Shooting the Moon… And on the topic of remakes, two sci-fi classics met different fates this week.

Dreamworks saw director Brad Silberling drop out of their remake of the HG Wells story The Time Machine, originally made in 1961 by effects pioneer George Pal, with Mr Geniality, Rod Taylor, in the lead.

Silberling is now concentrating on the development of Who’s Next, the Keith Moon biopic. Who’s Next will probably star Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, left) who, when he’s not acting, is the drummer for the band Phantom Planet and a fanatical admirer of the Moon-man.

And writer-director Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption), who cashed in over the holiday season with The Green Mile, is said to be developing a remake of Forbidden Planet for New Line Cinema.

The 1956 original, a version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest set on a Mars-like planet, is one of the all-time classics of science-fiction; literate, intelligent, featuring some truly odd-looking special effects, and starring a mellow, pre-comic Leslie Nielsen.

Another movie treasure goes under the knife, although if it must be remade, then Darabont is a better choice than most. New Line, you may recollect, brought us the dismal big-screen version of Lost in Space.