So your movie is getting remade…Deal with it.

By Brian Pac Sostak

Total Film reported today that Niels Arden Oplev, the director of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is unhappy that his film is being remade in the United States.  In the guise of defending his lead actress, Noomi Rapace, Oplev had this to say about the David Fincher version:

“The Sony PR machine is trying to make their Lisbeth Salander the lead Lisbeth Salander, that’s highly unfair because Noomi has captured this part and it should be all her.  That’s her legacy in a way I can’t see anyone competing with it.”

Niels Arden Oplev, you are entitled to your opinion but I am also entitled to mine, and I would like to humbly express my opinion as a general movie-goer and enthusiast.  Deal with it.  First of all, you may have a genuine concern for the legacy of your lead actress in your film, but I’m skeptical about your honorable defense and believe you are more concerned with the legacy of your film.  Regardless, you shouldn’t be so concerned, you should be appreciative of all the extra attention that is given to your film and how it will enhance its legacy.

Consider some of the other recent foreign films to be remade in Hollywood and how their status in global pop culture was enhanced by American adaptations.  Ju-On (The Grudge), Ringu (The Ring), Mou Gaan Dou (The Departed), Let the Right One In (Let Me In) were all films remade for Hollywood and their legacies have all been enhanced because of this.  Maybe my opinion can be dismissed as “American Ignorance”, but I would not have heard of or seen  most (if not all) of these films if it were not for their American remakes.

A film by Niels Arden Oplev. Heard of it?

If you still want to chalk my opinion up to “American Ignorance” consider this, I think American filmmakers who are having their films rebooted should be appreciative too.  As a case study, take A Nightmare on Elm Street for example.  That film was remade earlier this year and with its theatrical release came a Blu-ray release of the original, DVD box sets, television broadcasts and additional merchandise sales that otherwise would not have happened.  A remake is a promotional tool for your original film, a way to bring your legacy to an audience that may otherwise never acknowledge your film.  Remakes don’t destroy the legacy of good films, they enhance them. 

Also, don’t say that no other actress can compete with the legacy your actress has established then complain when they attempt to.  That’s like saying you make the best Frikadeller in the world but then refuse to enter a cook-off because you consider it a slap in the face.   Besides, you have no right to be miffed at Hollywood for making The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo because it isn’t your intellectual property in the first place.  Your film is an adaptation of a book by Stieg Larsson.  Is Tim Burton publically bashing Warner Bros and Christopher Nolan for making the Batman films?  Is John Wayne rising from the grave, pistol in hand, to challenge Jeff Bridges to a duel?  Neither you nor Noomi Rapace created the legacy of Lisbeth Salander so it isn’t yours to protect.

Proof that even terrible remakes cannot destroy legacies

We’ll have to wait another year for Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to appear on the big screen and I bet during that year you’re going to welcome every cent the “Sony PR Machine” produces for you, directly or indirectly.  After reading your comments I’m privately hoping your film’s legacy over time is reduced down to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a remake?”

I’ve clearly expressed my opinion; but what do you, the reader think?  Was Niels Arden Oplev justified in his comments?  Will David Fincher’s version of the film tarnish the legacy of its predecessor?