Yahoo Movies 
Wide ScreenRon Howard’s ’1984′ remake capitalizes on the dystopian sci-fi trend
Big Brother will be watching you! The massive success of "The Hunger Games" can mean only one thing: Dystopian science-fiction movies are back. Clearly audiences have been missing the genre that brought us such legendary classics as "The Postman" and "Battlefield Earth." Resurrecting it can only end well, right?
And resurrect it they shall. The Hollywood Reporter recently let slip that Imagine Entertainment, the production company headed by director and ginger sensation Ron Howard ("Apollo 13," "A Beautiful Mind") and his producing partner Brian Grazer, will produce an adaptation of the grand-daddy of all dystopian science fiction: George Orwell's "1984." It's a film that couldn't be further removed from the "Arrested Development" movie and series the duo are also producing.
If you're unfamiliar with Orwell's seminal 1948 sci-fi novel, "Nineteen Eighty-Four" goes a little like this: In the distant future year of 1984, the world has been decimated by "atomic war." Three surviving and constantly warring nation-states wage an unending war against one another, while the populations of these respective countries live under a terrible totalitarian rule in which even independent thought has become a crime.
The story centres on Winston Smith, a low-level bureaucrat in charge of rewriting official history in order to make the government seem all-knowing and powerful. Knowing what he knows, Winston secretly despises the government and wishes to overthrow it.
The novel has been adapted numerous times, both officially and unofficially, most recently in the real-life year 1984 by director Michael Radford ("The Merchant of Venice"). That version starred John Hurt and Richard Burton. Apple famously adapted the work for its groundbreaking commercial unveiling of the first Macintosh computer, while George Lucas's 1971 dystopian film "THX 1138" was directly inspired by the themes and concepts found in Orwell's novel.
Noted designer and street artist Shepard Fairey is said to be the driving force behind the project. The artist is best known for his work on President Barack Obama's 2008 "Hope" poster and the iconic "OBEY" sticker campaign featuring the image of deceased wrestler Andre the Giant. The latter campaign was said to have been heavily influenced by John Carpenter's 1988 dystopian actioner "They Live," which itself was inspired by Orwell's work. Fairey's "1984" collaboration with Howard and Grazer's Imagine and Julie Yorn's LBI Entertainment brings the artist full circle.
The project is still in the very early stages. If things go as planned, expect to see "1984" arrive on the big screen about 20 years too late, sometime in 2013 or 2014.
Also on Yahoo! Canada Movies:
