We get it: Movie studios love to place their bets on a sure thing. And is there a more surefire bet than rebooting one of the most popular film franchises of the early aughts with one of America's more unilaterally adored actresses in the lead role?
Probably not.
It is indeed a good business move to remake Ocean's Eleven — which, by the way, wasn't even an original movie back in 2001. It's a revamp of the Rat Pack film of the same name that came out in 1960. As The Playlist reports, George Clooney is aboard as a producer and Sandra Bullock is attached to star in what's being positioned as a gender-swap version of the movie. This also makes good business sense.
But let's depart from the financial case for another Ocean's Eleven for just a second. Instead, let's focus in on why it is that Hollywood is remaking a boys'-club movie and swapping in a female cast — à la Ghostbusters — instead of just putting power behind an original script and story that is actually intended to be acted by women?
Could it be that there aren't enough female screenwriters in Hollywood to come up with a woman-centric script? Nope, that's probably not it. Might it be because studios want to harness the momentum of previous successes and take the easy route, by capitalizing on the kitsch factor of creating "lady versions" of male-centric movies? Call me crazy, but I'm leaning in that direction.
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