Myoldnamebroke on 2/4/2006 at 11:01
With regards to the actual topic being discussed, I'd want to look at the rate of originals versus remakes. It could well be a case of not remembering all the dross from years gone by.
I'd also question to what extent 'remakes' are inherently bad. What's bad is hackwork, and while the two often go hand in hand the connection isn't necessary.
Finally, I'd be interested if there's been a decline in cinema viewing. If people go to the pictures less - it's more expensive, there's more entertainment outside the cinema (television, INTERNET, games, whatever), etc - then the naturally risk-averse tendancies of large companies becomes increased. If people aren't going to see many films, then you need to make sure the few they do see are your ones. Marketing and brand familiarity become increasingly important as competition hots up.
Dirty_Brute on 2/4/2006 at 11:27
Well, let's see. There is a reason why hollywood sucks right now and has been for some years now. Over the past years, I've seen nothing but sequels, remakes, ripoffs, etc. Maybe it's because today's audience is so jaded that we demand nothing but the best in fine film making coupled with the most realistic special effects that would put us into a coma.
Yawn! I think it's time to move to Europe! Most DVDs I buy are imports anyway. Originality is long gone in hollywood.
oudeis on 2/4/2006 at 14:50
all the above points have pretty much encompassed the issue- profit issues, bored/jaded/stupid audiences, etc- but l think that you can't overlook actor's salaries/contracts as a contributing factor.
brad pitt or russell crowe each get close to 30 million per film- or so l remember- but even lesser actors can command 5 million dollar checks. assemble a cast of well-known actors [for audience familiarity/comfort] and half your budget is spent before production has even started. the studios raise ticket prices to cover themselves, or however the mechanism works, and now it costs about 10 bucks for an adult ticket. throw in popcorn, soda, and parking and the archetypal nuclear family is looking at 50-60 bucks just to see tom cruise emote to a blue screen. cue the vicious circle- ticket prices rise, audiences become more selective/wait for dvd release, films make less money, hollywood plays it safer and goes with familiar themes and the well-known stars...
for the record, l'm completely capitalist and have no problems with actors getting paid as much as their agents can get for them, so don't think l'm blaming this on greedy movie stars. if you've ever read anything about the old studio system or about current studio accounting practices you have absolutely no sympathy for the fuckers. but, as always, costs get passed on to the consumers. the movie industry has climbed out onto the same branch as the pro sports leagues as far as spiraling costs and prices and if something doesn't change soon the limb is going to break.
Printer's Devil on 2/4/2006 at 15:31
Do a bit of biographical digging, Aerothorn. All of the above reasons are certainly part of the problem, but I don't buy it as the whole problem. The Hollywood system was always a corporate enterprise (for every Casablanca, there were dozens of stinkers), and much more monolithic than it was today (actors virtually belonged to their studios). So think about the people angle. What is different about the actors, writers, directors and producers of today versus those of forty or fifty years ago? Cultures change over time, and the production of really solid films might rely on certain cultural elements. Folks who personally experienced certain points in history, such as a major war or social movement, could somehow be primed to become better filmmakers--the whole "suffering builds character" argument. Mind you, I watched Thank You For Smoking yesterday, which is directed by Jason Reitman (a sharp piece of work, IMHO), and it really puts a few dents in that idea.
Omega on 2/4/2006 at 15:44
I think it's because it's safe to stay with familiar concepts and being safe means $$$.
And $$$ is what people care about most, unfortunately. :erg:
littlek on 2/4/2006 at 15:50
The obvious reason is that Hollywood stopped taking those groovy mind altering drugs that freed their minds of the constraints of society. At least that is what they tell me. :cool:
aguywhoplaysthief on 2/4/2006 at 17:47
Quote Posted by Convict
Brokeback Mountain was banned where I live.
I'm sorry, what?
Aerothorn on 2/4/2006 at 21:48
Thanks for all the ideas, guys - I need as many different ways to cover this as possible - the Editor in Chief was originally against this article, killed it off without anyone knowing about until I asked and some other folks complained, so she assigned it to me...I think she fears that I'll just attack remakes and insult the 90% of the student body who regularly sees them, or something.
I like Strangeblue's idea of movies becoming more traditional in scary times...will look into if I can find a lot of historical examples of this.
Will also try to get stats on if remakes are really more common today or if it is just an ILLUSION.
And yeah, adaptations are a touchy subject- my dad thinks they are not as bad as sequels/remakes - and there is a point, sorta, because if you adapt you're at least taking something from one very different from to another...and adaptations often aren't as bad as remakes (various Adam Egoyan films, for instance). Still...bleh. I have to finish this article today...here's hoping it's not an unmitigated disaster.
Addendum: Goddamnit, there goes my kick-off - was gonna use the IMDB list of movies in production for statistical purposes, but they've made it part of IMDB Pro. Anyone know where I can get a good list of in-production movies?
Stitch on 2/4/2006 at 22:30
Far more concerning to me personally is the lack of originality in this thread.
Thief13x on 2/4/2006 at 23:04
well I will say that "Stay Alive" had a hint of a hint of originality in its idea but the numbnuts who wrote it had no clue that some people who go to check out a movie about gamers arn't half as dumb as the gamers themselves (stereotypical xbox punk). That movie really pissed me off, how bad can a movie be and still solicit a packed theatre?!:mad: And last night I went and saw Inside Man. I have decided that hollywood productions are not for me after that. Unfortunatly, A movie is just about the only thing I want to do after a long week of classes.
