The latest trend in Hollywood seems to be remaking classic films. Over the past year (or two), Hollywood has greenlit remakes of “Vertigo,” “High & Low,” “The Conversation,” “Night of the Hunter,” “Possession,” “Wages of Fear,” “Wizard of Oz,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “Naked Gun” and “Body Heat.” It’s only a matter of time before “Citizen Kane” is announced next. .
The latest victim is Elia Kazan's "East of Eden," starring James Dean, which Netflix will be turning into a limited series. I’m not as enamored by the 1955 film as others might be, which was very much a product of its time, much like “Rebel Without A Cause,” but is still very much part of Dean’s iconic standing.
Sources are telling Deadline that Christopher Abbott is in talks to play Dean’s role, Adam Trask, and Florence Pugh will play antiheroine Cathy Ames, portrayed by Jo Van Fleet in the 1955 film. Zoe Kazan has put a feminist twist to John Steinbeck’s novel by deciding to center her Netflix series around Pugh’s Cathy instead of Adam.
Kazan, who is Elia's granddaughter, is writing the script. The original film was Dean's first major screen role, and it was driven by his on-screen charisma. No matter how talented an actor Abbott might be, and I like him quite a bit, it's practically impossible to replicate the lightning in a bottle moment that represented Dean's casting in 'Eden.'