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I've seen Bienvenue chez les ch'its. It was also quite popular here in Quebec.
It's theme is quite universal - that of a fish out of water who warms to the "alien" place he initially hated.
I assume that the American version will likely feature an urbane northeasterner going to a small town in Dixie, or perhaps an African-American from Detroit in a mountain town in Idaho or something.
For any film to make it in the US, it has to have some sort of love story, or a hint of one. Americans respond most when their emotions are tugged and played. In most countries, the focus is more on the story where as Americans like things to take on a personal feel.
A part of the reason for the extreme popularity of English songs around the world, is the strong desire that people have to learn English as a second language. In many cases, people practice their English diction by learning the words to English songs and singing them, and they also learn a lot of English vocabulary by learning and repeating the words to English songs and finding out what they mean.
For any film to make it in the US, it has to have some sort of love story, or a hint of one. Americans respond most when their emotions are tugged and played. In most countries, the focus is more on the story where as Americans like things to take on a personal feel.
The original does have a bit of a romantic angle, though it's not the main story. But it does have the whole classic storyline of the not-so-good-person having a change of heart which American also love!
And in any event, it's not like Hollywood is shy about changing established and even classic storylines in order to make them suit (what it perceives to be) mainstream American tastes.
I just went and signed up for Pandora a while ago. I called for "Faye Wong" station. The first couple of songs were in Chinese by Faye, then they mixed in a couple of other Asian artists, and about the fifth song was in English by an Asian artist, and within an hour, I was getting English songs by The Rosebuds, and after two hours, I got nothing but plain old USA Sony-beat crap song after song after song, and I bet if I hadn't turned it off in disgust, I would by the end of they day get exactly the same repetitious mind-numbing drumbeat and English lyrics as if I had put in The Rosebods in the first place. Within an hour, Pandora had already exhausted their entire library of all Asian language music and music by Asian artists.
A part of the reason for the extreme popularity of English songs around the world, is the strong desire that people have to learn English as a second language. In many cases, people practice their English diction by learning the words to English songs and singing them, and they also learn a lot of English vocabulary by learning and repeating the words to English songs and finding out what they mean.
This may be true for some, but I am witnessing the acquisition of second language English live and in colour with my kids at the moment, and while a decent part of the acquisition is taking place via popular music, that's not why they listen to pop music in English. They listen to it because it is "cool", or at least they are bombarded with it to the point where they *think* that that's what is cool. (Well, not only music in English, but a significant chunk of it.)
I've never heard any of my kids or any of their friends say that they listened to music in English because they wanted to learn the language.
The US tends to remake foreign films that were successful. A great example would be la Cage Aux Folles (The Birdcage). Fortunately, they never tried to remake (to the best of my knowledge) Les Bronzes font du Ski . By the same token, the French have often taken British or American pop songs and remade them in French. So it goes both ways.
In general, however, the penetration of the US entertainment industry into international markets has been far more successful than those of other countries.
I assume that the American version will likely feature an urbane northeasterner going to a small town in Dixie, or perhaps an African-American from Detroit in a mountain town in Idaho or something.
Almost all American films made today derive most of their boxoffice revenue from foreign markets. Certainly anything that Will Smith is involved in today would be aimed at an international audience.
They would to create a "fish out of water" in a very international setting.
Percent of revenue from foreign markets for Will Smith films
75.20% After Earth 2013
71.30% MIB 3 2012
63.50% Hancock 2008
62.50% Independence Day 1996
58.40% Seven Pounds 2008
58.30% I, Robot 2004
57.50% Men in Black 1997
57.20% Made in America 1993
56.90% Men in Black II 2002
56.20% I Am Legend 2007
56.20% Shark Tale 2004
55.50% Enemy of the State 1998
53.50% Bad Boys 1995
51.20% Hitch 2005
49.30% Bad Boys II 2003
48.80% Wild Wild West 1999
46.70% The Pursuit of Happyness 2006
33.60% Ali 2001
21.60% The Legend of Bagger Vance 2000
The rumor was that Will Smith was planning to turn it into the tale of a smug corporate type sent to small-town USA who ends up finding what his life was missing. Which is actually been done in many American TV series (Northern Exposure) to multiple films like "Doc Hollywood" and "For Richer or Poorer (1997)".
One of the angles that the French film caught was that the husband was not being true to himself by trying to live his wife's fantasy.
The original does have a bit of a romantic angle, though it's not the main story. But it does have the whole classic storyline of the not-so-good-person having a change of heart which American also love!
And in any event, it's not like Hollywood is shy about changing established and even classic storylines in order to make them suit (what it perceives to be) mainstream American tastes.
This may be true for some, but I am witnessing the acquisition of second language English live and in colour with my kids at the moment, and while a decent part of the acquisition is taking place via popular music, that's not why they listen to pop music in English. They listen to it because it is "cool", or at least they are bombarded with it to the point where they *think* that that's what is cool. (Well, not only music in English, but a significant chunk of it.)
I've never heard any of my kids or any of their friends say that they listened to music in English because they wanted to learn the language.
In many cases, people practice their English diction by learning the words to English songs and singing them, and they also learn a lot of English vocabulary by learning and repeating the words to English songs and finding out what they mean.
Despite speaking some decent English, I can't understand the lyrics of 90% of the English songs I listen to I somehow doubt that youngsters are better at deciphering some of that mumbling.
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. By the same token, the French have often taken British or American pop songs and remade them in French. So it goes both ways. 
I somehow doubt that youngsters are better at deciphering some of that mumbling.
