Blacks to be added later, electronically.
One of Hollywood’s most influential yet controversial films, the silent classic Birth of a Nation, is being remade at a cost of $700m. The production is expected to be the costliest and most ambitious remake in film history. The new version will be released to mark the original film’s centenary next year.
The original 1915 film, directed by D.W. Griffith and based on the novel The Clansman by Thomas Dixon Jr, was credited with reviving the Ku Klux Klan and demonizing black people.
The film has no director attached as yet. Directors on the shortlist include Peter Jackson, whose King Kong remake showed a surprisingly mature depiction of black people on Skull Island, and Zack Snyder whose 300 displayed a thoughtful, lightness of touch when it comes to race.
There’s no word on casting either although Jennifer Lawrence is hotly tipped to play the role of the innocent southern belle Flora Cameron, who in the original tries to escape the attentions of the lustful black hordes before being driven to suicide.
Unfortunately for the production, every black actor on Earth has said no to appearing in the film even as extras so the filmmakers will recreate all black people digitally using the very latest special effects.
Producer Henry T. Braunstein said: “The original caused a storm of protest because it depicted viciously racist scenes of black men as rapists, drunkards and feckless idiots. Our new, updated version uses computers to depict viciously racist scenes of black men as rapists, drunkards and feckless idiots so no one can take offense. I hope.
“Black people can be represented exactly like the original except with digital technology we can make them even more bloodthirsty and rampant. To further enhance the experience we’re including computerized Mexicans too.”
Annie Handslip, chairwoman of the Conservative Cinema Association said the new film is a return to the kind of wholesome family entertainment sadly lacking in today’s sex, drug and hip-hop obsessed movies.
She added: “It’s about America defeating the forces of evil to restore unity and peace to the nation. It’s about a band of good honest men wresting this fertile land back for the real Americans. That’s a message I can get behind and a message that resonates with today’s Republican voters.”
If the film is successful, Braunstein hopes to develop big budget remakes of Mandingo and Disney’s Song Of The South.
Image: Arthur Eugene Preston / Shutterstock.com
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