HOLLYWOOD Q&A

Q: There are two different films entitled “The Island” — one is an action film with Michael Caine that came out in 1980, while the other is a more recent sci-fi one that came out in 2005. But it’s always the sci-fi one I see in the television listings. Why is the Caine film seemingly never on TV anymore?

A: There are a couple of harsh realities that figure into your question. One is the harsh-for-filmmakers reality that you can’t copyright a title, and the other is the harsh-for-Michael Caine reality that he isn’t the bankable star he used to be.

Don’t get me wrong, Caine is still a huge name, but the popular idea of him today is not as a leading man. In some ways he’s a victim of his recent success — his role as Alfred in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, and similar supporting gigs in hits like “Inception” (2010) and “Now You See Me” (2013), mean he’s better known today as a wise guide than a death-defying charmer.

Meanwhile, the drawing power of the 2005 version’s stars has only grown since it was made. Scarlett Johansson in particular has become one of the biggest names in cinema today, and co-star Ewan McGregor isn’t far behind.

There’s also what we can call a contextual problem to deal with. Yes, the new “Island” is a dystopian-future sci-fi thing, but its plot seems almost plau-

sible compared to Caine’s movie about pirate conspiracies and brainwashing set in the Bermuda Triangle. That sort of story fit nicely into turn-ofthe-’80s cinema, but today it sounds a bit off the wall — they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

Q: Is it true they’re remaking “The Name of the Rose”? How on Earth could they improve on a classic like that?

A: In the eyes of a fan like yourself, they’re taking the only possible route to improving on the original film: they’re adding to it.

“The Name of the Rose” began life as a sprawling and complex novel by acclaimed author and professor Umberto Eco. But since you say “remaking,” I presume you’re referring to the 1986 film adaptation, featuring Sean Connery and a young Christian Slater.

The new adaptation, which is indeed being made as we speak, is a TV miniseries. That means that what it will add is a lot more of the backstory and religious-political subplotting that was dropped in order to turn a dense, 500page novel into a two-hour movie.

The scripts were reportedly supervised by Eco himself (prior to his death in 2016), which is further evidence this will stay truer to the book.