Norman Reedus has been AMC’s favorite son for a long time now, going back to before Andrew Lincoln’s departure from The Walking Dead made Reedus the de facto star of the biggest show that nobody will admit to still watching. Now, in case you needed more proof that AMC will do whatever it takes to make Norman Reedus happy (more proof on top of the fact that it already gave him a show that’s just about riding motorcycles around, that is), Deadline is reporting that AMC Studios is letting Reedus and his production company Bigbaldhead make a TV version of cult-classic Russ Meyer movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
The project has the “full backing” of the Meyer estate, and though it’s “still in the early stages,” the plan is to “go beyond” the original and focus on the stuff that people grew to like about the film rather than the stuff it’s literally about. In other words, Reedus and AMC plan to focus on “the strong female characters” and the “overturning of cultural norms” rather than just the go-go dancers killing and robbing people in the desert—though that stuff will presumably still be there, because god damn, the people want to see women going on a rampage. If you want to take a somewhat cynical and reductive approach, it sounds like Reedus and AMC might hoping to put a little prestige TV flourish on the old exploitation movie. Sort of like Breaking Bad meets… Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, but that might just be because of the whole desert aesthetic.
In a statement, Reedus said that he’s been a fan of the original Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! since he was a kid and that he would wear a Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! shirt to school (which sounds extremely on-brand for kid Norman Reedus). He also says he was “beyond inspired” by Meyer’s “style of filmmaking” and that he’s “over the moon excited” to tell this story. There’s no mention of Reedus possibly appearing in the show, but seeing as how he’s a man, there might not be too many big roles for him.
17 Comments
Something people always seem to forget about this movie is that the “strong female characters” are the VILLAINS. Yeah, they’re also more or less the protagonists in the story’s structure, but our sympathy is clearly meant to be with the innocent girl who gets dragged into their scheme when they murder her boyfriend and kidnap her, and is just trying to survive. And it actually is a surprisingly compelling movie for something that’s so clearly meant to just be a cheap kinky ride.
Something people always seem to forget about this movie is that the “strong female characters” are the VILLAINS.
Don’t forget that AMC’s most famous franchise after The Walking Dead is Breaking Bad. The network is an ideal environment for villainous protagonists.
So what?
When those villains are played by the likes of Tura Satana and Haji it’s only….ahem…fitting that their characters are the ones that the audience pays attention to.FPKK is the prototype anti-hero B-Movie, while I like Reedus as an actor I don’t see any reason to remake this, especially since neither Satana or Haji are available anymore and are essentially irreplaceable.
I’m guessing little Norman wore it to school everyday without ever washing it
His hair looks like it’s not washed regularly as well.
FASTER!
You want to go…faster!?
Raise your hands if you want to go….faster!
RIP Brittany Murphy:(Just because I could!)
They all better have big bazoombas and one better speak with a fake Italian accent or no sale.
I hope it does well so we can get a Mudhoney reboot.
Why? Just make the original films more readily available. currently I don’t believe that the Meyer estate has made his catalogue officially available for streaming.
I really don’t get what the Meyer estate is doing. For a long time they only wanted to let you buy super-expensive DVDs of his films and I did not agree with but understood that, but AFAIK they haven’t released any blu-rays, digital downloadable/rentable versions, or put them on any streaming service, and I don’t know if they even sell the DVDs anymore. I downloaded torrents of most of them years ago, but would gladly purchase some nice HD versions, and its a bummer that they are just disappearing from the cultural memory as they become inaccessible to new viewers.
Little known fact : Yoda was a fan of the movie.
*White Zombie guitar riff*
Turning FPKK into a good series would be challenging. I hope Norman Reedus has some talented friends, because all he brings to this project is enthusiasm.