http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2013/03/good_times_the_1970s_sitcom_re.html It is suppose to happen soon. so should it be made? some blacks say it didnt make black people look good. who would you cast? also what other 60 and 70's movies or tv should be made into todays version of a movie?
I watched Good Times back in the days. I thought it was memorable. But, looking back, while it was funny, it was also dramatic and tragic. As far back as I could remember, there was the time when J.J. got shot. Michael's homeless friend dies on New Year's in the apartment. Thelma's learns that a young boy in a street gang has been killed in a gang initiation. J.J.'s first wife(a junkie commits suicide after they elope). James' death. Willona adopting a girl (Janet Jackson) from an abusive mother. The death of James. Florida's new man(Moses Gunn) diagnosed with cancer. Then there is J.J.'s artwork. It did not make black people look bad. It showed one family struggling to move forward. I had met Bernadette Stanis(Thelma) in person. I say they shouldn't do it. Leave Good Times alone.
A family comedy about how much fun it was to grow up in Cabrini Green in the 1970s?? Sounds like a winner. If you wanna re-make a 70s hit into a movie, do THE WHITE SHADOW.
That has potential. Cast Aaron Eckhart as the coach and a good cast of young unknowns and you got a hit.
What the heck is this? And who is the hunky Robert Redford coach?? How come he never became a matinee Idol??? No way in hell will this fly today though. First there will be protests that will likely reach thread status here and every blog out there...'The White what??' 'why does the coach always have to be White?? Why are the Black kids basketball players??? They just have the white kids on the team so White America will watch/not feel bad/the Jews run Hollywood!!! :smt106 "Ok guys, cann it. :smt090 Who hired this Andreboba with his bright ideas anyway??"
The actor in The White Shadow is Ken Howard. He did a lot of tv and films including Dynasty and Rambo. Gwyneth Paltrow's dad Bruce was the executive producer on the show. It probably would not fly right now, but I honestly think it could work if it was written well and that there is a good director with spot-on instincts like the director for the film Hoosiers(Best Shot in Europe).
I don't see how this movie can do well in this era without changing too much. Good Times didn't really make black people look bad, but it sure didn't give us a light at the end of the tunnel either. My mom used to play it all the time in the house but I never could get into it.
