Film remakes have long been with us. A Star Is Born has been done four times (1937, 1954, 1976, and 2018), and no doubt it will be revived again. I’ve seen recent previews for the third retelling of both Lord of the Flies (1963, 1990, and 2026 on Netflix) and Cape Fear (1962, 1991, and 2026 on Apple). These days it seems that every major novel and comic book ever written has been adapted to film, including now The Odyssey. There’s literally nothing left to do but remakes, as so many new novels also traffic in old familiar themes. Then it hit me: take the ancient myths and invert them. Give them a lighter and more positive spin, as our world is already so damned depressing (akin to TV’s “Fractured Fairy Tales” associated with Rocky and Bullwinkle). Sisyphus now works as a quarry master moving boulders down the hill to help build great monuments and lasting friendships. Theseus and Minotaur, instead of mortal combat, engage in drunken adventures while island-hopping the Mediterranean. Greek Mythology meets The Hangover. Okay, even that sounds a bit derivative but such great fun! Positive energy is what we need right now. As Cyrus, leader of The Warriors, exclaimed at the big gang conclave in The Warriors (1979), itself a retelling of the tales of Odysseus, “Can… you… DIG IT?!”
Great Exudations 