Lacey Bridges
Before the traditionalists come and out rail Warners over their ‘blasphemous’ remake plans here, they should know that 1986’s “Little Shop of Horrors” was a remake too. Sure, it’s the version of “Little Shop” we know best but it was, itself, a new take on a film of the same name from our Mum and Dad’s time. The film that started it all, starring a then-unknown Jack Nicholson and directed by B-movie legend Roger Corman, was released thirty-something years prior. Sure, it’s not half the film that Frank Oz’s movie is (proving remakes can sometimes be better!) but it’s still the original. “Little Shop of Horrors”, like this year’s “Magnificent Seven”, has already been remade. No point kicking off that online petition flabby Suzy.
Annnnnnd onto the story. Deadline reports that Warner Bros are putting Audrey back out on display, greenlight a new version of “Little Shop of Horrors”.
This third film version will be directed by TV wunderkind Greg Berlanti, best known as the executive producer on [all of Clint’s favorite shows] “The Flash”, “Arrow”, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” and “Supergirl”. Before he got into superhero shows, he was better known for his soaps, giving us “Everwood”, “Dirty Sexy Money”, “Eli Stone”, “Jack & Bobby” et al. Sure, he’s directed a couple of films before (most recently, “Life as We Know It” with Katharine Heigl and Josh Duhamel; for what it’s worth), but TV is his home. The film keeps him in business with Warner Bros though – the company behind his CW shows – so he’ll feel right at home. The film could even shoot on the same backlot, for that matter.
The new film, which will be scripted by Matthew Robinson (‘’The Invention of Lying, In Search of Humans’’), will undoubtedly retell the same story told in the previous films : a sad, lonely shopkeeper discovers a strange plant that only grows by consuming blood.
It sounds frightening – it’s not. It’s adorably corny.
Rick Moranis played the role of shopkeep Seymour in Oz’s 1986 film, with Bill Murray, John Candy, and a hilarious Steve Martin (check this out) in supporting roles.
Since “Little Shop” is best known as a musical (it’s also been on stage), Berlanti will likely fill his film with tunes too. There’s a few actors on those CW shows of his that can sing – like “Flash” star Grant Gustin and “Supergirl” star Melissa Benoist, both formerly of “Glee” – so it’s possibly we’ll see a couple of those take lead roles in the deadly-plant tale. Gustin as Seymour? Yep, I can see that.
