Sequels, Remakes, Make Good Business
John T. Johnson
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Opinions
Remakes and sequels have been around for a long time, but a recent rise has left audience members to complain that Hollywood has lost their sense of originality.
If one were to look at 2008's lineup of film releases, one would notice that there were plenty of sequels and remakes to go around.
Sequels and remakes included "The Incredible Hulk" and the biggest hit of the year, "The Dark Knight."
The problem with the audience's argument is the fact that they line up for sequels and remakes and gladly give Hollywood their hard-earned money.
"Slumdog Millionaire" made more than $141 million in the U.S., while "The Dark Knight" went on to make more than $533 million. It doesn't take a business major to see which film Hollywood is going to support.
Any filmmaker in the world will tell someone that no one should ignore the fact that show business is just that: a business. When the studios see that a film like "The Matrix" makes money, they are going to either make sequels or clones like "Equilibrium."
Audience members have to stop watching sequels and go see these great "original" films that they usually ignore or accept sequels and remakes that make good money.
One good example of a film that was ignored was "The Shawshank Redemption" when it was in theaters in 1994. The film failed in the box-office because people wanted to see films like "Naked Gun 33 1/3," which was sure hit in Hollywood's eyes like the first two films.
Remakes, unlike sequels, should almost never be thought of as good money-making schemes. Thinking about it now, I can understand how audience members get mad at Hollywood's blantant lack of originality when it comes to remakes.
Horror remakes are especially bad. It started off with a covert attempt to remake Japanese horror films like "The Ring" and "The Grudge." However, when those films started to fizzle out, studios just decided to remake American horror classics such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
The biggest problem with most remakes is that the filmmakers decide not to do anything different and leave those who admire the originals to feel like they got cheated out of their $8 to watch a film that has already been made.
In the end, people should just accept and try to enjoy the countless sequels that are inevitably going to be released every year and try to just ignore all of the awful remakes that are also a hallmark of Hollywood's lack of creativity.
If one were to look at 2008's lineup of film releases, one would notice that there were plenty of sequels and remakes to go around.
Sequels and remakes included "The Incredible Hulk" and the biggest hit of the year, "The Dark Knight."
The problem with the audience's argument is the fact that they line up for sequels and remakes and gladly give Hollywood their hard-earned money.
"Slumdog Millionaire" made more than $141 million in the U.S., while "The Dark Knight" went on to make more than $533 million. It doesn't take a business major to see which film Hollywood is going to support.
Any filmmaker in the world will tell someone that no one should ignore the fact that show business is just that: a business. When the studios see that a film like "The Matrix" makes money, they are going to either make sequels or clones like "Equilibrium."
Audience members have to stop watching sequels and go see these great "original" films that they usually ignore or accept sequels and remakes that make good money.
One good example of a film that was ignored was "The Shawshank Redemption" when it was in theaters in 1994. The film failed in the box-office because people wanted to see films like "Naked Gun 33 1/3," which was sure hit in Hollywood's eyes like the first two films.
Remakes, unlike sequels, should almost never be thought of as good money-making schemes. Thinking about it now, I can understand how audience members get mad at Hollywood's blantant lack of originality when it comes to remakes.
Horror remakes are especially bad. It started off with a covert attempt to remake Japanese horror films like "The Ring" and "The Grudge." However, when those films started to fizzle out, studios just decided to remake American horror classics such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
The biggest problem with most remakes is that the filmmakers decide not to do anything different and leave those who admire the originals to feel like they got cheated out of their $8 to watch a film that has already been made.
In the end, people should just accept and try to enjoy the countless sequels that are inevitably going to be released every year and try to just ignore all of the awful remakes that are also a hallmark of Hollywood's lack of creativity.
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