Edward D. Wood’s 1959 film Plan 9 From Outer Space is a “classic”. It’s badly made, amateurish, and outright embarrassing for all concerned, but it’s a “classic”. That “classic” stature comes from the very qualities that make it such a cinematic atrocity: the laughable script, tacky production values, dreadful acting, dire direction, constant “errors” … when these things are taken in conjunction with the sheer self-deluded enthusiasm of the man behind it all, Ed Wood himself.
It’s the vast chasm between his ambition and his abilities — and the audacious hubris of his inability to see evidence of that chasm, so much so that he steps blithely over its edge time and time again yet keeps walking optimistically on air — that has attracted its huge cult audience over the years. Add to that the somewhat deceptive presence of the iconic Bela Lugosi in what was his last (and postmortem at that) role and the film’s “success” is understandable. Tim Burton’s brilliant biopic, Ed Wood (1994), encapsulates all the irony, poignancy and humanity that drove Wood’s legend and made him what he is in the cultural consciousness of our time — the Orson Wells of trash cinema.
Now, on the eve of the film’s 50 anniversary, indie director John Johnson is set to do a serious remake of Wood’s unintentionally hilarious Z-grade genre epic. He honours Wood for his enthusiasm and is intent on making the film that Wood wanted to make but was constitutionally unable to do.
Even if Eddie was a little off in his filmmaking skills, you cannot deny his passion. I feel a strong camaraderie for the man and his work, and hope that I can make a film that would be as loved by audiences today as the original was for his generation … Only this time with its true intention.
With the blessing of the only surviving member of the original film’s cast and crew, Conrad Brooks, Johnson’s plan 10 is to produce a scary sci-fi/horror film called Plan 9 and release it on 9.9.09.
In and of itself this isn’t as ludicrous an idea as it might seem. After all, the stripped-down plot outline offers plenty of potential, especially in these days of zombie apocalypse.
Plot: Aliens invade Earth by re-animating the dead.
Aliens! Flying saucers! Zombies! What could be better? (Okay, here’s a tip, John: add a giant monster or two….)
Addendum: Apparently Johnson and Brooks also plan (Plan 11?) to do a commentary to the original film with a Q + A retrospective for its 2-disc DVD release.
Source: io9.com via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery
