I have been working my way through the John Wayne/John Ford DVD box set this week, and I have come to the conclusion that the Western is the best film genre of all. Not only can you tell any story you want in a Western, but the conventions of the genre are so easy to subvert, and no matter how many times they get subverted it always feels fresh. So I’m bummed that a planned big screen remake of the 1950s TV series Have Gun, Will Travel will jettison the Western setting and take place in the modern day. I would love to see more Westerns being made.
Although I don’t know if I want to see a Western being made with Eminem, who is going to star in the film. He’ll be playing a bounty hunter (presumably named Paladin) in Detroit, and the film will have characters inspired by the original and with nods to original story points. Although who the heck would be going to see an Eminem movie that would remember Have Gun, Will Travel? All of my knowledge of the show comes from the kids singing the theme song in Stand By Me.
This could potentially begin a new wave of TV show adaptations that are tailored to fit hip hop personalities. When Lil Kim gets out of jail she could star in a movie version of Green Acres, while Puff Daddy would be great in an update of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. And I think 50 Cent would make a killer Chaka in a Land of the Lost film.