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Opinions needed to help Sax in his work - answers in by 12 noon GMT please!

  
 
Sax
07:55 / 27.08.03
MTV are, on September 14, airing an updated musical dramatic adaptation of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, set in California and starring a cast of teen actors such as Mike Vogel, Katherine Heigl (Roswell) and Erika Christenson (Traffic).

Press release here

MTV's website says: "Toss your notes out of the window because this ain't your English teacher's Wuthering Heights."

Catherine becomes Cate, Heathcliff becomes Heath. It's got a rock soundtrack. It's scored by Jim Steinman.

So: Is this a good thing, a bad thing, or an indifferent thing? Is it an outrage that a classic text is treated this way? Is it good because it might get "the kids" reading literature? Should we be completely unbothered because it's just a movie?

Answers below. Short and pithy, folks. Disclaimer: You might get quoted, or I might just steal your opinions.
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
08:34 / 27.08.03
If it's any good, it'll work. If it's not, it doesn't matter if they set it on table in a Mexican bar with all the main characters being cockroaches - it still won't hold anyone's interest.

Chances are, this story will have no teeth, and will look like MTV's idea of what a light entertainment classic should be: brain candy. The original is a rather darker thing, and much of the good stuff in it derives from that. For this version to be a success, they'll either have to acknowledge that, or replace it with something else.

We shall see.
 
 
Tryphena Absent
08:40 / 27.08.03
I'm really not sure about this. I think it's probably Kate Bush' fault for warbling about Heathcliff like a dying bird because I have this mental image of an entire adaptation just like that.

I certainly don't care that a classic text is being treated like this. Years from now this will simply be an adaptation and the source text will still be recognised. Baz Luhrmann's version of Romeo and Juliet in now way changes the fact that the play was penned by Shakespeare. Wuthering Heights will continue to be perceived in the same way but some people might prefer this version.

The kids will always do what they want. It's irritating and patronising to assume that the kids haven't already read Wuthering Heights very few that watch the film will go and seek the book out because they liked it. Kids who don't read do not automatically start because they see the film of a classic book, some might but most won't give a toss.
 
 
rizla mission
08:44 / 27.08.03
As a pop music fanatic who's just got round to reading Wuthering Heights, I'm highly suspicious.

I mean, it's funny when they do ridiculous versions of classic novels I donb't care about, but I really like Wuthering Heights..

I was thinking "well it can hardly be worse than Cliff Richards version..", but, fucking hell, Jim Steinman? The Meatloaf guy?? Jesus.. who dug him up?
I guess we can expect tons of gurning gothic bombast and OTT hamming around..

I suppose it could be great if they did it in a similar style to their "hiphop-era" version of Carmen.. with ODB as Heathcliff or something - instant cult classic.. but sadly signs point to SUCK.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
08:46 / 27.08.03
It all depends on how the classic Kate Bush song of the same name is incorporated into the film.

It's meeeeeee, Catheeeeeeee, I've come home! So coh-ho-ho-hohld, let me in at your window!
 
 
Tryphena Absent
08:49 / 27.08.03
Torture, you're just trying to torture me and I am vastly unimpressed.
 
 
Mono
09:50 / 27.08.03
Poor Kate hadn't even read the book when she wrote her version of the song (and it's a karaoke favourite of mine, anna...watch out)..

I think that the MTV version, even if it's shit, is a fine idea. It will probably be fluff, but fit nicely into this teen remake genre ( Cruel Intentions, 10 things I Hate About You are two of my choice picks) that I love so much.
 
 
Sax
10:04 / 27.08.03
Thank you all awfully. Your deadline has been extended by an hour if you still want to contribute.

Fly, see me after class. You can sing on your own time, not mine.
 
 
A
11:16 / 27.08.03
Sweet Fancy Moses! This sounds like a completely evil idea, but, if they're actually going to do it, then they have to call it Wuthering Heights, 90210.
 
 
A
11:18 / 27.08.03
(...oh, and don't be dissing Jim Steinman on my watch, baby...)
 
 
grant
15:23 / 27.08.03
Wasn't there a pop song - not the Kate Bush one, another, janglier one - called "Wuthering Heights"? The chorus had some guy repeating "wuthering" a few times...

If a story's good enough, it'll stand all sorts of translations. So I suppose it's all depending on how faithful they are to the essence of the story -- darkness, romance, fate, all that business. I'd consider "West Side Story" a success, so why not "Wuthering Heights"?
 
 
rizla mission
09:25 / 28.08.03
Wasn't there a pop song - not the Kate Bush one, another, janglier one - called "Wuthering Heights"? The chorus had some guy repeating "wuthering" a few times...

I think that still is the Kate Bush song - "to Wuthering, Wuthering, Wuthering Heights.." There was an indie-rock cover version of it by a group called China Drum that was an almost-hit - maybe that's the one you're thinking of..
 
 
grant
18:04 / 28.08.03
Could be. According to a web search, some heavy metal band (Angra?) did another cover of the same song.
 
  
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