ALL SCI-FI

[mach7]

THEM really deserves a quality remake/sequel.

I think going British for a few actors would work

Michael Cain as Dr. Medford
Alice Eve as his daughter, Dr. Medford

Martin Clunes as Sgt Petersen

The safe answer for FBI agent Graham would be Benedict Cumberbatch, but I'm not in love with the idea.

Of course we can flip the script and have the older Dr. Medford played by a female. Helen Mirren or Maggie Smith or even Kate Mulgrew.

Then Sgt Petersen could be Charlize Theron or Jamie Lee Curtis.

The rest can be filled out.

[scotpens]

[mach7]

Eve could be the daughter of Caine and his second, trophy wife Autumn....

[tmlindsey]

Aaaaand, there's a remake in the works from the guy who made Werewolf By Night for Disney+.

https://gizmodo.com/michael-giacchino-them-sci-fi-warner-bros-werewolf-nigh-1849953824
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

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I'm sure a modern version is going to be very different from the 1950s classic, but hopefully it will be well done in its own modern fashion.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

You asked for it....Maybe we'll get it~

From Yahoo :

Before zombies, vampires, and werewolves became the hottest monsters in Hollywood, America went through a gargantuan creepy crawler phase that led to the likes of Tarantula (1955) and The Deadly Mantis (1957). The creature feature trend was kicked off by Warner’s Them! (1954), which centers on an unusual national threat: enormous irradiated ants desperate to establish new nests across the country.

Starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness, Them! has been regarded as one of the best and most influential sci-fi flicks of its time due to its special and practical effects, its quick and tense pacing, and its credible and well-written narrative (even if it requires a significant suspension of disbelief).

Now, nearly seven decades after its theatrical release, Them! is getting the reboot treatment with a fresh take on the story from Michael Giacchino. Known best for composing Up, The Incredibles, Coco, Ratatouille, and other Pixar greats, as well as The Batman and Marvel’s Werewolf by Night, this will be Giacchino’s directorial feature debut.

“There’s always a movie in your mind that never leaves your head,” Giacchino said in an interview with Deadline. “For me, that’s Them! It wasn’t until much later in life until I learned what it was about — the nuclear age... What I love about Them! is exactly what it’s called: Them! It’s about the other, the unknown which one refuses or can’t understand. The current version of Them! is about immigration, and to tell a story about the subject through a lens of this insane science fiction monster movie.”

“Michael Giacchino is a unique talent. We’re excited to be working with him and have him at the studio,” Warner President of Production and Development Jesse Ehrman told Deadline. Ehrman reportedly caught Giacchino’s Werewolf by Night and was impressed, which bodes well for the fun, old-timey vibes a Them! remake will presumably have.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/a-classic-cold-war-monster-movie-is-finally-getting-the-remake-it-deserves/ar-AA160R6J?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=48d46ea48c33401cb46c609ce10b89a2
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Krel]

Yahoo's wrong. Hollywood had man-made monsters, vampires, werewolves and zombies decades before giant insects.

I still like my idea of the a remake beginning in the storm drains of Los Vegas, as the ants attack the people living in the storm drains. Los Vegas is close enough to the atomic tests site, that they used to advertise to come watch the A-bomb explosions. Close enough for the ants to find the storm drains, and the poor people living in them.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

[Maurice]

[Pow]

Currently watching Them!, on MeTV this evening.

Here's a breakdown of all the scenes in this classic film of appearances by the mutated ants.

1.) Ant appears on a hill just above the female scientist during a sandstorm. This would have worked well as a stop-motion animation scene.

2.) Helicopters flying in the desert see a huge anthill and witness an ant come to the top of it and drop a skeleton down the hill where it joins a mass number of human and animal skeletons in a pile. Again, stop-motion animation would have fit the bill perfectly since the scene doesn't have to composite live actors into the scene with the ant.

3.) Deadly gas bombs are thrown into the anthill. As the camera looks down into the hill we see an ant come out of a tunnel at the bottom to the opening, it quickly retreats as the gas bombs ignite. Stop-motion would have been effective in this scene.

4.) The military and female scientist wearing protective gear enter the anthill in order to see if the gas bombs have done their work. Dead ant bodies are lying about when suddenly one surviving ant crashes through a cave wall. The practical animatronic ants are effective here and there's no need to resort to stop-motion animation here.

5.) On board a cargo ship at sea there is a telegraph operator (foreground) in the radio shack frantically sending out a message for help. In the background through the shack windows we see the ant attacking crew, it then breaks into the radio shack and grabs the telegrapher. The attack could have been stop-motion via rear screen projection. When the ant seizes the operator they could shift to using the practical prop.

6.) The exciting finale ends in the L.A. sewer system. The scene where the James Whitmore character rescues the 2 young boys is powerful. Using the practical ants is definitely the way to go, especially when JW uses his flamethrower on the ants.There are several later scenes where the ants are crashing through timbers attacking the military soldiers. The practical props work well, but stop-motion could have also worked as well.

The end scene has the soldiers discover the egg chamber in a large pit below them. Stop-motion would have been terrific for this segment.

[Pow]

Some other actors who pop up in the film for brief moments are Richard Deacon & Dick York.

Dub Taylor who plays the train yard night watchman has a scene where he's interviewed by Jim Arness. Dub's son, Buck Taylor, would later go on to co-star with JA on Gunsmoke. Buck played Newly O'Brien (gunsmith) on the series from 1967 to 1975 when it ended.

Olin Howland plays the man in the recovery ward who shouts out the iconic line "Make me a sergeant in charge of the booze!" OH also was the poor hobo who is the first to discover the alien lifeform in "The Blob" 1958.

[scotpens]