Short Circuit, (Live) action remake, how would you make it?

[Doctor Amadeus]

Release Date: May 6th 1986

Budget: 9 Million

Box office return: 41 Million.


Basic premise is a Nova Corp Robot #5 software gets struck by lightening and becomes "Alive" Self aware, however it fears being reprogrammed and ultimately ended if Nova Corp finds him. Number #5 befriends a woman who takes him in for help along the way becomes known and Johnny 5.


So if you could and the script was placed in your lap, you are told if you do this film you get your crack at anything else you want, how would you cast it, and who would you go for to write and direct?

2 guiding principles though, it has to make money, and at least get a decent rating.


Last bit of detail

Original Cast
Tim Blaney as Johnny 5 (voice)
Ally Sheedy as Stephanie Speck, who befriends Johnny 5
Steve Guttenberg as Newton Crosby, Ph.D., the designer of the prototypes
Fisher Stevens as Ben Jabituya, Newton's assistant (in Short Circuit 2 his name is Benjamin Jahveri)


Uncredited
John Badham as Cameraman (uncredited)
Jack Angel as Number 1 (voice)
Don Messick as Number 3 (voice)
Cam Clarke as Number 2 (voice)


If it were up to me I would try to go for a budget of 100 Million or less, I would stick with props and CGI so thanks to Transformers it should be relatively cheaper.


For Director: Tim Burton (This would be up his Ally)
Cast I would like to go with relatively unknowns. I think Burton is good with this.


The Premise I think I would shift from being that of a single male or female, I would have it be some kind of family, maybe go the whole Addams Family route mixed with the Brady Bunch remake.

I think the appeal can be the absurdity of the idea, the ability to mix the family in, with a lovable and maybe somewhat misguided robot.

[draynay]

Anybody who tries to remake this movie should be rolled up in a carpet and flung off a bridge. I'd bury that script and good riddance.

[Mirishka]

How would I remake Short Circuit, one of my favorite childhood films?

Easy, I wouldn't, and I wish suffering upon anyone that tries.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Anybody who tries to remake this movie should be rolled up in a carpet and flung off a bridge. I'd bury that script and good riddance.

HAHAHA Why?

It's a great premise.

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How would I remake Short Circuit, one of my favorite childhood films?

Easy, I wouldn't, and I wish suffering upon anyone that tries.

Remaking the film takes nothing away from the original though, it isn't like a remake is made and the original disappears. Films become dated, and I don't mean in the way they are intended for.

A remake can actually bring attention to the original that none outside of those who loved the original would otherwise know or see.

[Skizzit]

They already did remake it. It was called Chappie.

[Ayirasi]

Hire a real Indian guy to be Benjamin Jabituya, have Leo Moracchioli do a metal cover of "Who's Johnny", and cast Samuel L. Jackson as Johnny 5. "Number 5 is alive, motha fucka!" *blamblamblam*

[Mirishka]

HAHAHA Why?

It's a great premise.

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Remaking the film takes nothing away from the original though, it isn't like a remake is made and the original disappears. Films become dated, and I don't mean in the way they are intended for.

A remake can actually bring attention to the original that none outside of those who loved the original would otherwise know or see.

For starters if they remade it, they'd likely change Johnny 5's design to look edgier/more 'badass' (see: Robocop 2014) and almost certainly go CGI. So you'd have actors vapidly staring in his general direction instead of the genuine, tangible connection that the actors had with the robot in the original. Ally Sheedy said that it really upset her to see the 'fake' Johnny 5 get blown up toward the end - it just wouldn't be the same when the director is like "ok look at the tennis ball on a stick and cry, we'll add the explosion and dead robot debris in post."

No, a remake wouldn't take anything away from the original - no argument there. But it would almost certainly be a lifeless CGI shitfest that some producer noticed on a checklist of 'things we haven't rebooted yet' versus any kind of meaningful attempt to bring the story to a new generation. Hell I'd argue that the original holds up pretty well, having watched it a couple of years ago. Having an actual robot on set that emotes, moves and interacts with the actors makes a big difference.