Plenty of Remakes Coming for AIP Classics

The name “American International Pictures” may not have the prestige that it once held, but their films have certainly been ingrained into cinema pop-culture history.

In the 1950s the company was the king of drive-in movie spectacles.  Teens flocked to the outdoor cinemas to see movies like:  Viking Women & The Sea Serpent, The Brain Eaters, She-Creature, Teenage Caveman, Runaway Daughters, The Undead, War of The Colossal Beast, Cool & The Crazy and Day The World Ended.  These were the kind of movies that were a classic staple of the 1950s. While they were a product of the times they later became a defining element of the state of cinema in that period.

Now these films are on their way to becoming modern day remakes.  Jeff Katz, Lou Arkoff, and Hal Sadoff are teaming up to remake the films listed above and plan to shoot them all back to back this fall.  Deadline has this quote from Arkoff about their plans to remake the films:

The AIP spirit was all about innovation and giving new young talent a place to create. We are now using that independent spirit and our library of classic titles to create something brand-new for the modern media model, with a coordinated social effort to accelerate interest in these properties. Our goal is to engage young audiences and drive the spirit of the times with the same excitement that fueled these titles decades ago.

Each of the men involved in the project brings along with them a great deal of experience.  Lou Arkoff is the son of Samuel Arkoff who originally founded AIP in 1954.  Jeff Katz is a writer/producer who has worked on such films as Freddy vs Jason and Snakes on a Plane.  Hal Sadoff is the former head of ICM’s Indie Film Department and will take charge of selling these movies.

What do you think?  Would you like to see remakes of classic B-movies?  Let us know in the comments.