Past Tense - Dark Pools Of Ancestral Dread Part II




Stuntmen Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning both played the Gill-Man. Browning for H2O shots, second unit photography. Chapman out of water footage. Chapman in suit (above) with co-star, Julie Adams.

Oddly nether men meet during the shoot; filmed in different locations. Browning's shots was done in Florida (Wakulla Springs). Chapman's scenes were done in California; the same made-made lagoon where TV's "Gilligan's Island" (1964) was later shot.

Only in 1974 during movie fan convention in Florida did they finally meet.

Man, so much money was spent on trying to get a remake off the ground, but has been stuck in development hell... frack me, approaching the fifty year mark. YES, half a century of failed attempts.



Big names has been attached to various ventures; John Landis, Ivan Reitman, Guillermo del Toro, John Carpenter and Gary Ross. Even having at one point Rick Baker (physical effects legend) do a redesign of the Gill-Man. As I understand, above is a sketch from the Carpenter version. This is abbreviated history, there were other attempts in the '80s.

Landis commissioned Nigel Kneale to write the screenplay in 1982 set in the present. This had two Gill-Men; one good the other destructive. Both beast were being pursued by the U.S. Navy. Was going to be shoot in 3D, but Universal didn't want any competition with what they believed was going to be their mega summer hit, "Jaws 3D" (1983). Not joking. Though the official talk was on budgetary issues.

Carpenter in 1992 commissioned Bill Phillips to write his script. Rick Baker was brought in for effects. This for various reasons, got its plug pulled too. One of the reasons - was "Memoirs Of An Invisible Man" ('92), it bombed. It's a solid flick, I enjoyed it. Anyhow, Lagoon was Carpenter's pet project for many years before dropping it.

In 1995 the project was dusted off with Reitman set to direct his vision. It also failed. That same year Universal wanted Peter Jackson to make it - based on a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. He said no, wanted to focus his efforts on his pet project, "King Kong" - a movie that wouldn't get done until 2005. His original version, written by himself and Fran Walsh (script completed in '96) was very different from what was filmed - in some ways, better. You can read about it; a 2015 Limited Edition Horror entry.

Ross' ride on the failure carousal happened in late 2001 with him going to produce his interpretation; he and Arthur A. Ross wrote the script. His take was having the Creature not prehistoric, but rather man-made; a pharmaceutical company polluting in the Amazon. It's a mutant, set in the present. No go too.

In late 2002 del Toro was given the reins for his remake. He wanted to make it, a fan. Though his idea was a personal story told from the Gill-Man's point of view and included a successful romantic liaison. Bestiality? Universal shot him down. The project scraped once more. Del Toro used ideas from the aborted reboot as the basis of "The Shape Of Water" (2017). A film that was nominated and won various Academy Awards in 2018. There was an attempt to salvage the movie; the studio hired Tedi Sarafian to write a new screenplay in 2003, but nothing else came from it.

2005... Breck Eisner was hired as the new director and writer, a fan too. He began work on his remake. This is where things get very fuzzy. He had spent a lot of money on pre-production, A LOT. Eisner had commissioned Mark McCreery to create a new Gill-Man. McCreery known for physical effects such as the dinos from "Jurassic Park" (1993). The plan was to be faithful to the original. Six months was reported on the redesign. But all of it came crashing down... the infamous 2007 - 2008 Writers Guild Of America strike; so many movies and TV shows went bust because of it. So much trouble - Eisner went on to direct another pet project, the remake of George A. Romero's pre-"28 Days Later" (2002) horror flick, "The Crazies" (2010). The plan was to make this - then return back to "Creature". Hoping to shoot in Manaus, Brazil and on the Amazon River in Peru. It was reported that the boat set, "Rita" was built. After the strike, he continued to work/'tweak' his script. Nope. Dead project. Cursed at this point.

2009 - Marc Abraham long with Eric Newman AND Gary Ross (again) were set to produce another try. This had a 2010 release date. Rumored that Carl Erik Rinsch was set to direct. Nope once more; project axed in 2011. Abraham produced such films as "The Thing" (2011), "Dawn Of The Dead" remake (2004), "Slither" (2006) and "Children Of Men" (2006) to name a few - a genre producer.

2012 - Universal hired Dave Kajganich to direct. This was to be called "The Black Lagoon" (original '54 title). It was to have a May 2014 release. Not much else is known other than... it failed too.

When Universal was pursuing their expanded universe franchise, "Dark Universe" in 2017 - which by the way died when their reboot of "The Mummy" (2017), it flopped. "Bride Of Frankenstein" was going to be their second installment - axed. Commissioned was Will Beall to pen the screenplay based on a story by Jeff Pinkner for "Creature". Produced by Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan. This would once again be set in the Amazon, unknown if it was a period feature. They wanted Scarlett Johansson in the Kay role. Also failed too. This is where it ends... for now.



All the failed attempts is ripe for a "Creature" documentary on the subject. Would love to see that; video footage, production artwork, built sets and monster suits. And of course story outlines. Man, almost like that pix is mocking them, 'still the BEST!' Cha-cha-cha-chaaaa.

- - -

This is something you may want to know - and even a warning.



Above is the DVD from Nastalgia Family Video; streeted on January 10th, 2017 for $8.99 - "Bud Abbott And Lou Costello Meet The Creature From the Black Lagoon".

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

This is NOT a movie, but rather an episode of NBC's "Colgate Palmolive Hour" (black and white, live TV, variety show) which aired February 21st, 1954. As in a skit (less than ten minutes) towards the end of the program with Abbott and Costello meeting the Gill-Man (Chapman in suit) and the Frankenstein Monster (Glenn Strange in costume; Strange had already played the Frankenstein Monster in three of the franchise sequels). Ahhhhh, hijinks ensues. It was done to promote the film.

Lets say, much of the humor - overall program is hit and miss (putting it kindly). With the included commercials more interesting than the show.

The picture quality is watchable, not remastered.

This really should've been included a bonus in the Legacy Collection release. It's tiny.

You can buy the DVD on eBay and Amazon if you care.

- - -

Should be called to attention.



There were three films in this franchise; "Creature From The Black Lagoon" (1954), "Revenge Of The Creature" (1955) and "The Creature Walks Among Us" (1956).

All three with bonus materials can be found in the Complete Legacy Collection DVD set (also on BD) from 2014, came with a slipcover and were remastered.

- - - - - - - - - -

Tangent.

An additional sexy Halloween costume.



Man, I feel old; Gen-Xer. This is now considered a costume; 1980s Aerobics Outfit. Not a joke - this is an actual Halloween costume.

She's missing leggings that match her skin tone. Plus a sweat band and arm bands too. No high heels, just sneakers. I do wonder what kind purse goes with that outfit, probably a small one... that resembles a tote bag! Now I have Ron Harris style synthwave in my noggin'. To be clear it was synthwave and jazz.

Man, that's something that should absolutely have a DVD release; the complete series - "The 20 Minute Workout". If you lived in the 80s you know what I'm talking about. For those who didn't...

It aired real early on Sundays mornings - might as well be soft core porn. Gorgeous women in tight/revealing aerobics outfits doing a workout together (in a white void), married with electronic beating music. It was... hypnotic.

When I say "white void" I mean that. Everything was white in the background, even the floor. Like they had stepped into the Matrix. Plus the women did their routine on a rotating white disc with a disembodied voice commanding them (Jami Allen). Just go with it. The show ran for two seasons in syndication; half hour, weekly show.