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'Ben-Hur' Getting the Old Remakeover

Well it was probably bound to happen sooner or later. After all, Ben-Hur is one of the best-known epics of old Hollywood. And now it’s happening. MGM has set its sights on remaking the classic film. Now, a new generation can experience all of the lavish production, Charlton Heston overacting, latent homoeroticism, ship sinking, chariot racing, and random Jesusing of the 1959 blockbuster winner of eleven Oscars. They couldn’t be expected to actually watch a movie made before 1977, now could they?

Okay, so the studio says that they’re actually making a new adaptation of the book. They aren’t allowed to do a straight remake of the original, since, even though MGM produced it, they sold the rights to Ted Turner in the 80’s. Since 1880’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is public domain, though, MGM can make all the movies it wants. Producer Sean Daniel makes the cliche claim that they’ll make this different from the 1959 version (or the 1925 version (or the 1907 version(or the 2010 TV miniseries))) by “being more faithful to the book.” I’m sure. I’m also sure that it’ll be total coincidence that so much of the movie will look like the 1959 one. Only with a lot more CGI.

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