Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Disney Plans Tron Remake

Posted by michael on from the milking-it-dry dept.

blkmagic writes "Sci Fi Wire is reporting that Disney will remake Tron. The original article was in Variety, but requires a pay subscription, unless you want to sign up for a 14-day free trial. The article didn't mention what stage they're at, but sounds like they're changing the story a bit (surprise). I loved the original when I was younger (and still watch it again once in a while), so I don't know how I feel about this one!"

23 of 434 comments (clear)

  1. Disney to Fuc^H^H^HRemake Tron by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
    I loved the original when I was younger (and still watch it again once in a while), so I don't know how I feel about this one!"

    I don't like to think of myself as a snob, but I was tech savvy enough back at that time that the dumbing of computer terms (and the preposterous fantasy) tried my patience. The graphic effects were good, but that was about all there was for me to enjoy about the flik. So let's speculate about what could be put into such a remake of the film...

    Worms and Virii infest the computer and are blasted with some McAfee ray

    An evil spam king is sentenced to /dev/null until 0>1

    The conceptual depiction of Microsoft Windows security is a hole Rama could pass through with a defaced tin sign by the entrance saying [UNAuthorized Proceses Only Beyond This Point]

    Dee Arrum is a cute, cuddly Pooh-bearish creature who befriends the intrepid party and only wants what is best for everyone

    Bugs will only be the result of users installing unathorised software

    The central processor will have a huge ice pack on its head and complain of constant overclocking pains

    Plugs for Disney partners will be throughout (i.e. Intel Inside)

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Disney to Fuc^H^H^HRemake Tron by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's a great film to have a running commentary on. For instance, when Clu is about to kiss Yori, a friend of mine pointed out, "He better check his permissions."

      --
      tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
    2. Re:Disney to Fuc^H^H^HRemake Tron by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I hope they rename the damned thing. The title was a pretty good geek pun when the movie was relased, but NOBODY programs in GW Basic anymore. (For those of you who never had the pleasure, TRON was "Trace On" in Microsoft's GW Basic interpreter, which printed line numbers to the screen as programs were being executed. In the movie, TRON was a debugging program attempting to debug the central mainframe kernal. Neat pun, but VERY dated.)

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    3. Re:Disney to Fuc^H^H^HRemake Tron by Pxtl · · Score: 3, Informative

      Was not the pun. Tron was short for "electronic" - the people who first created the tron character weren't computer people... the glowing-overlay-clothes technique was the root of the project, not the 3d graphics.

      Watch the 20th anniversary DVD for the story.

      Personally, I watch Tron and I still find it visually impressive - the artwork doesn't date that badly because its so abstract. Still, its a shame that it didn't recieve an award for the visual effects (using computers and post-prod stuff for effects was considered "cheating").

      Yes, the plot is a joke and the technical details are absolutely monstrous to geeks like us, but the movie is still visually neato, and the acting is passable.

  2. Poor choice for a remake. by slusich · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In my opinion, a lot of the appeal of the first movie was in the "Wow" factor of it. Computers were not nearly as ubiquitous as they are today. Video games were a huge rage, but still mostly confined to the arcade.
    With all of the CGI enhanced movies being done today, great special effects won't have the same impact.
    There will certainly be some draw based on nostalgia, however I think that will lead mostly to disappointment.

    --

    DeviantArt Page

    NSFW
    1. Re:Poor choice for a remake. by Dogtanian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In my opinion, a lot of the appeal of the first movie was in the "Wow" factor of it.

      You put your finger on it. I remember hearing on the Tron DVD that they were wanting to do "Tron 2" (as a movie) and thinking "what is the point?"

      Tron was never a great movie; visually it was outstanding (I don't want to repeat myself, so click here), but if they were to do a sequel it would have to replicate the visual impact. The still images of the proposed "Tron 2" looked like pretty computer graphics that could have been done anywhere.

      A remake or a sequel would have to try very hard to do justice to the original and be fresh and innovative; the best way to do that would be to do some great visuals, combine it with a more sophisticated (for todays' audiences) computer-based plot, and create something like.... 'The Matrix'. Oops.

      I agree 100%. Tron was a landmark movie in some ways, but things have moved on, and I'm not sure what they want to get out of this. People *will* be disappointed, and kids will wonder what the deal is.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  3. ...hm by JaffaKREE · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know what'd be crazy ?

    A new movie. Like with new ideas. That'd be crazy.

  4. Yay for Disney, you rock! by coupland · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think this is an excellent idea, another example of Disney's new groundbreaking philosophy. A groundbreaking... sequel. Get Eddie Murhpy in to do some voices, add a breakfast cereal tie-in, a trailer that only airs in front of one of their other loser movies, a McDonald's meal toy, and you're well on your way to a Disney classic!

    Almost forgot, better hire Pixar to do the actual movie itself, Disney only does cross-promotional advertising now...

  5. And CGI? by fisheye1969 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I guess the graphics will be updated so much so that they won't look as fantastically "false" as they did originally. It was a subject so well suited to early CGI, that the new stuff doesn't cut it. Maybe this is one case where better CGI is actually worse?

    Will Jeff Bridges be in it?

  6. Enough with the remakes already! by OmegaBlac · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why don't they make a sequel? There is no reason to go back and muck around with a film that doesn't need mucking around with.

  7. Tron by Skiron · · Score: 4, Funny

    For those that don't know, the film was named after the computer command 'Trace on' (as opposed to Troff).

    Looking at the current situation, will Disney call it Pr0n?

    1. Re:Tron by MalachiConstant · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Bzzt. It was short for elecTRONic. The filmakers didn't find out till later that it was also a real computer term.

  8. I hope the graphics are low-tech cool by tinrobot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I loved Tron because they used really good design to overcome the extremely low-tech tools they had at their disposal. The result was a "inside the computer" world that looked computer-like.

    Now we have movies like The Matrix, where they go inside a computer and it looks like San Francisco.

    I hope the new Tron remake doesn't got too overboard and make things look too 'realistic.' I'm kind of sick of CGI that looks real. I have real every day.

  9. New plot by brandonY · · Score: 5, Funny

    The evil Computer P1R473Z are downloading the system's IP. Now, the brave and bold hero must digitize himself and take on the P1R473Z on their own turf. Without his lawyers, armed with only spam and pluck, our hero must contend with giant P2P tanks which shoot torrets of bits. Can our hero stop them before innocent set-builders and writers lose their jobs due to IP theft?

  10. From Disney's Golden Period by scotay · · Score: 3, Funny

    These days, it may seem that Disney is nothing but crap merchants, but they used to have a quality period. Back in the days of The Black Hole, and The Barefoot Executive, Disney was known for quality dialog and compelling drama. A remake of Tron promises to rekindle the spirit of Disney quality in a whole new generation.

  11. Just Make a Reboot Movie by Erioll · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Reboot was a more "fun" idea of computers. Should just make THAT into a movie, rather than spoiling an old classic.

    I liked tron, but I can't see how they'll retain the "feel" of the original. I won't say it's impossible, but it just seems like they're setting people up for disappointment.

    Erioll

  12. Tron 2.0 the MOVIE by darkCanuck · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm confused. Hollywood Stock Exchange has been selling Tron 2.0 stock since September '99.

    That's 2.0, not a remake.

    They claim the director of Tron is writing the screenplay.

    I really hope the HSX is right. Especially since I bought 50,000 shares @ $4.29.

  13. plugs by phyruxus · · Score: 3, Informative
    >>Plugs for Disney partners will be throughout

    You know the scene where Tron is on that boat-like thing that rides the laser? if you watch the landscape you can see a GIANT mickey mouse head outlined. It's bigger than the screen; it moves from right to left and it's a lighter blue than the ground. It's just a big circle with two smaller circles but it's definitely mickey's profile.

    --
    "A witty saying proves nothing." ~Voltaire
    "d'Oh!" ~Homer
    1. Re:plugs by Andrewkov · · Score: 3, Informative

      On the Tron DVD, the director mentions this in the commentatry, he did it on his own as a thank-you to Disney for making the movie, it's not like Disney told him to do it.

  14. Ouch! by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Funny

    The possibility for product placements is unimaginable.

    "Doc, I've been having big headaches ever since my computer tried to suck me in and I smacked into ZoneAlarm. I immediately turned around, phoned a Gateway rep, and while very helpful, said I should talk to Verizon about the rogue worm that sucks people into mainframes. I mean, you can only imagine if I'd ended up in a Windows 2003 cluster. Thank goodness Cisco routers stand as a line of defense between me and the electroworld, dominated by evil Open Source communists."

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  15. But who better to remake it? by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 4, Funny

    The plot of Tron revolved around a monolithic corporate entity that absorbed intellectual property from sources all over the world, protected itself with a restrive and overpowered security model subject to hackers, destroyed the creative spirit of individuals, and twisted the vision of its creators to suit its own ends.

    If there's a studio more qualified than Disney to write that story, I don't know who it is.

  16. The new Tron story by acb · · Score: 4, Funny

    In the new Tron, the Master Control Program is the good guy, and is besieged by shadowy terrorist pirates who wish to destroy it and replace its rights-management regime with open-source communism.

  17. Not man into hell, but god into earth. by Pike · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "In a lot of ways, ('Tron') was a movie about a man venturing into hell. Our job will be to keep the humanity as he ventures into an unreal world."

    Actually, in many more ways it was a movie about a god venturing incarnate into the world.

    "Do you believe in the users?"

    "Of course! I mean, if there are no users, then...who wrote me?"

    The oh-so transparent metaphors of atheism versus belief in a higher power are draped all over the movie.