Dambusters' dog to be renamed digger in remake of film

[Gromit]

// The Dambusters dog N***r will be renamed Digger for a modern remake of the iconic film to avoid offending American viewers, it has emerged.

Script writer Stephen Fry, 53, has confirmed that pilot Guy Gibson's faithful black Labrador will be renamed for the forthcoming Peter Jackson movie. //

http://www.dailymail....offend-Americans.html

Is this messing about with history?
A fair concession if it gets the film made?
Should they be remaking 'the Dambusters' at all?

[emmie]

pandering, and insulting as per usual. But why remake the film in the first place, wasn't the original enough, i would have thought so.

[Gromit]

Isn't Digger a derogitory term for an Australian - won't they be offended?

[R1Geezer]

1. not in itself, it's a dogs name, although they probably will mess about with the story so it looks like the yanks did it.
2. It would be but I don;t think it needs remaking, generally remakes are much worse, leave it well alone
3. See 2.

[Sqad]

The American's made a film depicting the sinking of a German U boat and retrieving the Enigma machine which the Germans used extensively for their U.Boat fleet, which eventually was taken to Bletchley Park and the code broken. at the time there were outcries of defiance but the film went ahead and i personally thought that it was excellent.

Yes, the film was released in 1954 and was in black and white and the dog used was an army dog trained in mine defection and oddly enough he refused to go past N.igger's grave at Scampton

May 26th 1943 617 Squadron of Avro Lancasters left Scampton to bomb the dams of the Ruhr valley...brave and devoted men.

This film must be updated to modern technology as a tribute to these brave men

[LeMarchand]

Simple solution: Get Quentin Tarantino to direct it - he seems to get away with the "n" word in his movies...

[ABerrant]

The Dam Busters bombing raid (Operation Chastise) commenced 16th May 1943.
The film premiered in London on the 12th anniversary, i.e. 16th May 1955.

[Sqad]

ABerant...thanks ...I stand corrected 16th if May it was.NOT 26th May.

[Zeuhl]

<<The American's made a film depicting the sinking of a German U boat and retrieving the Enigma machine which the Germans used extensively for their U.Boat fleet, which eventually was taken to Bletchley Park and the code broken. at the time there were outcries of defiance but the film went ahead and i personally thought that it was excellent. >>

As the actual incident involved a Royal Navy ship grabbing the vital Enigma machine I can understand the 'outcries'.

Personally I think 'truth' is important in entertainment that purports to be factual. If a generation of Americans grow up thinking they 'did everything' it may have a significant (and unwelcome) effect on the US national psyche.

e.g. how much american gung ho in recent years was based on a belief that the real life eqivalent of the Mission Impossible Team were waiting in the wings to take care of everything. Not so easy when you realise its still largely down to some poor sod with a rifle sweating it out in a back alley somewhere.
.

[emmie]

Don't let Americans make films seems to be a good idea, they came up with American Pie, 1,2, and so on, Police Academy 1,2 3, and so on. Endless rubbish, and everytime i see an american film that is a remake, of a British, French, or Japanese film they usually make a rollocks of it.
As to the Dambusters, leave well alone, i'm sure Peter Jackson has got enough on his plate.

[jno]

Jackson's remake of King Kong was tiresome. His remake of LOTR was unutterably brilliant. Next time, who knows?

[R1Geezer]

was that a remake jno, I mean there had only been a partially done cartoon prior to that as far as I can tell.

[emmie]

who said he was, i didn't, i just said that americans usually do crappy remakes of good films.

[Gromit]

Will the film be renamed the Goddam Busters for the Americans?

[emmie]

well said Gromit,
lets see the Americans do a Wallace and Gromit film, perhaps they would call it, Wallace and Edward the true story of a man and his dog.

[sp1814]

Gromit

There's a very simple solution to this - have the dog in the film, but don't refer to it by name.

"Here boy", "Go get the rabbit boy"...etc.

I don't know the full story of the Dambusters, but surely the dog wasn't a key element of the tale?

[jno]

the cartoon's the only one I know of, Geezer. It was done at the height of LOTR's fame, but it wasn't very good so no harm in trying again.

Some remakes work fine. The Maltese Falcon was the third attempt.

[emmie]

In some ways he was, as many people who have dogs can testify, a special sort of bond. wasn't there a scene where the dog is waiting for his master after he comes from a bombing raid, though its a while since i saw it. Must admit i don;t watch too many war films these days.

[Zeuhl]

In the film, doesn't Gibson get back to find that his dog has been run over?

I don't mind about the dog being in the film, but who plays the lead?