Are You Talkin’ To Me?
A Film column by Jamie Hill
I’ve mentioned in this column before about the serious lack of original ideas coming from Hollywood in recent years.
The number of sequels, reboots, remakes and even prequels that are being churned out is mind-numbing and makes me want to scream, run out of the cinema and punch a large number of studio executives in the face. Except, I’ve probably used that line before and it’s just been rehashed to fit this particular column.
The studio system is like the kid at the back of the class who never listens and then rehashes an older siblng’s work to get by. No real effort. Must try harder.
I get it. I really do.
It’s all about the dollars. Why risk millions of pounds on original output when you can just mine the riches of yesteryear and get to the top of the box office in the time it takes you to say Jurassic World?
They fear the unknown. They fear that a film with no previous will turn off cinema-goers. They want a Sure Thing. And not the John Cusack film that is probably being remade as we speak but a sure thing that will guarantee return on investment.
But with no original content and no risk-taking Hollywood is going to take a serious beating if this continues. Why risk a Jupiter Ascending or Tomorrowland flop when they can have a Terminator film with added Arnie just about to fall into our cinematic laps?
It’s our fault really. We’ve just become boring. We don’t want to go to the cinema and be surprised and have our minds expanded by original output. We want sequels. We want to know what we’re getting before we sit down in our seats and munch on our popcorn. We’re not looking for the next Reservoir Dogs or even the next When Harry Met Sally, we’d now prefer to sit in front of another Fast and Furious Eighteen - The Rise of The Prius.
There’s even a remake due out of Chevy Chase’s Vacation films starring Ed Helms. That’s tantamount to blasphemy.
We’ve got new rebooted Ghostbusters coming. New Gremlins. There’s probably a new Goonies coming our way soon as well.
That’s not to say that sequels and reboots are a bad thing as some of them are pretty damn good but there’s just too many of them.
Hollywood hasn’t run out of ideas. There’s plenty of books, scripts, TV, graphic novels and even video games that they can raid.
No, Hollywood has run out of balls. The bean counters block taking the risks that need taking to keep cinema fresh. It’s depressing.
I’m personally waiting for the Saved by the Bell movie remake. Anything with Screech in will always get my vote. But that’s just me.