Timur Bekmambetov to Direct New 'Ben-Hur'
Sat, September 21, 2013 
In rather surprising news, Timur Bekmambetov has signed-on to direct a remake/reboot/new adaptation of the 1880 Lew Wallce novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, for MGM.
The reason this is surprising should be an obvious one: why try to make another Ben-Hur?
The 1959 classic starring Charlton Heston is one of the greatest films of all-time and holds the record - along with Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - with 11 Academy Awards. A film like this should not be remade ever again, much like The Godfather, Casablanca, and Gone with the Wind to name a few. It's not that they can't be remade, it's just I would think no Hollywood exec is stupid enough to try given their place in cinema history.
The other piece here that stands out just as much is the choice to direct, Timur Bekmambetov.
Ben-Hur was an epic, grand, Hollywood classic that is known just as much for it's quality for filmmaking as it's lust visuals. Why choose a man who has pretty much lived off of making style over substance films? I've seen both Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (really?) and if those CGI-filled 'films' are to be anything like what his Ben-Hur remake is going to be, Hollywood is more stupid than I thought.
Source: Deadline
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