Back when Westerns were a major genre in American film, Fred Zinnemann directed iconic movie star Gary Cooper in High Noon. The 1952 classic, co-starring Grace Kelly, focused on Cooper as a Marshal who, when faced with the threat of a vengeful outlaw he once jailed, finds he must deal with the killer and his gang without the help of the townspeople he’s spent years protecting. Cooper won a Best Actor Oscar for his work and the film has been a staple of the genre for years. It also has the distinction of being a favorite of presidents over the years, with Bill Clinton apparently screening it 17 times and George W. Bush watched it for a pep soon after the 9/11 attacks.
Now, 64 years later, Relativity Studios is set to produce a remake of High Noon and it will ditch the conventional, old west setting. According to Variety, the new High Noon will take place on the modern Texas-Mexico border while also trying to “stay true to the roots of the original.”
Relativity CEO Dana Brunetti said “High Noon is one of the most iconic films of all time. I’m honored to be a part of modernizing this timeless story, and bringing it to a new generation.”
Westerns aren’t exactly guaranteed in this day and age — and we’ll see just how much audiences want to see one when another remake, The Magnificent Seven, opens next week — but given its setting and the original’s undertones regarding social justice, Relativity’s remake could strike a chord.
As for potential casting, what about, say, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone in the Cooper and Kelly roles?
(via Variety)
