Returning to the Well

When Mrs. Mosley and I went to Washington D.C. in 2005, one of the highlights for me was laying on a marble bench at the base of the Washington Monument and staring up at the night sky. The temperature was cool and the moment was very Zen and peaceful. In June, we'll be making a shorter trip up there for the ALA Annual Conference, and Mrs. Mosley asked if I'd like to visit the Monument again. In one of my wiser moments, my immediate answer was "No" as I explained that I'd never be able to replicate that space of time when I was there before.

Would I were so wise when they keep announcing sequels to the films I adore.

I do have my justifications for believing these could be better than a normal jaded moviegoer would imagine. One is if the material for the sequel already existed in book form, which is why I cut Be Cool some slack (though that didn't keep it from sucking, apparently). Another is if the original cast comes back for the second one, (See Ocean's 12. On second thought, don't).

And it is with these examples in mind that I'm treating the recent news of a pair (?!?!) of L.A. Confidential sequels with guarded anticipation. Here's the lowdown:

The creative team and original stars from cult movie LA Confidential are in talks to re-team for a sequel to the movie, going head-to-head with another sequel starring George Clooney. Director Joe Carnahan is also directing a follow-up to the film based on author James Ellroy's book White Jazz. According to entertainment website Tmz.com, another sequel is being planned by the film's original director Curtis Hanson. Hanson's version wouldn't rely on the plot of White Jazz and would instead pick-up where LA Confidential ended. The sequel would reunite original stars Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kim Basinger, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in LA Confidential.

So we have the original writer and his book attached to one and we have the original director and stars attached to the other. This makes it very complicated and distressing. If only they could combine these two projects into one so that all the original talent was involved. This is not likely to happen, though, and so we fans of the original film will remain very nervous until these two films hit the theaters.

It's been a decade since we saw Ed Exley and Bud White lugging pump shotguns around, and I'd love to see them back in action again. But the character development that made the original so great may not be easy to follow up on, especially since one of them is no longer supposed to even be in Los Angeles.

For my part, I'm putting it out of my mind. Better to reminisce about the past. The first time is always the most memorable.