Remaking 'Roots'
May 18, 2016 4:17 AM Subscribe
Remaking 'Roots' In this version, accuracy is at the forefront, Mr. Wolper said one day last fall, in his production office in New Orleans, where the walls were covered with images of slave ships, plantation houses and African beads. “I’m not being modest here,” he said. “We have to make it better than the first ‘Roots.’ Otherwise, why bother?”
Kismet that the front page readsposted by beerperson at 4:35 AM on May 18, 2016 [2 favorites]
'We have to make it better than the first "Roots." Otherwise, why bother?'
...Which is something you can't do.
I don't know; it won't be easy to be sure, but it sounds like they put a lot of effort into it. I remember well when the first version came out and it did a lot to make people realize slavery was not as portrayed in "Gone with the Wind" or "Song of the South." I think it could be good to expose a new generation to this story.
posted by TedW at 5:15 AM on May 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
...Which is something you can't do.
I don't know; it won't be easy to be sure, but it sounds like they put a lot of effort into it. I remember well when the first version came out and it did a lot to make people realize slavery was not as portrayed in "Gone with the Wind" or "Song of the South." I think it could be good to expose a new generation to this story.
posted by TedW at 5:15 AM on May 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
I was far away and 14 when the book hit the news headlines. I remember being gripped by Kunta Kinte's story. This is most definitely worth sharing again.
posted by infini at 5:19 AM on May 18, 2016
posted by infini at 5:19 AM on May 18, 2016
I LOVE the original and I'm stoked about this.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 5:31 AM on May 18, 2016
posted by Dressed to Kill at 5:31 AM on May 18, 2016
'We have to make it better than the first "Roots." Otherwise, why bother?'
That is certainly true but I don't envy them the task.
posted by aclevername at 5:44 AM on May 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
That is certainly true but I don't envy them the task.
posted by aclevername at 5:44 AM on May 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
The first Roots was about as good as television could possibly be in 1977, but television has come a long way in terms of writing and production values over the last 40 years. I think they could make a real first-rate remake.
posted by briank at 5:50 AM on May 18, 2016 [18 favorites]
posted by briank at 5:50 AM on May 18, 2016 [18 favorites]
My mom gave me the book to read when I was in 4th or 5th grade, and then she sat me down and we watched Roots. It was one of those eye-opening, life changing things. Slavery was more than Meet Addy, more than The Skin I'm In and Amos Fortune, Free Man. Voracious reading and imagination can only get you so far in understanding the things people do to each other, and I still have nightmares about the scene where they throw people off the boat on the Middle Passage.
I have pretty much ultimate faith in LeVar Burton, and if he's saying this is a worthwhile project, then I believe him.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:52 AM on May 18, 2016 [26 favorites]
I have pretty much ultimate faith in LeVar Burton, and if he's saying this is a worthwhile project, then I believe him.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:52 AM on May 18, 2016 [26 favorites]
On the one hand, if you're trying to reach a younger generation, having it produced and aired on A&E, History and Lifetime is an odd choice.
On the other hand, at least it's not an NBC or Fox live performance.
posted by General Malaise at 6:08 AM on May 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
On the other hand, at least it's not an NBC or Fox live performance.
posted by General Malaise at 6:08 AM on May 18, 2016 [3 favorites]
No matter how good the new version is, it'll never be the national cultural event that the original was.
posted by octothorpe at 6:11 AM on May 18, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:11 AM on May 18, 2016 [6 favorites]
This is a good time to tell this story again. What I mostly remember from the first is that they seemed to have drafted every known black actor in Hollywood and how astonishing it was to see so many black faces at one time on the TV.
Given that Hollywood still has so few moments like that, this is worth doing if it's done well.
posted by emjaybee at 6:28 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Given that Hollywood still has so few moments like that, this is worth doing if it's done well.
posted by emjaybee at 6:28 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
No matter how good the new version is, it'll never be the national cultural event that the original was.
And that says depressing volumes about us as a nation in 2016.
posted by Kitteh at 6:37 AM on May 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
And that says depressing volumes about us as a nation in 2016.
posted by Kitteh at 6:37 AM on May 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
In the retelling, Kunta Kinte is played by one actor; in the original, John Amos played him as an adult.
That's something that was definitely a bit off in the original.
posted by Artw at 6:47 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's something that was definitely a bit off in the original.
posted by Artw at 6:47 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's worth reading MoJo's interview with LeVar Burton on the remake, on which he is serving as executive producer. This exchange between Burton and W. Kamau Bell was one of the highlights:
In my black circle, your name comes up a lot. You got us at Roots when we were little. Reading Rainbow, obviously. Star Trek—I don't know if this is the right way to say it, but you're like a black totem! So when I heard they were remaking Roots, my first thought was, "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" But when I read that LeVar Burton was one of the producers, I went, "Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"
LB: I had a similar reaction. I was at a screening at the Directors Guild of America for 12 Years a Slave. It was Russell Simmons who said to me, "You know they're remaking Roots?" I was incredulous, but he assured me it was true, and I was troubled. For obvious reasons, I'm really protective of what I believe to be an American classic. Less than 48 hours later, I got a call from executive producer Mark Wolper, the son of [original Roots executive producer] David Wolper. Mark explained that he had wanted to get to me and the other cast members before the news broke, but somebody jumped the gun. I asked him point-blank, "Mark, why?" He explained that he had attempted to show the original to his children, and the response was very lukewarm. They understood why Roots was important to him, but they didn't feel it had much relevance to them. Mark thought, "Wow! Perhaps we need to remake it with a different sensibility and with a different set of actors." Because part of the genius of David Wolper was that he cast all of America's TV dads as villains. Ed Asner, Chuck Connors, Lorne Greene, Robert Reed, Lloyd Bridges—they all played the villains, and it was a brilliant idea. But those names don't mean anything to this generation. I got it right away. I said, "How can I help?" And then immediately I went to the political: Look at what's going on in America today. Could the timing be more perfect? I don't think so.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:07 AM on May 18, 2016 [34 favorites]
In my black circle, your name comes up a lot. You got us at Roots when we were little. Reading Rainbow, obviously. Star Trek—I don't know if this is the right way to say it, but you're like a black totem! So when I heard they were remaking Roots, my first thought was, "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" But when I read that LeVar Burton was one of the producers, I went, "Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"
LB: I had a similar reaction. I was at a screening at the Directors Guild of America for 12 Years a Slave. It was Russell Simmons who said to me, "You know they're remaking Roots?" I was incredulous, but he assured me it was true, and I was troubled. For obvious reasons, I'm really protective of what I believe to be an American classic. Less than 48 hours later, I got a call from executive producer Mark Wolper, the son of [original Roots executive producer] David Wolper. Mark explained that he had wanted to get to me and the other cast members before the news broke, but somebody jumped the gun. I asked him point-blank, "Mark, why?" He explained that he had attempted to show the original to his children, and the response was very lukewarm. They understood why Roots was important to him, but they didn't feel it had much relevance to them. Mark thought, "Wow! Perhaps we need to remake it with a different sensibility and with a different set of actors." Because part of the genius of David Wolper was that he cast all of America's TV dads as villains. Ed Asner, Chuck Connors, Lorne Greene, Robert Reed, Lloyd Bridges—they all played the villains, and it was a brilliant idea. But those names don't mean anything to this generation. I got it right away. I said, "How can I help?" And then immediately I went to the political: Look at what's going on in America today. Could the timing be more perfect? I don't think so.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:07 AM on May 18, 2016 [34 favorites]
I read the book in 5th grade - I think I had taken it out of the school library because it was the longest book there was, and we were going on a family trip and I wanted something that would last me the whole trip, but I finished it in a few days despite myself. I'm sure I must have watched the miniseries along with the rest of the country, though I don't remember which I saw/read first.
I think I watched it again for the first time sometime in the past decade, and felt like there was way too much screen time spent on the white characters, in a very #notallwhitepeople way. I thought WGN's Underground series did a good job of having white characters in a slavery story without making it all about them, so I think that's something the reboot could improve on.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:20 AM on May 18, 2016
I think I watched it again for the first time sometime in the past decade, and felt like there was way too much screen time spent on the white characters, in a very #notallwhitepeople way. I thought WGN's Underground series did a good job of having white characters in a slavery story without making it all about them, so I think that's something the reboot could improve on.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:20 AM on May 18, 2016
I can't believe it took me this long to realize the commonality of the villains being beloved white TV dads. That was a stroke of genius.
posted by theatro at 8:02 AM on May 18, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by theatro at 8:02 AM on May 18, 2016 [16 favorites]
Kamau Bell really dropped the ball by leaving Burton's momentous work on how to Combat the Pervasive Menace of Corrosion out of his filmography.
posted by XMLicious at 8:15 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by XMLicious at 8:15 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
> No matter how good the new version is, it'll never be the national cultural event that the original was.
And that says depressing volumes about us as a nation in 2016.
I have one word for you: Hamilton.
posted by languagehat at 8:42 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
And that says depressing volumes about us as a nation in 2016.
I have one word for you: Hamilton.
posted by languagehat at 8:42 AM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have one word for you: Hamilton.
I've never once heard someone in real life talk about Hamilton. It's much more of a isolated niche phenomenon than Roots was. More than half the population of the US watched Roots in it's initial broadcast.
posted by octothorpe at 9:20 AM on May 18, 2016 [8 favorites]
I've never once heard someone in real life talk about Hamilton. It's much more of a isolated niche phenomenon than Roots was. More than half the population of the US watched Roots in it's initial broadcast.
posted by octothorpe at 9:20 AM on May 18, 2016 [8 favorites]
Sure. There were three networks. Nothing is ever going to match the cultural ubiquity of big event television before the audience fractured into a few hundred little cable demos.
posted by Naberius at 9:33 AM on May 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 9:33 AM on May 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
What if we finally made good on our promise to land on the moon?
posted by beerperson at 9:39 AM on May 18, 2016
posted by beerperson at 9:39 AM on May 18, 2016
I've never once heard someone in real life talk about Hamilton.
I said that before, but that's one of the quirks of the MF alternate universe. I've only seen mention of Hamilton in media and handful of times, much less hear a real life person talk about it. But on MF you'd think it was, I don't know, Roots or something.
Roots was huge. Everyone was either watching it, or not watching it, but everyone knew of it and talked about it.
posted by bongo_x at 10:24 AM on May 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
I said that before, but that's one of the quirks of the MF alternate universe. I've only seen mention of Hamilton in media and handful of times, much less hear a real life person talk about it. But on MF you'd think it was, I don't know, Roots or something.
Roots was huge. Everyone was either watching it, or not watching it, but everyone knew of it and talked about it.
posted by bongo_x at 10:24 AM on May 18, 2016 [5 favorites]
No matter how good the new version is, it'll never be the national cultural event that the original was.
And that says depressing volumes about us as a nation in 2016.
This is the result of the fracturing of "culture" as much as anything. We're not all watching the same 5 shows anymore. I think on the balance this has resulted in good things more than bad.
And: this will be ~huge~ in some scenes. Huge swaths of twitter will live-tweet it.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:05 AM on May 18, 2016
And that says depressing volumes about us as a nation in 2016.
This is the result of the fracturing of "culture" as much as anything. We're not all watching the same 5 shows anymore. I think on the balance this has resulted in good things more than bad.
And: this will be ~huge~ in some scenes. Huge swaths of twitter will live-tweet it.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:05 AM on May 18, 2016
> I've never once heard someone in real life talk about Hamilton.
Oh, OK. I stand corrected, and I obviously spend too much time here! You're certainly right about the ubiquity of Roots back in the day.
posted by languagehat at 1:26 PM on May 18, 2016
Oh, OK. I stand corrected, and I obviously spend too much time here! You're certainly right about the ubiquity of Roots back in the day.
posted by languagehat at 1:26 PM on May 18, 2016
Mind you, I love Hamilton and have listened to the soundtrack many times but I've never found anyone else IRL who who's even heard of it.
posted by octothorpe at 1:40 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 1:40 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Might just be you and me here in Pittsburgh, Octothorpe. If you ever see a bespectacled brunette looking much happier than the situation calls for about boarding the 71D Hamilton bus in Oakland, and she's kind of bouncing around like she might be singing the opening number in her head? That's me.
posted by Stacey at 3:35 PM on May 18, 2016
posted by Stacey at 3:35 PM on May 18, 2016
Because part of the genius of David Wolper was that he cast all of America's TV dads as villains. Ed Asner, Chuck Connors, Lorne Greene, Robert Reed, Lloyd Bridges—they all played the villains, and it was a brilliant idea.
Mind. Blown. I never thought of that before.
posted by crossoverman at 8:13 PM on May 18, 2016
Mind. Blown. I never thought of that before.
posted by crossoverman at 8:13 PM on May 18, 2016
And don't forget that Ralph Waite -- Daddy Walton -- played Slater the slaver.
posted by bryon at 10:50 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bryon at 10:50 PM on May 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
I had actually forgotten that, bryon! And he was possibly my favorite white TV dad of that era. Brilliant.
posted by theatro at 4:55 PM on May 21, 2016
posted by theatro at 4:55 PM on May 21, 2016
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