What do you think?
Rate this book
Remake
Winner of more Hugo and Nebula Awards than any other science fiction author, Connie Willis is one of the most powerfully imaginative writers of our time. In Remake, she explores the timeless themes of emotion and technology, reality and illusion, and the bittersweet place where they intersect to make art.
Remake
It's the Hollywood of the future, where moviemaking's been computerized and live-action films are a thing of the past. It's a Hollywood where Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe are starring together in A Star Is Born, and if you don't like the ending, you can change it with the stroke of a key.
A Hollywood of warmbodies and sim-sex, of drugs and special effects, where anything is possible. Except for what one starry-eyed young woman wants to dance in the movies. It's an impossible dream, but Alis is not willing to give up. With a little magic and a lot of luck, she just might get her happy ending after all.
Remake
It's the Hollywood of the future, where moviemaking's been computerized and live-action films are a thing of the past. It's a Hollywood where Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe are starring together in A Star Is Born, and if you don't like the ending, you can change it with the stroke of a key.
A Hollywood of warmbodies and sim-sex, of drugs and special effects, where anything is possible. Except for what one starry-eyed young woman wants to dance in the movies. It's an impossible dream, but Alis is not willing to give up. With a little magic and a lot of luck, she just might get her happy ending after all.
140 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1994
About the author
Connie Willis
254 books4,476 followersConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
January 18, 2015
I adore Connie Willis and I have trawled through her major and popular works with absolute glee. Now I'm left with the leftovers. The three-starers. And while it does hurt to say that a little, it is great to recognise that even those you worship have their no-so-greats. But it's also promising that the worst I have read from Connie is still three-star worthy.
'Remake' is set in the near future where Hollywood has gone so far up it's own ass that it is not making any new material at all. Well not live action anyway. Computer graphics have gotten to the level where they can mimic any actor, and can replace any actor and alter any footage in a pre-existing movie. So what you get is constant remake after remake, gritty reboots starring John Wayne, rom-coms starring actors and actresses in their primes when they could have at least been grandparent/grandchild.
In this world we follow the main character, unnamed throughout. He works altering footage for the studios; freelance by inserting executives lovers into old footage, and officially deleting alcohol from old movies. Yes, they have gone that far. Our main character meets a mysterious and different young lady at a schmoozing event. One that hasn't had surgery took look just like Marilyn. She tells him of her dreams to dance in old school musicals. But no musical has been made or remade for years. But just as quick as she comes into the scene, she disappears. Until the main character spots her face again in the line of his work.
What you get is a bit like a Philip K. Dick, in that the mysterious female drives the main man crazy and she is always elusive and mysterious. But this is Connie Willis, so you get better characterisation than Dick. But for a Willis, you do draw the short straw. I did find that I did not sympathise much with the main character. He was a bit of a douche. So that does detract from your enjoyment somewhat.
There are still typical Connie Willis-isms here, with a bit of dramatic tension and a nerd-like obsession for details. Connie really does know how to write the nerd. But it is pretty light on her strengths; humour, characters that you fall in love with and dramatic tension. Maybe a person more familiar with Hollywood output from 1930-1950 would appreciate this a bit more, but still, it's no 'Doomsday Book' or 'To Say Nothing of the Dog'.
'Remake' is set in the near future where Hollywood has gone so far up it's own ass that it is not making any new material at all. Well not live action anyway. Computer graphics have gotten to the level where they can mimic any actor, and can replace any actor and alter any footage in a pre-existing movie. So what you get is constant remake after remake, gritty reboots starring John Wayne, rom-coms starring actors and actresses in their primes when they could have at least been grandparent/grandchild.
In this world we follow the main character, unnamed throughout. He works altering footage for the studios; freelance by inserting executives lovers into old footage, and officially deleting alcohol from old movies. Yes, they have gone that far. Our main character meets a mysterious and different young lady at a schmoozing event. One that hasn't had surgery took look just like Marilyn. She tells him of her dreams to dance in old school musicals. But no musical has been made or remade for years. But just as quick as she comes into the scene, she disappears. Until the main character spots her face again in the line of his work.
What you get is a bit like a Philip K. Dick, in that the mysterious female drives the main man crazy and she is always elusive and mysterious. But this is Connie Willis, so you get better characterisation than Dick. But for a Willis, you do draw the short straw. I did find that I did not sympathise much with the main character. He was a bit of a douche. So that does detract from your enjoyment somewhat.
There are still typical Connie Willis-isms here, with a bit of dramatic tension and a nerd-like obsession for details. Connie really does know how to write the nerd. But it is pretty light on her strengths; humour, characters that you fall in love with and dramatic tension. Maybe a person more familiar with Hollywood output from 1930-1950 would appreciate this a bit more, but still, it's no 'Doomsday Book' or 'To Say Nothing of the Dog'.
May 19, 2014
Most of the time, I love Connie Willis' books. Sometimes, though, they just never take flight. This was, unfortunately, one of the latter. It's not bad, there just wasn't enough meat there to sink my teeth into, and lacked that sense of either madcap frenzy or unbearable tension that some of her other works have had.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
April 28, 2019
Like old movies?
You will like this
A Hollywood of drugs and special effects, where computer animation and sampling have reduced the movie industry to software manipulation. Except for what one starry-eyed young woman wants to do: dance in the movies. It's an impossible dream, but Alis is not willing to give up. With a little magic and a lot of luck, she just might get her happy ending after all.
Movie aficionados' delight.
Enjoy!
You will like this
A Hollywood of drugs and special effects, where computer animation and sampling have reduced the movie industry to software manipulation. Except for what one starry-eyed young woman wants to do: dance in the movies. It's an impossible dream, but Alis is not willing to give up. With a little magic and a lot of luck, she just might get her happy ending after all.
Movie aficionados' delight.
Enjoy!
April 9, 2021
A story about people living in an era of deepfakes and remixes where anyone can take a movie star from the past and put them in a new film, or you can add your face to a character and become the star of any film. One girl is obsessed with old Hollywood musicals, performing in front of her video camera trying to perfectly imitate the dancers onscreen.
I can’t say more without spoiling it, but suffice to say that Willis was prescient about our current world where we can substitute anyone’s face onto anyone else’s body, plus adding a generated voice. Deepfakes: https://youtu.be/xkqflKC64IM Synthesized voices: https://youtu.be/VQgYPv8tb6A
People on social media imitating dances from movies, videos and cartoons is also a thing these days, another aspect Willis got right. One of the best I’ve seen is Québécois dancer Enola Bedard: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CLcy-H...
Just for fun, Willis also has a version of the Hyperloop that Elon Musk is always talking about.
Many people consider this a lesser work by Willis, but I was always impressed by it. From the perspective of 25 years after its publication, this novella is even more amazing to me.
I can’t say more without spoiling it, but suffice to say that Willis was prescient about our current world where we can substitute anyone’s face onto anyone else’s body, plus adding a generated voice. Deepfakes: https://youtu.be/xkqflKC64IM Synthesized voices: https://youtu.be/VQgYPv8tb6A
People on social media imitating dances from movies, videos and cartoons is also a thing these days, another aspect Willis got right. One of the best I’ve seen is Québécois dancer Enola Bedard: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CLcy-H...
Just for fun, Willis also has a version of the Hyperloop that Elon Musk is always talking about.
Many people consider this a lesser work by Willis, but I was always impressed by it. From the perspective of 25 years after its publication, this novella is even more amazing to me.
November 18, 2019
Fun fact: it took me so long to get around to reading this particular novel that it ceased to be about the future and became the present.
Rather sad, but not tragic. It's clear how much Willis loves old movies. Got to watch me a whole slew of musicals, and I thought I'd kick things off with Holiday Inn.
Library copy
Rather sad, but not tragic. It's clear how much Willis loves old movies. Got to watch me a whole slew of musicals, and I thought I'd kick things off with Holiday Inn.
Library copy
November 14, 2015
A cliché of clichés is still cliché.
November 17, 2019
When I heard about James Dean being "reborn" using CGI in a new film, I immediately thought of this book. It's not a popular Connie Willis book, and I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could, because for all the subject matter is not lighthearted--it's set in a future where all films are just remakes of earlier films starring famous dead actors--it feels very light. It's short, too--it took me a little over an hour to read it. But Willis comes off as eerily prescient nowadays, when Peter Cushing can reprise a role after his death and, as noted, James Dean can play what the directors of the film are calling a secondary lead.
I like the use of classic films throughout, as the main character, Tom, struggles between his innate selfishness and his attraction to the idealistic young dancer Alis, who only wants to dance in the movies despite the musical having died a painful death in the 1960s. It's unfortunate that it's such a slight story, because there's some interesting commentary here on the nature of Hollywood and acting and even love. It's an enjoyable story, for all it suffers by comparison to some of Willis's other, powerful books. And maybe that's an unfair comparison, but there you go.
My rating earns that other half-star because the one truly magnificent thing to come out of this book is Willis's happy ending (or rather epilogue) to Casablanca, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. Her solution keeps the heartrending but perfect ending to the movie while delivering a coda that is even more powerful.
I like the use of classic films throughout, as the main character, Tom, struggles between his innate selfishness and his attraction to the idealistic young dancer Alis, who only wants to dance in the movies despite the musical having died a painful death in the 1960s. It's unfortunate that it's such a slight story, because there's some interesting commentary here on the nature of Hollywood and acting and even love. It's an enjoyable story, for all it suffers by comparison to some of Willis's other, powerful books. And maybe that's an unfair comparison, but there you go.
My rating earns that other half-star because the one truly magnificent thing to come out of this book is Willis's happy ending (or rather epilogue) to Casablanca, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. Her solution keeps the heartrending but perfect ending to the movie while delivering a coda that is even more powerful.
January 6, 2019
A wonderful, wistful look back at Hollywood, with a disenchanted and bitter drunk who rediscovers his passions through the determination and zeal of a film student and dancer. I really loved everything about it.
February 9, 2018
This is my favorite Connie Willis book, though I'm sure I'm almost alone in that opinion. I felt that she hit the points she was trying to make flawlessly throughout, I enjoyed the characters and the situations and the pace, and there was a perfect balance of pathos and humor. And I love old movies and think they should be left as they were originally intended.
July 24, 2017
Storyline: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 5/5
Wow. I read for experiences like this.
Don't go looking for a summary or review. This is one of those that is best encountered without prior knowledge. If you're one of those that absolutely needs some sort of preview, accept this: .
What makes this work so amazing is its totality. Everything fit; everything was used. The details illuminate the world, the world is filled with the appropriate characters, the characters operate according to the established norms, those norms establish the dystopia, the dystopia requires the satire, and the satire never subverts the credibility of it all. Willis made this world possible, these characters possible, and this story possible. She was always ready with the right information to make it function as it should. Above all is a sense of showmanship where the reader is clued to the fact that Willis spent working weeks - working months, even - getting the background, details, and presentation just right. What we readers get are the final products of repeated distillation, delivered for our easy and pleasureful consumption. One cannot help but feel privileged, though, at being the recipient of a work so laboriously refined.
It is also a book that forces me to distinguish between liking and impressing. I do not like this style of writing, I did not like the created world , I did not like the main character, I did not like the saturation of trivia, and I do not like novellas. When I say "like" in this sense, I mean "an affinity for" or "a pleasure in the familiar and similar." I wouldn't normally elect to read in this genre, I wouldn't want to live in this world, I wouldn't associate with these people, I don't appreciate the trivia, and I always want both breath and depth. That the book could still impress me so is all the more remarkable then. It was internally coherent, and I can put aside my preferences when I encounter something so engaging. I read with a real wonder as to what would happen next. I have to make use of the cliché, "sitting on the edge of my seat," because I was trapped in anticipation. I was dazzled by the spectacle and wowed when it finished. This was not a text but an experience.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 5/5
Wow. I read for experiences like this.
Don't go looking for a summary or review. This is one of those that is best encountered without prior knowledge. If you're one of those that absolutely needs some sort of preview, accept this: .
What makes this work so amazing is its totality. Everything fit; everything was used. The details illuminate the world, the world is filled with the appropriate characters, the characters operate according to the established norms, those norms establish the dystopia, the dystopia requires the satire, and the satire never subverts the credibility of it all. Willis made this world possible, these characters possible, and this story possible. She was always ready with the right information to make it function as it should. Above all is a sense of showmanship where the reader is clued to the fact that Willis spent working weeks - working months, even - getting the background, details, and presentation just right. What we readers get are the final products of repeated distillation, delivered for our easy and pleasureful consumption. One cannot help but feel privileged, though, at being the recipient of a work so laboriously refined.
It is also a book that forces me to distinguish between liking and impressing. I do not like this style of writing, I did not like the created world , I did not like the main character, I did not like the saturation of trivia, and I do not like novellas. When I say "like" in this sense, I mean "an affinity for" or "a pleasure in the familiar and similar." I wouldn't normally elect to read in this genre, I wouldn't want to live in this world, I wouldn't associate with these people, I don't appreciate the trivia, and I always want both breath and depth. That the book could still impress me so is all the more remarkable then. It was internally coherent, and I can put aside my preferences when I encounter something so engaging. I read with a real wonder as to what would happen next. I have to make use of the cliché, "sitting on the edge of my seat," because I was trapped in anticipation. I was dazzled by the spectacle and wowed when it finished. This was not a text but an experience.
September 8, 2012
My judgments of Connie Willis books are always a little unfair. Of her works, I read Doomsday Book first and loved it, and I come to every new read hoping it will be just as good as that masterwork. And some of them are: Blackout, All Clear, To Say Nothing of the Dog... I tend to like the books in that same time-travel universe established in Doomsday Book, while the more self-contained novels that satirize an industry or a genre - Uncharted Territory, Bellwether, and yes, Remake - I don't tend to connect with.
There's just nothing terrifically incisive in Remake's take on Hollywood. Perhaps it would have been more cutting-edge back in 1995, before Fred Astaire had danced with a vacuum cleaner in a commercial, but even then, I suspect, the observations that there are execs using their power to get sex and actresses using sex to try to get power - and that there are drugs everywhere - would not have been particularly fresh. It's all a bit old hat.
That said, Remake is certainly well-written. The characters are well-drawn and engaging, and the overall mystery - if that's the word - intriguing. I'd recommend this to Willis fans before I'd recommend Bellwether. I'm not going to read it again, but I'm not sorry it I read it. I am sorry I didn't read it in one sitting: it's short enough for that, and it would have made the mystery easier to follow and the big reveal stronger. If you read it, read it in one go.
Movie buffs are going to get the most out of Remake. The movie references come fast and furious, and the more you get, the more you'll enjoy the book.
There's just nothing terrifically incisive in Remake's take on Hollywood. Perhaps it would have been more cutting-edge back in 1995, before Fred Astaire had danced with a vacuum cleaner in a commercial, but even then, I suspect, the observations that there are execs using their power to get sex and actresses using sex to try to get power - and that there are drugs everywhere - would not have been particularly fresh. It's all a bit old hat.
That said, Remake is certainly well-written. The characters are well-drawn and engaging, and the overall mystery - if that's the word - intriguing. I'd recommend this to Willis fans before I'd recommend Bellwether. I'm not going to read it again, but I'm not sorry it I read it. I am sorry I didn't read it in one sitting: it's short enough for that, and it would have made the mystery easier to follow and the big reveal stronger. If you read it, read it in one go.
Movie buffs are going to get the most out of Remake. The movie references come fast and furious, and the more you get, the more you'll enjoy the book.
February 19, 2013
An easy read, and follows the themes which I find common with Connie Willis - some (a little) romance, time travel, disjointed experiences...someone commented that she has a terrible editor. I suppose I can see a little of that, but in any case it got me through four days of tube journeys (and nearly got me run over by a bus). Cautionary note to readers, it pays to look up from a book while crossing the street. I'd be a little disappointed however if it was this book that finally led to my demise; I'd rather be clutching something meaty like Deadhouse Gates, or joyful like any of the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher, or something which shows my deep intellectual bent, like Steppenwolf, in my dirty little paws. Judge me not, ye ambulance carriers!
March 4, 2011
Hilarious because Willis was so clearly writing in the Made Up Words And Drugs Of The FUTURE! trend that happened in the 1990s, and I don't find that to be her strongest voice. Made up future-drugs are kind of a thing in cyberpunk, and this is a shot at cyberpunk that doesn't care about cyberpunk in the least. It cares about movies - or popular things, copyright - and time-travel, which is basically Willis through and through.
The themes of copyfighting are amazing, though; the plot hinges on Frank Sinatra being in or out of a massive copyright litigation. It's about copyright, censorship, and making Real Things as versus re-making things once real; that part is very well done. It's a pity the whole thesis was clad in 1990's coolspeak, because some elements of this are so brilliant.
The themes of copyfighting are amazing, though; the plot hinges on Frank Sinatra being in or out of a massive copyright litigation. It's about copyright, censorship, and making Real Things as versus re-making things once real; that part is very well done. It's a pity the whole thesis was clad in 1990's coolspeak, because some elements of this are so brilliant.
March 8, 2016
Another brilliant Connie Willis book! In Remake she displays yet again the humor, inventiveness, and great plot-writing that make her one of my favorite authors. I love her cynical view of the future of Hollywood and the movie industry, where anything is possible: Marylin Monroe can play in Pretty Woman, Fred Astaire is in copyright litigation (so is Russ Tamblyn, to prevent his image to be used in snuff porn movies...) and the reluctant hero's job is to de-booze the movies and make them “addictive substance-free” (he has a really hard time with The Philadelphia Story -one of my favorite movies ever). A great read which leaves you wanting to go out and rent lots of old movies and every musical ever made!
March 8, 2016
Another brilliant Connie Willis book! In Remake she displays yet again the humor, inventiveness, and great plot-writing that make her one of my favorite authors.
I love her cynical view of the future of Hollywood and the movie industry, where anything is possible : Marylin Monroe can play in Pretty Woman, Fred Astaire is in copyright litigation (so is Russ Tamblyn, to prevent his image to be used in snuff porn movies...) and the reluctant hero's job is to de-booze the movies and make them “addictive substance-free” (he has a really hard time with The Philadelphia Story -one of my favorite movies ever).
A great read which leaves you wanting to watch lots of old movies and every musical ever made!
I love her cynical view of the future of Hollywood and the movie industry, where anything is possible : Marylin Monroe can play in Pretty Woman, Fred Astaire is in copyright litigation (so is Russ Tamblyn, to prevent his image to be used in snuff porn movies...) and the reluctant hero's job is to de-booze the movies and make them “addictive substance-free” (he has a really hard time with The Philadelphia Story -one of my favorite movies ever).
A great read which leaves you wanting to watch lots of old movies and every musical ever made!
April 20, 2012
En el Hollywood de un futuro próximo ya no se hacen películas nuevas y todos los actores están generados por ordenador... Sí, igualito que ahora, ¿verdad? XD
Novela corta ágil de leer y que merece la pena leer, sobre todo si os gusta el cine.
Se debe tener en cuenta que el libro fue escrito en el año 1995 así que todas las referencias de películas son anteriores a esa fecha.
Me ha gustado el mundo que ha construido la autora y después de la decepción de "Territorio inexplirado" me animaré a coger alguna cosa más suya.
Original y muy recomendable.
Novela corta ágil de leer y que merece la pena leer, sobre todo si os gusta el cine.
Se debe tener en cuenta que el libro fue escrito en el año 1995 así que todas las referencias de películas son anteriores a esa fecha.
Me ha gustado el mundo que ha construido la autora y después de la decepción de "Territorio inexplirado" me animaré a coger alguna cosa más suya.
Original y muy recomendable.
July 9, 2010
I once heard on NPR that there are plenty of examples of male novelists who write good women characters, but no examples of female novelists who write good male characters. Well, I think that Connie Willis does a pretty good job on her male characters. Willis is also the master of the bittersweet ending, which this book has. Although I like her books, I think that I might have to put off reading the next one because it is bound to be sad like all the rest.
January 3, 2016
Wavering between 3 and 4 stars on this one. Entertaining but a bit of a pop culture wank. Well put together, but not wildly wonderful. More on the blog later...
February 15, 2020
Imagine a future with no live action movies. Instead, Hollywood studios, using computer technology, remake old classics inserting famous actors from other movies (e.g., Marilyn Monroe starring in Pretty Woman, Fred Astaire starring in Star Wars, etc.). Then, put into this setting a young woman who loves old dancing films -- in particular those featuring Fred Astaire -- who longs to dance in the movies. I liked the premise, but while I love much of what Connie Willis writes, this didn’t work so well for me.
My primary problem was with the main character. He's enrolled in film school (although skips all classes) to do part-time jobs for the studios. During much of the story he's charged with wiping out alcohol and drugs from old movies, and spends most of the story drunk and high. He becomes captivated by Alis (the woman who longs to dance in the movies). I never found him particularly likeable or interesting, and Alis was a bit of a cypher.
The timeframe also didn't work for me. Set in the “near future” (this was originally published in 1996), I realized that Alis (the woman who longs to dance in the movies) was born “the year Fred Astaire died,” which was 1987, meaning this story is actually about 10 years in the past at least. Definitely not the author's fault, but all of the movies and actors mentioned in the book are pre-1996, so it ends up feeling a bit dated. I probably would've liked it a bit better set much further in the future (which could've been accoplished without the mention of Alis being born the year Fred Astaire died) and with only the movies of the 30s and 40s mentioned.
So, will intriguing, a bit of a miss for me. I'll give it . C-, and round up to three stars, because I didn't hate it.
My primary problem was with the main character. He's enrolled in film school (although skips all classes) to do part-time jobs for the studios. During much of the story he's charged with wiping out alcohol and drugs from old movies, and spends most of the story drunk and high. He becomes captivated by Alis (the woman who longs to dance in the movies). I never found him particularly likeable or interesting, and Alis was a bit of a cypher.
The timeframe also didn't work for me. Set in the “near future” (this was originally published in 1996), I realized that Alis (the woman who longs to dance in the movies) was born “the year Fred Astaire died,” which was 1987, meaning this story is actually about 10 years in the past at least. Definitely not the author's fault, but all of the movies and actors mentioned in the book are pre-1996, so it ends up feeling a bit dated. I probably would've liked it a bit better set much further in the future (which could've been accoplished without the mention of Alis being born the year Fred Astaire died) and with only the movies of the 30s and 40s mentioned.
So, will intriguing, a bit of a miss for me. I'll give it . C-, and round up to three stars, because I didn't hate it.
January 30, 2024
I haven't read a science fiction like this for a while - it's not a big space opera or related to a TV program - it's just a shortish novel set in a future that I'm sure the author could see coming. When this was published, in 1994, CGI was just starting to really come to the fore, and even the smallest of movies had some sort of special effects. However, I think she'd be pleased to find out that musicals haven't died and are making a bit of a resurgence. And while CGI has improved a thousandth fold, it hasn't resulted in many dead film stars being recast in modern films. The whole remake thing though - I think modern Hollywood is a bit obsessed with redoing the same thing, but luckily they're also just as dedicated to making the new.
The story itself is a weird sort of love story, with Tom falling for Alis after meeting her at a party, but unable to really acknowledge it due to the amount of drugs and alcohol he consumes as he works. His job is ultimately unfulfilling - digitally changing films to suit the politics of the day or adding in the latest girlfriend of his boss.
I didn't quite understand all the science behind what he did and how Alis accidentally manages to finally fulfill her dream, but it made sense in the fictional context. And while it didn't have a very happy ending, it had a satisfactory one.
Doomsday Book will still always be my favourite Willis book, but this was an enjoyable read and for anyone who loves films, this will go down really well.
The story itself is a weird sort of love story, with Tom falling for Alis after meeting her at a party, but unable to really acknowledge it due to the amount of drugs and alcohol he consumes as he works. His job is ultimately unfulfilling - digitally changing films to suit the politics of the day or adding in the latest girlfriend of his boss.
I didn't quite understand all the science behind what he did and how Alis accidentally manages to finally fulfill her dream, but it made sense in the fictional context. And while it didn't have a very happy ending, it had a satisfactory one.
Doomsday Book will still always be my favourite Willis book, but this was an enjoyable read and for anyone who loves films, this will go down really well.
August 14, 2023
One of the good ones! Shades of Blade Runner and shockingly prescient in this era of sudden onset AI art raising questions of what our future as creators and consumers and humans will look like.
Connie Willis writes stories about how technology impacts people, so it's never really mattered how realistic her technology has been. That being said, this one with its instantly accessible movies on fibre optic feeds was surprisingly accurate.
Typical Willis mayhem here, people running around trying to solve problems without really understanding them, throwing themselves headlong into situations and dealing with the fallout. The premise - that our heroes love the movies, but have to settle for working in a movie industry that no longer has any interest in making new ones - is charming, tragedy and comedy and farce all wrapped up together. The concept of a guy sitting at his computer, erasing all the alcohol from every movie in a back-catalogue is very funny, but unsettlingly close to the bone. There's genuine sadness in Alis wanting to dance in the movies and knowing that will never happen.
The ebook I read was only 125 pages, and that felt like the perfect novella length for this setting that largely moved between a glittering neon faux Hollywood downtown, several drunken parties, and various nebulous bedrooms and classrooms and subway stations. Just enough time to feel for these people and not enough time to ask too many questions about the premise.
Connie Willis writes stories about how technology impacts people, so it's never really mattered how realistic her technology has been. That being said, this one with its instantly accessible movies on fibre optic feeds was surprisingly accurate.
Typical Willis mayhem here, people running around trying to solve problems without really understanding them, throwing themselves headlong into situations and dealing with the fallout. The premise - that our heroes love the movies, but have to settle for working in a movie industry that no longer has any interest in making new ones - is charming, tragedy and comedy and farce all wrapped up together. The concept of a guy sitting at his computer, erasing all the alcohol from every movie in a back-catalogue is very funny, but unsettlingly close to the bone. There's genuine sadness in Alis wanting to dance in the movies and knowing that will never happen.
The ebook I read was only 125 pages, and that felt like the perfect novella length for this setting that largely moved between a glittering neon faux Hollywood downtown, several drunken parties, and various nebulous bedrooms and classrooms and subway stations. Just enough time to feel for these people and not enough time to ask too many questions about the premise.
December 1, 2019
6/10 en 2007.
En un Hollywood ¿futuro? se pueden hacer películas mezclando actores de distintas épocas generados por ordenador. Y se puede cambiar el final a gusto de cada espectador.
Hay otro relato en el libro, Territorio Inexplorado, de exploradores de planetas en clave de humor. Me gustó más que la de Remake.
Prescindibles.
En un Hollywood ¿futuro? se pueden hacer películas mezclando actores de distintas épocas generados por ordenador. Y se puede cambiar el final a gusto de cada espectador.
Hay otro relato en el libro, Territorio Inexplorado, de exploradores de planetas en clave de humor. Me gustó más que la de Remake.
Prescindibles.
September 24, 2020
The most classic movie references in a SF novel that I've read since Kim Newman's THE NIGHT MAYOR. Enjoyable and I even recognized most of the sources (Thanks, TCM!), but, on the whole, I still prefer Willis' time travel novels.
June 16, 2021
When Connie Willis is good, she is very, very good, but when she is bad, she is horrid.
July 20, 2023
It is about time I reviewed this Connie Willis future predictor of AI, Hollywood, and the digital ownership of actors! I read it when it was published in 1995. I was fascinated Connie's foresight then and definitely, now!
Time for this story to be resurrected! Read a synopsis of the book. Then take a minute with a NYTimes opinion piece by Maureen Dowd called "Watch Out for the Fake Tom Cruise. "
Time for this story to be resurrected! Read a synopsis of the book. Then take a minute with a NYTimes opinion piece by Maureen Dowd called "Watch Out for the Fake Tom Cruise. "
May 1, 2024
I love movies and tales about movies. I did not like this book at all.
August 21, 2023
I liked the concept but found the actual storyline a bit hard to follow. Too much futuristic jargon, and you have to be a little bit of a classic movies buff to get half the references. Still, interesting to read at this time in history, given that movie companies are just starting to push for using the digitized images of actors in place of the actors themselves. Willis has a knack for speculative fiction that is actually quite predictive in some ways.
April 2, 2024
Given everything happening in the last few months with the rapid and unsettling development of AI (recreations of Marilyn Monroe, deepfakes, actors' rights, etc.), I found this book disturbingly prescient at the time in which I read (well, listened to) it, perhaps in a way it may not have been at the time of its publication. Are we sure Connie isn't an Oxford Time Traveler herself and that's how she gets her ideas? Anyhow, fun read, albeit a little imperfect. It takes a while to warm up to some of the characters but the payoff is well worth it if you give Willis time to brew her concoction!
February 23, 2023
Lovely and poignant and full of heart.
August 23, 2016
This book is quite prescient for its publication date (1996), anticipating a Hollywood obsessed with nostalgia, churning out endless reimaginings of old hits, with explorations into the effect new technology might have on entertainment and copyright law. But its dystopian trappings, meandering story, and flat protagonist undercut the book's potential. Throw in some very nineties-era projections of the future that now read as anachronisms, and you're left with a dated rather than timeless work. That being said, there are still some fun gems sprinkled within it.
This book was my first introduction to Willis, and I'll give her this: she's a great writer. The prose snaps and pops, perfectly accenting the mood of a scene or character. There were entire moments of this novella that were made by the grace of the words alone. She knows how to weave banter and pathos together in a Whedonesque way; she'd probably make a good screenwriter herself, as she's able to paint a scene and set up characters in quick bursts that flow easily and naturally.
She'd done her research as well. The amount of film trivia peppered through the text was astounding, and though at times it strained my credulity that anyone could remember that many dates and names, it certainly bolstered Tom's characterization as a jaded film buff who masochistly studies a world he doesn't believe in anymore. That bit of characterization is a good thing, since on the whole I wished I could have spent more time with the more dynamic, interesting characters in the story, Alis and Heada (a woman so wrapped in mystery we never learn her true name). These two are full of spark and ambition, each producing much of the forward momentum of the tale.
Tom on the whole reacts to what's thrown at him, often cynically, only occasionally reaching beyond the lowest rung of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to actually do anything about the life he's living. His narrative is informative but unenlightening; we depend on revelations from others for real discoveries about truth or art. In fact, the main weakness of this piece is that there is that the mystery element is so undeveloped that it fizzles into nothingness. There is no eureka moment, internal or external, and so the story itself reads like a quick carnival ride: flashy, fun, but flimsy and insubstantial, rather like the remakes themselves.
In the end, there is no stirring conclusion to the questions barely raised in the book, but I personally found that to be part of its charm. Rather than make any grand statement, the author gradually introduces the idea that perhaps the past we cling to isn't as great as we've made it out to be, and therefore the future ain't so bleak. It's a small, limited theme, barely detectable amidst the pomp and drudgery, but it's there, and one I find fitting. As Tom himself notes, Hollywood was never "real."
I think the book itself needs another decade to age before it can be truly appreciated, when references to early nineties tech become as quaint as punch cards, and the unreality of this version of future history (where Pixar and Disney on Broadway never happened) becomes less glaring and more appreciable. For now, it's a short, uneven ride that's a nice, light snack for someone needing a quick scifi fix.
Finally, I would not recommend this book for everyone. While not explicit, the sexuality and language involved were both prominent and at times distracting. As they say in the movies, reader discretion is advised.
This book was my first introduction to Willis, and I'll give her this: she's a great writer. The prose snaps and pops, perfectly accenting the mood of a scene or character. There were entire moments of this novella that were made by the grace of the words alone. She knows how to weave banter and pathos together in a Whedonesque way; she'd probably make a good screenwriter herself, as she's able to paint a scene and set up characters in quick bursts that flow easily and naturally.
She'd done her research as well. The amount of film trivia peppered through the text was astounding, and though at times it strained my credulity that anyone could remember that many dates and names, it certainly bolstered Tom's characterization as a jaded film buff who masochistly studies a world he doesn't believe in anymore. That bit of characterization is a good thing, since on the whole I wished I could have spent more time with the more dynamic, interesting characters in the story, Alis and Heada (a woman so wrapped in mystery we never learn her true name). These two are full of spark and ambition, each producing much of the forward momentum of the tale.
Tom on the whole reacts to what's thrown at him, often cynically, only occasionally reaching beyond the lowest rung of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to actually do anything about the life he's living. His narrative is informative but unenlightening; we depend on revelations from others for real discoveries about truth or art. In fact, the main weakness of this piece is that there is that the mystery element is so undeveloped that it fizzles into nothingness. There is no eureka moment, internal or external, and so the story itself reads like a quick carnival ride: flashy, fun, but flimsy and insubstantial, rather like the remakes themselves.
In the end, there is no stirring conclusion to the questions barely raised in the book, but I personally found that to be part of its charm. Rather than make any grand statement, the author gradually introduces the idea that perhaps the past we cling to isn't as great as we've made it out to be, and therefore the future ain't so bleak. It's a small, limited theme, barely detectable amidst the pomp and drudgery, but it's there, and one I find fitting. As Tom himself notes, Hollywood was never "real."
I think the book itself needs another decade to age before it can be truly appreciated, when references to early nineties tech become as quaint as punch cards, and the unreality of this version of future history (where Pixar and Disney on Broadway never happened) becomes less glaring and more appreciable. For now, it's a short, uneven ride that's a nice, light snack for someone needing a quick scifi fix.
Finally, I would not recommend this book for everyone. While not explicit, the sexuality and language involved were both prominent and at times distracting. As they say in the movies, reader discretion is advised.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews