Almost 40 years after its release, “La Bamba,” the beloved biopic of singer Ritchie Valens, is getting a remake. And Luis Valdez, the original director and writer, wants people to know: “This was not my choice.”
On Monday, Variety reported that Sony Pictures and Mucho Mas Media are developing a new version of the biographical film following the first U.S. Latino rock star. Oscar-nominated writer José Rivera, known for “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “On the Road,” will pen the script, and Valdez will serve as an executive producer.
This summer, according to Valdez, Javier Chapa of Mucho Mas Media took the project to him and asked for his support.
“My first question was, ‘Why?’ I think that’s a legitimate question that fans all over the world are going to be asking,” Valdez, 84, told The Times late Monday. “I mean the [original] film was a success as far as it goes. It has a lot of fans who are obviously going to react one way or the other.”
Valdez, also the writer of “Zoot Suit,” said he was faced with the “choice of either participating in the remake in some fashion or just ignoring it altogether.”
“I’ve always believed the negatives can be turned into positives, so in this case, I chose to help,” said Valdez, who agreed to join the project and provide context to the story of Richie Valens. The singer was born in the San Fernando Valley and died in 1959.
“The reality is that the movie and the script belong to Sony. My contract said nothing about remakes. We were just grateful to get it made at the time,” Valdez said. “Your vision may be as personal as it gets, but the final product belongs to the studio.”
He says “La Bamba,” released in 1987, was a labor of love. At the time, there wasn’t much documentation about Valens’ life and career.
Valens, born Richard Valenzuela in Pacoima, Calif., rose to fame in the late 1950s with his hit, “Come On, Let’s Go.” The self-taught musician left high school to chase music. Over his career, he was better known for his rock ’n’ roll version of the Mexican folk song “La Bamba.” Eight months after his rise to fame, the 17-year-old singer died in a plane crash dubbed “the day the music died,” as he was killed alongside fellow singers Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.
Out of personal interest, Valdez says he and his brother, Daniel Valdez, spent five years trying to track down the people in Valens’ life. They made contact with his mom, Connie Valenzuela; his brother, Bob Morales; his manager, Bob Keane; and his first love, Donna Ludwig Fox. Valdez was then able to turn their firsthand accounts into the “La Bamba” screenplay.
“I don’t know that he [José Rivera] will take the same storyline either. Flat remakes don’t work,” Valdez said. “What’s been done before is not very exciting for anybody. I’m hoping that out of this remake will come something new, something fresh, another new look at Ritchie Valens’ life.”
Given the short-lived career of the rock ‘n’ roll star, Valdez says there are very few aspects to his life that he didn’t touch on.
To date, “La Bamba” has grossed more than $54 million at the box office — it cost $6.5 million to make, according to The American Film Institute. The film was nominated for best drama at the Golden Globes and for song of the year at the Recording Academy’s 1988 Grammy Awards. It was instrumental in the careers of both actor Lou Diamond Phillips, who played Valens, and East L.A. rock band Los Lobos, who performed and produced music for the soundtrack. In 2017, it was added to the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress, under the initiative of Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas).
Valdez sees the new film as a chance to make a new Latino star, but he’s still unclear about why the production companies chose “La Bamba.”
“Quite frankly, there are hundreds of stories that could be turned into movies that also deal with Chicano lives in Los Angeles,” Valdez said. “But Sony chose to remake this, I guess, because of its track record. I understand that Hollywood is a business and it’s show business. But I do want people to know that this was not my choice. I was invited into the process.”
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Mucho Mas Media declined to comment, saying the project is too early in the development stage. Valdez says his only hope for the developing project is that it remains true to Valens’ life.
“I want to assure fans that the remake will not harm the original in any way. On the contrary, what I’m hoping is that the remake will be a new companion that will enhance the story of Ritchie Valens,” Valdez said. “Maybe it will capture something about Ritchie that we didn’t know. For those who may be angered or disappointed by the remake, I just say, ‘Let’s move on.’ The original film is not gonna disappear.”