It shouldn't be funny, but no matter how I was going to write that title, it was going to seem insulting to some and hilarious to others. The 1990 Patrick Swayze/Demi Moore/Whoopi Goldberg paranormal sop-fest
Ghost is now headed for television in series format.
Paramount is producing the show, which will be co-written by Akiva Goldsman (the award winning guy that ruins movie adaptations of novels like
I Am Legend and
I, Robot) and Jeff Pinkner (
Fringe).
Now this could be me overreacting, or it could be you overreacting by telling me I'm overreacting—providing you're overreacting at all—but the question "Is it TOO SOON???" springs to mind, as it still only seems like yesterday that the late Patrick Swayze succumbed to cancer. (Let's not forget the cruel
Ghost jokes that followed.) But that's not what's really bothering me about this bright idea Paramount is owning up to. This could come across as an insult to Swayze's legacy, or it could just sweep him aside after exploiting that legacy, making way for some other wannabe heartthrob douchebag.
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| "Me, a pussy magnet? Aww shucks!" |
A lot of people could laugh this off, and it's probably for the best, but Swayze did produce some really enjoyable films in the '80s that even the guys could appreciate. He made his action movie debut in the massively underrated redemptive Vietnam POW action drama
Uncommon Valor, and continued in that vein with
Red Dawn and
Road House. Swayze then became a massive hit with the ladies with
Dirty Dancing and
Ghost, before alcoholism and a life-threatening injury destroyed his career.
But as
Sam in
Ghost, Swayze no doubt provided the best performance of his lifetime. Seeing this re-enacted in endless remakes that are beginning to eat up television airtime—as well as box office space—is going to come off as a bit insensitive, to say the least, leaving us to ask once again, "Hey, Hollywood, is nothing sacred in the face of money?"
Fanboys Anonymous will keep you updated should any creepy dark shadows drag Goldsman and Pinkner away kicking and screaming!
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