hopper?