It’s not that I hate remakes and adaptations … I don’t. But I am sick of the lazy one, and lazy remakes in particular. If a remake is good and brings a new take on the story while still honoring it, then by all means! But most remakes aren’t like that. Most are bad. So when I saw a future film title with the word “Psycho” in it, I was worried. Or at least groaned in anticipation. But good news: it’s a biopic instead!

Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is about … well, Alfred Hitchcock and the making of his classic horror film Psycho. It’s technically an adaptation of a book with the same name, but it’s still focusing on real events. Anthony Hopkins is set to play the meticulous director and Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel are apparently playing screen-stars Janet Leigh and Vera Miles, respectively. While we’re sure to have classic movie scenes recreated for the film, the focus of the biopic is Alfred Hitchcock’s struggle with the studios on what the studios believed would be a complete flop – the director actually ponied up the large majority of the budget because he believed in the story that much. As far as I know, we haven’t seen a movie about Hitchcock’s fascinating life, which is incredible considering what a pop culture and cinema icon the man is even decades after his death.

My point is, if you’re a film maker and feel compelled to use the audience obsession with their own nostalgia, just try making a well-written biopic set in the last 100 years instead of just doing a remake. If only to mix things up.