There's been a lot of news about remakes, Toua Her. I like remakes because I get to see old movies with modern-day locations, technology, issues, themes, etc., but I'm more for original films being made.
No. It's not just you. Lol. There is a long list of remakes, reboots, prequels, and sequels coming our way this year. And, in there, we'll also get more Frankenstein and vampires and werewolves.
More Frankenstein, vampires, and werewolves, Christopher Phillips? Why don't they ever do a new Creature from the Black Lagoon? I'd actually want to see that, lol
Civil War and Monkey Man were nice originals in recent weeks. Poor Things and Oppenheimer were originals and cleaned up in Awards season. There are a lot of remakes but seems there will always be a balance of originals bringing new ideas to the table.
Could be your physical location. This month I have seen 3 original movies that don't screen at AMC or Regal theaters: Love Lies Bleeding, Immaculate, She Came to Me. All 3 movies have up & coming stars in front & behind camera.
If ppl really want more original movies, do a little research & spend $$. They're out there, at dive theaters or a movie app. Buy a movie ticket, support indie filmmakers.
Sure seems that way to me. Do we really need a new Superman origin story (I think yet another one is in the works). Isn't part of the studios' struggle to recoup their bazillion-dollar investment in these movies, whether a remake or a new franchise entry, the fact that we've seen them or something like them before?
As I understand the system, Hollywood is always looking for a sure thing. Big bucks are involved, so a franchise looks like the way to go. One of my favorite movies is True Grit with John Wayne. Then they did a remake. I have to say the new one is really good with a few new twists. There's a forty year gap between the two, and Jeff Bridges brought a whole new flavor to the character. I would put each in their own category. Then there was the Planet of the Apes series. A couple of those were bombs. And last but not least are the original Dune and its remakes. The second left a lot to be desired. For me, the score is out on the two new ones. I have yet to see #2.
Ah right, yet another thread hyper-fixated on 0.00001% of the industry.
Let's just keep feeding the beast and see if it starves.
IP gets coverage. It's as simple as that. Hollywood churns out remakes because the marketplace responds better to them. It's not a matter of taste. It's a matter of statistics.
Two original specs sold in the last week. One off a pitch, not a completed screenplay. Control your own narrative, not the one being pushed by a click bait chasing media and those on broad based social media who have never been in a room and the lemmings that follow them around.
BTW, the global expansion is happening at the speed of light and a majority of what's being made is not based on IP. Pay attention to the market, not the hyperbole.
Do you think the 2 people who sold those spec scripts in the last week thought the same way Vikki Harris? Do you think all the people in the U.S. who did the research, made the connections and are selling projects overseas thought the same way?
This business has been and will always be tough. Mindset is as important to breaking in as talent, if not more so.
"The remakes make money with very little risk." Or don't, as we've seen in many cases recently.
Look, this business runs on fear. Existing, beloved IP is the "safer" bet. But gambles are being made worldwide as evidenced by information in the posts above and in other deals being reported in the trades.
As Robin Gregory stated, the sexy, click bait articles get all the hype and attention. The articles in Deadline about the spec script and pitch sales got 3 comments combined. Articles about an unnecessary remake will get 40-80 which tells you that most focus on the wrong things and the negative.
What has to be appreciated is that there was a time when pretty much any movie coming out, especially in theatres was big news. People were waiting around for new stuff to come out, posters got noticed, trailers were met with feverish excitement, families made regular trips to the cinema, movie buffs in video rental stores worked their way through everything they could.
Movies that were already out had long runs on the silver screen. A weird movie like Donnie Darko could release, flop, and then find a cult following before it even went to video.
Journalists had to find things to write about and a press kit from a studio or a premier, complete with sensational photography and smiling celebrities was like Christmas day, and the readership was guaranteed.
Now you've got next to no attention span at every level, because the environment is packed with noise. New movies are now competing with so much to get attention, and the media now consists of people copying and pasting whatever they can find on PR Wire that will generate the most clicks and engagement.
Tim Burton's Batman (1989) took everyone by surprise when a previously thought to be dead concept ended up with a reboot so popular it was selling kid's cereal. That, along with a few other projects, was proof that familiarity now sold better than the unknown. There was finally an alternative to endless sequels, which had fallen out of favour with audiences, and put the stars in a position where they could demand a king's ransom.
So, what would you do if you were a studio head sitting on a massive back catalogue of IP going back decades, all in a world where other studios were going bankrupt every five minutes because they made the next Heaven's Gate or Cutthroat Island?
Remakes make sense in a world where 1% of industry takes the lion's share. If you want to see change then that means changing the way we all consume movies, not expecting Hollywood to ignore the bottom line. Be the change you want to see in the world.
CJ Walley I’ll totally agree. All scripts I’ve written are how I perceive the world or how I want to ask the world a question through a film. I’ve just been seeing a lot of promotions about remakes. I just wanted to ask the question to see if anybody is seeing what I’m seeing.
I must admit, sometimes a remake is better. FREAKY FRIDAY, for example. And, though I'll probably get my head handed to me for this, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is better than SEVEN SAMURAI. I mean the original western, which was about the warrior code of honor. Not the remake of that, where they had to go and make it personal.
BTW Toua Her , if you want to keep up with new indie releases, Film International, Indie Cinema, and The Director's Chair (online magazines) are all free.
Hollywood is afraid to take a chance on something new and original. They bank on the fact that remakes of something popular will be more of a sure thing rather than trying something new and original. If a film is so good it merits a remake why not re-release the original?? At this point I throw up my hands and I refuse to go to any remakes of anything. Do we really need a remake of True Grit or Roots?? I am voting with my pocketbook and refusing to go to any remakes of any kind.
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There's been a lot of news about remakes, Toua Her. I like remakes because I get to see old movies with modern-day locations, technology, issues, themes, etc., but I'm more for original films being made.
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Not sure if there are truly less original films, but as we know Studios can be risk adverse. They want projects with a built-in audience.
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No. It's not just you. Lol. There is a long list of remakes, reboots, prequels, and sequels coming our way this year. And, in there, we'll also get more Frankenstein and vampires and werewolves.
2 people like this
More Frankenstein, vampires, and werewolves, Christopher Phillips? Why don't they ever do a new Creature from the Black Lagoon? I'd actually want to see that, lol
4 people like this
Civil War and Monkey Man were nice originals in recent weeks. Poor Things and Oppenheimer were originals and cleaned up in Awards season. There are a lot of remakes but seems there will always be a balance of originals bringing new ideas to the table.
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Dustin Richardson Lol. I'm surprised that some of those old classics haven't been redone.
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Could be your physical location. This month I have seen 3 original movies that don't screen at AMC or Regal theaters: Love Lies Bleeding, Immaculate, She Came to Me. All 3 movies have up & coming stars in front & behind camera.
If ppl really want more original movies, do a little research & spend $$. They're out there, at dive theaters or a movie app. Buy a movie ticket, support indie filmmakers.
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I mean, it's an objective statistic, right?
In the last ten years, I believe there's been around 15,000 movies released globally each year.
So, the question is, do you think over 125,000 of those were remakes?
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Worldwide there are more originals, but in Hollywood, I been seeing more promotion for remakes
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Sure seems that way to me. Do we really need a new Superman origin story (I think yet another one is in the works). Isn't part of the studios' struggle to recoup their bazillion-dollar investment in these movies, whether a remake or a new franchise entry, the fact that we've seen them or something like them before?
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Toua Her by end of year, there will be studio firesales. Netflix & Amazon got enough $ to buy Paramount, Disney, AMC.
No idea how the show biz landscape will look like in year 2025.
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As I understand the system, Hollywood is always looking for a sure thing. Big bucks are involved, so a franchise looks like the way to go. One of my favorite movies is True Grit with John Wayne. Then they did a remake. I have to say the new one is really good with a few new twists. There's a forty year gap between the two, and Jeff Bridges brought a whole new flavor to the character. I would put each in their own category. Then there was the Planet of the Apes series. A couple of those were bombs. And last but not least are the original Dune and its remakes. The second left a lot to be desired. For me, the score is out on the two new ones. I have yet to see #2.
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As a note, there are some great movies coming out of Korea.
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Ah right, yet another thread hyper-fixated on 0.00001% of the industry.
Let's just keep feeding the beast and see if it starves.
IP gets coverage. It's as simple as that. Hollywood churns out remakes because the marketplace responds better to them. It's not a matter of taste. It's a matter of statistics.
5 people like this
Two original specs sold in the last week. One off a pitch, not a completed screenplay. Control your own narrative, not the one being pushed by a click bait chasing media and those on broad based social media who have never been in a room and the lemmings that follow them around.
4 people like this
BTW, the global expansion is happening at the speed of light and a majority of what's being made is not based on IP. Pay attention to the market, not the hyperbole.
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It makes it more difficult for people like us with new content to break into the industry.
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Do you think the 2 people who sold those spec scripts in the last week thought the same way Vikki Harris? Do you think all the people in the U.S. who did the research, made the connections and are selling projects overseas thought the same way?
This business has been and will always be tough. Mindset is as important to breaking in as talent, if not more so.
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Hey @Toua Her, I think it's just that the blockbuster remakes get so much hype. There are hundreds of original indie films and series being produced.
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Bingo Robin Gregory
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The remakes make money with very little risk. 99.99 percent of the people here aren't competing with them anyway.
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"The remakes make money with very little risk." Or don't, as we've seen in many cases recently.
Look, this business runs on fear. Existing, beloved IP is the "safer" bet. But gambles are being made worldwide as evidenced by information in the posts above and in other deals being reported in the trades.
As Robin Gregory stated, the sexy, click bait articles get all the hype and attention. The articles in Deadline about the spec script and pitch sales got 3 comments combined. Articles about an unnecessary remake will get 40-80 which tells you that most focus on the wrong things and the negative.
Don't be one of those people.
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What has to be appreciated is that there was a time when pretty much any movie coming out, especially in theatres was big news. People were waiting around for new stuff to come out, posters got noticed, trailers were met with feverish excitement, families made regular trips to the cinema, movie buffs in video rental stores worked their way through everything they could.
Movies that were already out had long runs on the silver screen. A weird movie like Donnie Darko could release, flop, and then find a cult following before it even went to video.
Journalists had to find things to write about and a press kit from a studio or a premier, complete with sensational photography and smiling celebrities was like Christmas day, and the readership was guaranteed.
Now you've got next to no attention span at every level, because the environment is packed with noise. New movies are now competing with so much to get attention, and the media now consists of people copying and pasting whatever they can find on PR Wire that will generate the most clicks and engagement.
Tim Burton's Batman (1989) took everyone by surprise when a previously thought to be dead concept ended up with a reboot so popular it was selling kid's cereal. That, along with a few other projects, was proof that familiarity now sold better than the unknown. There was finally an alternative to endless sequels, which had fallen out of favour with audiences, and put the stars in a position where they could demand a king's ransom.
So, what would you do if you were a studio head sitting on a massive back catalogue of IP going back decades, all in a world where other studios were going bankrupt every five minutes because they made the next Heaven's Gate or Cutthroat Island?
Remakes make sense in a world where 1% of industry takes the lion's share. If you want to see change then that means changing the way we all consume movies, not expecting Hollywood to ignore the bottom line. Be the change you want to see in the world.
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Here, here CJ Walley & Richard "RB" Botto!
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Magnificent 7 was a remake of Seven Samurai.
It had three sequels after the original. It's been remade, too.
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CJ Walley I’ll totally agree. All scripts I’ve written are how I perceive the world or how I want to ask the world a question through a film. I’ve just been seeing a lot of promotions about remakes. I just wanted to ask the question to see if anybody is seeing what I’m seeing.
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definitely not just you…. way too many reboots IMO. :)
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It's not just you. Between remakes and the zillion comic book movies I rarely go to theaters any more.
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I must admit, sometimes a remake is better. FREAKY FRIDAY, for example. And, though I'll probably get my head handed to me for this, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is better than SEVEN SAMURAI. I mean the original western, which was about the warrior code of honor. Not the remake of that, where they had to go and make it personal.
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BTW Toua Her , if you want to keep up with new indie releases, Film International, Indie Cinema, and The Director's Chair (online magazines) are all free.
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thank you Robin Gregory
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You're welcome Toua Her .
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Gold standard post, CJ Walley
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Hollywood is afraid to take a chance on something new and original. They bank on the fact that remakes of something popular will be more of a sure thing rather than trying something new and original. If a film is so good it merits a remake why not re-release the original?? At this point I throw up my hands and I refuse to go to any remakes of anything. Do we really need a remake of True Grit or Roots?? I am voting with my pocketbook and refusing to go to any remakes of any kind.