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f100mask (1).jpg

Ripe For A Remake: 1985's 'Mask'

By Jodi Smith | Miscellaneous | April 15, 2014 |

By Jodi Smith | Miscellaneous | April 15, 2014 |


The Original Plot: Roy L. “Rocky” Dennis (Eric Stoltz) is a young man living with his wild yet protective mother, Florence “Rusty” Dennis (Cher), and dealing with his facial deformity. Rocky was born with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, a rare disease that causes calcium buildup in the bones,distorting the sufferers skull.

Rocky is accepted by his mom’s biker boyfriend, Gar (Sam Elliott), and the rest of their biker gang friends. However, other people aren’t as accepting of Rocky. Rusty has to fight with the local school district to allow Rocky to attend junior high with other children, as the principal wants to classify him as mentally retarded and place him in special classes. Rocky does attend the school and goes on to make friends, tutor other children, and earn academic awards. He also meets Diana Adams (Laura Dern), a blind girl at a summer camp where Rocky works as a counselor’s aide.

The end of the movie SPOILER ends with Rocky’s death and the meltdown of his mother upon losing him. END SPOILER.

Mask is based on a true story and earned Cher and Stoltz Golden Globe nominations.

The New Plot:It stays the same. You hear that, Hollywood? IT STAYS THE SAME.

The New Cast:
Roy L. “Rocky” Dennis: Nicholas Hoult
Florence “Rusty” Dennis: Charlize Theron
Gar: Joel Edgerton
Diane Adams: Brie Larson
Dozer: Ron Perlman
Evelyn Tullis (Rusty’s mother): Susan Sarandon
Abe Tullis (Rusty’s father): Ed Harris
Ben: Logan Lerman

We know that Hoult can emote under layers of makeup, be it zombie or Beast, and that Theron can embody the hard-living, motorcycle gang-loving Rusty. Edgerton and Perlman can easily pull off the tough-looking bikers that want to protect and include Rocky in their family. Larson can pull of the sweetness of Diane while still showing the dramatic side of young love. Sarandon and Harris can do whatever the holy hell they want.

On top of that cast, CGI and practical makeup innovations can create Rocky’s face just as well as the 1985 film did. Perhaps they can even do it better, though we would wish for a director that knows when to pull back from CGI and go with practical effects. I would say that several members of the cast could put in an Oscar-worthy performance with such material, especially since it is based on a true story.

Watch the original trailer from 1985 and let me know what you think of my new cast in the comments, as well as any ideas you might have for a director.