Would it be possible for a Remake of The Hustler to be good?

I don't think you could remake the Hustler really effectively as it is a movie of its time.

As is Color of Money for the 80s.

Now if you could somehow get Tom Cruise involved I think you could make a really good sequel to TCOM relevant to our time right now
 
Petros Andrikop said:
Although I can't come up at the moment with which actors could perform well in a remake of "The Hustler", I believe yes, it could be possible to make a good remake of the film.
The film industry is powerful, with highly capable professionals and the capacity to do "miracles".
If there will ever be enough interest, will, money sources and motivation (not necessarily in that order) in a such a project then why not..
Click to expand...
Wow. You have FAR more faith in today's Hollywood than i thought possible. Powerful, capable and miracles are not words usually associated with much of their recent output. Your lucky these days if five movies a year are worth watching.
 
fjk said:
The original had generational actors in a time when hustlers still existed. That made the movie believable.

I couldn't imagine a remake anyplace close to as good as the original.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you make a really good point. Now I feel really silly for asking that question, because I should know that The Hustler is a thing of the past, thanks to the internet and social media.
 
fair question

is it possible?
of course, it's possible
all that's needed is money skill and love
is it going to happen?
probably not

a few things come to my mind (here comes the rambling..you've been warned:grin:)

there are a few things about "the hustler" that make it, and movies from that era, unique
1. b&w
2. film
could a movie be done in b&w on actual film today?
sure, but it would take more time and cost more money..not items in grand supply on many movie sets
but it could be done, if you wanted to attempt to recapture the classic "look" of movies from that era

same with the sound
you might want to record that to film, or tape
instead of recording dialogue and foley effects digitally
tho more precisely-recorded sound effects could make the the sound more interesting
but a movie filmed with older methods probably would just seem..old
to most, anyway

which makes me wonder, who's the target audience for this hustler part deux?

it's unlikely somebody is going to make a movie without wanting it to be seen by as many people as possible
how will it fare at the box office?
not much has changed there, studios were in the business of making money back then, too
that's why there were significant changes from the original book to "the hustler" movie script..
I won't say what if you don't know (no spoilers..but there was a big one)

filming a movie set around a pool table would almost certainly have to be a labor of love
the "look" of pool is mainstream, the game is not
and if not out of love, "what's the point," I wonder?
business-wise, it doesn't seem smart
we've been through several generations since "the hustler"
people know what pool looks like
there are, and have been tables in bars throughout that time
generations of high-quality players and pool played
there are accounts on facebook and twitter, videos on youtube
and plenty of pool-related tv and movies that have been produced since then

you could get some big names involved
and that might garner some interest from the pop crowd
if tom cruise played himself in a remake
and took on the role of a tired, but not retired "vincent"
and mentored miley cyrus or whoever
would that really give pool culture the shot in the arm so many seem to think it needs?
personally, I'd sure take a look
but until somebody does it, who knows~
 
I don't want to turn this into a political thread, but today's younger audiences wouldn't watch it unless one of the players was a different "gender" or color and there was more "action" of some type. The old story line and era would be too boring for them.

If the movie were to be made with the same script, set in,the same era, who could or would be able to do a good job in the acting roles?
 
Never saw a remake that didn't suck, probably never will. The closest to it would be the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, that were more like reimaginings rather than straight remakes of japanese movies. And they were great.

A remake of the Hustler is a terrible idea, and would certainly be both a flop and a terrible movie. JMHO.

I'd like to elaborate on that, a bit, if I may. What made "The Hustler" great, is that it was an attempt at telling a story, and it did so using themes and activities that was relevant for its day. Pool and pool hustlers were a lot more relevant then than now. Modern movies are all about appealing to various target audiences, and the story comes second. Would you like a movie about pool that was made to appeal to midwestern housewives, Chinese tweens and European adult males equally? Most likely it would have a lot of stuff shoehorned in that didn't belong and it would be blander than an unsalted french fry. Don't forget censorship considerations that would seriously impact the storytelling in order to get a certain rating.
 
Last edited:
They did remake True Grit and it was pretty damn good. But, that's one example out of 100 bad ones.

It would take the same type of director to do it justice with the right actors, not the most popular actors, but the right fit. Usually they get that right but sometimes it just comes out horrible. Remember Ghostbusters remake ? arrrggggh. lol

But, it could be done, absolutely. But, good chance it could be a complete train wreck, but I'd love for them to give it a shot. Any publicity is good publicity for our great game.
 
Don't care how deep you dig you are not going to find the equals of
Paul Newman
Jackie Gleason &
George C.Scott.

They forever "own" those roles.
 
IMO......Mediocre at Best As Remakes Fare.

There could not be better actors cast than the original.
Who could equal Newman or Gleason’s performances?

Take for example the movie 12 Angry Men.....a classic, great
cast, orig. B&W film and the ‘97 remake fell woefully short,
even with the likes of George C. Scott & Jack Lemon starring.

Same would apply to doing a remake of Inherit The Wind with
Spencer Tracy & Frederic March. That film distinguished itself
just as much To Kill a Mocking Bird with Gregory Peck playing
the role of Atticus Finch. Old Gregory set that bar too high to clear.
How about Orson Wells in Citizen Kane. Some things are so rare
that failure awaits those who try but there’s always some challengers.

Sure we may have favorite, more contemporaneous actors that
we’d enjoy seeing in that type theme movie same as the original.
It was the performance of the actors & the incredibly gut wrenching &
emotional transference to movie viewers only a truly great film offers.

A sequel to The Hustler would help return people to the movie theaters
and the actual pool shots by the actors would be filmed so much better.
But the storyline, interest capture and dramatic performances would take
the back seat to the original film with Newman, Scott, Gleason and Laurie.
 
sjm said:
I think the point is that it could have been a pool player or anybody else with a unique talent down on their luck searching for an avenue of sustainable livelihood and living through the struggles that go with the territory.

As an example, an interesting remake that was probably better than the original was "Heaven Can Wait" in 1978. The original, called "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" in 1941, was also an excellent movie and its main character was a pro boxer. Remarkably, the remake, "Heaven Can Wait" follows almost the exact same script, but the main character was a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. The original wasn't a boxing movie and the remake wasn't a football movie, but both dealt with the exact same situations and were thematically identical.

Again, "The Hustler" features a pool player, but it's about life, not about pool.
Click to expand...

So now i am thinking.
What great old movies about something other than pool
Could be re-made with pool as the focus,

Like how football took the place of boxing?
 
markjames said:
So now i am thinking.
What great old movies about something other than pool
Could be re-made with pool as the focus,

Like how football took the place of boxing?
Click to expand...
There is a REALLY funny movie from 1980 called "Used Cars". You could do a remake starring deano about selling cues. ;)
 
I'm not of the belief that you can remake a film that pure and artistic

on the other hand, bring on a color of money sequel with the old cast and director
 
The tough character would be Fats. Gleason would be tough shoes to fill. The others could be done but Gleason owned that character and I'm having a tough time thinking of anyone with the right stature and acting chops to even approach the role.
 

Attachments

  • Jackie_Gleason_-_1966.jpg
    Jackie_Gleason_-_1966.jpg
    77.6 KB · Views: 224
markjames said:
So now i am thinking.
What great old movies about something other than pool
Could be re-made with pool as the focus,

Like how football took the place of boxing?
Click to expand...

Won't be easy, as the best sports movies tend to be about team sports, but, at least in theory, each of these could be redone with the focus on an underdog pool player rather than on the actual main character in the original.

Rocky
The Karate Kid
Breaking Away
Million Dollar Baby

That said, I doubt it would work.
 
Nick B said:
The tough character would be Fats. Gleason would be tough shoes to fill. The others could be done but Gleason owned that character and I'm having a tough time thinking of anyone with the right stature and acting chops to even approach the role.
Click to expand...

Cameron britton. hands down. not hard at all. the direction and dialogue is harder to fill than actors
 
animatedvmaker said:
I see that Hollywood has been doing remakes of some really old classic movies in recent years, so I wonder if a remake of the classic pool movie, The Hustler, could possibly be good?

I think probably not, but I am curious to read some other opinions about it.

If not, then I would be happy to see any really good pool movie with good actors, that is not cheesy in any way, and one that any serious pool player or fan would really enjoy.

I think it would need to show real world situations, like nits arguing over spots that they probably do not need, and maybe a gritty movie with Mafia type people involved, like in The Rounders for example.




Just good actors, an interesting story that any real pool player could relate to, and no over the top cheese. Is that too much to ask?

I have seen the previews of the movies that a few members posted about, and they look horrible, and I have no interest in watching them.

I want another great pool movie, like The Hustler, if that is even possible.
Click to expand...

There is something gritty and real about the Hustler. The Color Of Money didn’t capture it. Those of us who played pool since the 50’s will tell you fondly how they miss the smoke filled rooms and the characters that frequented if not lived in these rooms. They were always looking for a grubstake. No ‘pool leagues’ or chain store family billiard rooms. Guys that didn’t own more than a cue stick, car and pinky ring.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top