The CW’s The Lost Boys is a series that has been in various stages of development for some time now. An adaptation of the beloved 1987 film of the same name, there have been a number of attempts to bring the project to the television format by the network starting back in 2016, including a 2019 pilot filmed by Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke. While the network ultimately decided to move in a different direction, heading back to the drawing board for a new pilot, Hardwicke recently spoke with ComicBook.com about making her version and it was something that she described as a “fun challenge” — especially in terms of trying to reinvent the iconic film.
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“I thought the original film was just a blast, fun, stylish, radical, had so many memorable scenes that were very entertaining on so many levels,” Hardwicke said. “So, I was excited to work on that project to see how we could reinvent it for [2019]. So, that was kind of a fun challenge. How do you take something that’s this great cult classic, it had a fantastic cinematographer, production designer, costume designer, and all the scenes in there in the story, and the relationships were tricky and complicated and great. And Kiefer Sutherland was outrageous, to say the least, iconic, amazing.”
Hardwicke went on to explain that some of those challenges were a location change. The original film was shot in Santa Cruz, California and set in the summer — a far cry from the pilot filming in Vancouver, British Columbia in the winter.
“So, that was a great challenge, and I believe in the end when I was hired, they were already… It was like, ‘We’re shooting in something like three weeks or something.’ I’m like, “Okay, do we get to shoot in Santa Cruz?” They’re like, ‘No, we’re shooting in Vancouver in the winter.’ I’m like, ‘But it’s summer, and it’s on a boardwalk, and there’s no boardwalk or beach or anything like that that matches in Vancouver,’” she said.
Hardwicke went on to explain that some of those challenges are things she now sees as opportunities for the series to try to get closer to the original.
“So, there were unbelievable challenges to pull that off in Vancouver in winter. I mean, I’d be going location scouting, and it would be snow. I’d be in snow and be like, ‘It’s a whiteout. I can’t even see the location, and we’re doing Lost Boys. Yay,’” she said. “So, I think there were definitely a few things that… I think it would be great if they sort of do a quick reconceive and figure out a way to get it maybe a little closer to the original, but in a new way.”
And that appears to be something that The CW is attempting to do. Gerard “G Tom Mac” McMahon, a musician who was attached to write and arrange songs for the series, explained earlier this year that while the show is a reimagining, they’re trying to maintain the essence of the original film.
“I’m sure it’s gonna be torn down by the hardcore fans; there’s just no way that this show can win,” Mac explained. “But it wasn’t designed for the hardcore fans. It was basically trying to keep the essence of what the film projected … It’s a reimagining and it’s an adaptation of the film because all the characters are in place.”
“Cast-wise, it’s more diversified in coordination with the times, as it should be,” Mac added. “It’s a little bit more female-driven in its way.”
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