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Q: Has anyone ever remade "The Birds"?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

Not exactly, and not for lack of trying. I say "not exactly" because there was actually a sequel to 1963's "The Birds" made in 1994 and promptly forgotten by everyone, including the director.

"The Birds II: Land's End" was a made-for-TV movie aired by Showtime, before it was putting a lot of money into its original productions.

It was panned by critics, with "Popcorn Pictures" reviewer Andrew Smith calling it a "complete turkey" (he makes no mention of whether he intended that as a pun or not). Its director opted to remove his name from the final production and be credited instead as Alan Smithee, the traditional pseudonym directors use when they want to avoid being associated with a movie they think went wrong.

I say "not for lack of trying," because despite this failure, there actually is a proper remake in the works. However, it's been in the works for nearly a decade.

News first surfaced in 2006 that famed action director Michael Bay was planning to produce a remake. The idea hasn't gone away since, though it hasn't progressed much, either. The most recent announcement came in 2014 -- eight years later -- when Bay's production company announced that it had finally chosen a director, Diederik Van Rooijen.

At this rate, we can expect to see the remake in theaters in time for the original's centenary in 2063.

 

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