It’s the week after The King Of Kong opened to great
reviews and good numbers for a limited release, and director Seth Gordon
already has two new projects lined up. So why am I not happy for him?
For starters, because one is a dramatic remake of The
King of Kong which…well, put it this way. Understanding why New Line would want
to do this doesn’t take a lot of brains – they’re desperate for anything that
might resonate with audiences. Evidently Gordon is also keen on the film, which
would allow him to show the aspects of Donkey Kong mastery they weren’t able to
get docu-style. Hopefully that’ll involve playing DK MAME on the laptop whilst
on the toilet; that’s how I master all arcade games now. If it’s Nathan Fillion
playing Steve Wiebe, as Gordon would like, all the better.
The other story (and the real news here), as luck wouldn’t have it, is a lot less
inspiring. Gordon is also taking on New Line’s Four Christmases, a picture that’s
been kicking around for a couple years. Adam Shankman was once attached, which tells
you everything.
I know we’re really happy whenever Shankman is not making a
particular film, but the goal is really to prevent him working at all, not take
on projects in his wake. Knowing that he once found this material workable,
plus the knowledge that it was originally kiboshed at Sony for being too much
like Christmas With The Kranks, well…
Four Christmases stars Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn
(who’ll be fresh off this year’s Xmas hit Fred Claus!) as a couple racing to
visit all four of their divorced parents during the holiday. Can you smell
reconciliation in the air? I can.
Meanwhile, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is still worth your coin. It’s in a few theaters now, and will be platforming out over the next couple weeks. (Atlanta’s
opening, for example, is September 7.)