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Vancouver Fringe
Festival fun

The fiction factory

> Why remakes don’t have to suck

each case, but it wasn’t untilthe —_ by Steven Spielberg’s E. T, it

Adam Tatelman

> What to expect from the Fringe Fest

Adam Tatelman
Arts Editor

 

[ is a futile effort to try to
offer equal coverage to every
event on offer at the Fringe this
year. There are over 700 events,
and only 11 days in which to see
them, so for the sake of brevity,
this article will focus on some
of the most highly anticipated
shows the Fringe has to offer,
as well as some of the most
offbeat—because no one knows
what to expect at the Fringe.
From Charles Ross and TJ
Dawe, creators of indie hits One
Man Star Wars and One Man
Lord of the Rings, comes the
latest in Chicken for Supper
Productions’ parody-homage
series, One Man Dark Knight:

 

workshops for artists looking
to break into the business or
train their skills. On September
13, the On the Road Touring
Workshop will cover everything
from planning a tour route and
booking events to promoting
shows and balancing your
pocketbook. Having had to
learn these things on the fly,

| highly recommend taking

in a workshop session if you

are producing a show for

the first time. It’ll save you

a lot of trial and error.

For those who like to relax
after a show, the Big Rock
Brewery Fringe Bar is open
every night of the festival until
late. Featuring performances
from artists like Adrian Glynn,
Hollow Twin, The Nautical

A Batman wee
Parody. The Rossi
Playing Mach Gang, Skye
in the Rio Wallace,
Theatre from a and the
September Prada ir-) ee tet) self-styled
8-13, the Queen of
show will the Fringe
cram all Bar Tonye
three of Aganaba,
Christopher the vocal
Nolan’s variety on
Batman offer is truly
films into a massive.
go-minute Listen in at
performance, Ocean Art
witha Works, 1531
single actor Johnston
performing Street on
every single Granville
role without UGE et ee le Island;

the benefit come for
of “props, the music,

sets, or Batmobiles.”

Running in Studio 16 from
September 8-16, Tomo Suru
Players’ The Dance Teacher is
a psychodrama from the mind
of playwright Gerald Williams.
Justin, the eponymous dance
instructor, is a Machiavellian
man who isn’t afraid to
manipulate others to get what
he wants, be it money, power, or
sex. But what inspires a person
to this pragmatic state of being?
How guilty is Justin, really—
and of what, exactly? Find out
for yourself, if you dare to look.

For those more interested
in being watched than
watching, the Fringe also offers

stay for the food carts.

If none of that interests
you, maybe the chance to win
some free swag will. For the
duration of the festival, the
Fringe Bar and Raffle Tent will
be selling raffle tickets at $10 a
pop, three for the price of two.
Winners will be drawn at 9:30
p.m. on September 18 in the
Performance Works building.
Prizes include a 2017 Fringe
Pass for two, a Motorino XMb
electric scooter, and a trip
to Lima and Machu Picchu
courtesy of G Adventures.

Get ’em before they’re gone.

To see these events and
much more, visit tickets/
vancouverfringe.com.

Arts Editor

 

I? criticism, it is important

to understand the

difference between whining

and complaining. The

complainer wishes to point

out the faults in something,

but with the intention of

improving that thing beyond

its current state. The whiner

merely wishes to express

displeasure over a perceived

slight. With that in mind,

I've noticed a lot of whining

in regards to film remakes.
Where many are content to

dismiss remakes out of hand,

lam ambivalent towards the

concept. While action favourites

like RoboCop (14987) and Total

Recall (4990) have been treated

badly in redux, many remakes

have actually outshone their

source material in posterity.

So, in the interest of improving

the quality of today’s fare, we

must mine the past for the

ingredients to a good remake.
Few know that The Maltese

Falcon (1941) is actually a remake

of a remake of an adaptation

of Dashiell Hammett’s 1929

detective novel of the same

name. The story was the same in

_"

advent of Film Noit’s distinctive
shadowy visual mise-en-scéne
that it became truly iconic. The
1941 Humphrey Bogart vehicle
hit where the others missed
because it was visually unique
from anything that came before.
In the Cohen Brothers’
treatment of True Grit (2010),
the 1969 John Wayne actioner
saw a complete shift in tone,
embodying the understated,
casual brutality of the American
West. It was a critical success,
as was the 2007 remake of 3:10
to Yuma, for much the same
reason. A change of setting
can also make or break a film
retread; Oceans’ Eleven (2001)
offered a modern-day update
of the original heist comedy,
and was met with critical
acclaim—though it would be
hard to do worse than the first.
Even John Carpenter’s
The Thing (1982) was a remake
of Howard Hawks’ campy
sci-fi horror flick The Thing
from Another World (1951).
With 30 years of special
effects innovation on his side,
Carpenter gave the film a gory
makeover, transforming it into
an apocalyptic-arctic-tundra-
slasher film. Although it was
out-earned at the box office

 

survives today as a cult classic,
widely regarded as one of the
most horrifying experiences
ever pressed to a film reel.
While there may be some
truth in the assumption that
remakes are nothing more than
disposable Hollywood cash
grabs, it is possible for them
to equal—and even surpass—
their source material. All it
takes is a director with a strong
artistic vision, a willingness to
depart from the themes and
plot of the original, and the
advantage of new technologies.
In truth, film is a business
like any other. Hollywood
moguls will do whatever they
think will make the most
money, which is fair enough.
But you, the consumer, have
the ultimate voting power in
your wallet. Ifyou wish to
avoid all remakes on principle,
then by all means do so. Just
remember that not every film
can be conveniently filed
away according to category for
ease of dismissal. Remake or
otherwise, it is better to judge
films on their own merits,
rather than their legacy.
Except for the new
RoboCop. Nobody asked
for that bullshit.

Image via nypost.com