Maybe Fame does live forever. Though the remake has premiered, some are still nostalgically looking to the past. One of the contributors to the original film project, Sir Alan Parker, has gone on record to speak out against the newly-remade movie.

Fame, which was released in 1980 and quickly became a classic, recently arrived in the UK. It was originally directed by Parker, who said that seeing the remake was “a bit like being mugged.” You see, apparently he was never consulted about the new version of the film, which Sir Alan sees as something of a slight. Calling the project “dreadful,” he says of the situation, “such are the realities of Hollywood manners and American copyright law.”

“I feel very much that Fame is mine. I spent months with the kids at the school, then spent a year making the movie. You do the work and make it as good as it can be, and you try to protect it,” he told the UK’s Telegraph. “Because the copyright is owned by the studio, as with almost all American feature films, they can do a remake like this. It’s extremely galling. There is no other area of the arts where you can do that.”

Parker’s comments are the complete opposite of statements which have been released in the past, which claim the film had the director’s seal of approval. Kevin Tancharoen, who directed the 2009 version of the film, was quoted as saying that Parker received a call about the project and he “was happy about it. He gave us all his blessings and just let us do it.”