HOLLYWOOD—Any inspiring writer will tell you its difficult to come up with a unique idea that others haven’t already done. When it comes to movies, Hollywood is known to put out the same thing over and over again, which brings me to ask, “Is Hollywood running out of original ideas?” Everything we’ve see on the silver screen is either an adaptation of a book or play, sequel or remake. There’s this theory that you can always take something old and make it modern for today’s audience, but that’s not always the case.
For those who haven’t been to a movie theater lately, 2011 is expected to be the biggest year for sequels and superheroes. If you grew up reading comic books you’ll be excited to see “The Green Latern,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “X-Men: First Class” and “Thor,” which will all hit the screen this year. With the “The Dark Knight” setting the bar high in 2008, it’ll be difficult for many of these films to live up to that prestige because there’s no originality expected in many of those adaptations. If you’re going to take something and adapt it, it’s okay to infuse innovation into it; give the audience something they don’t expect.
As for sequels there are so many there’s no need to go through the entire list, but expect “Transformers: Dark of The Moon,” “Fast Five,” “Scream 4” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” to name a few. Hollywoodloves a sequel because they know they already have a dedicated fan base to speak, especially if the first film did exceptionally well at the box-office. I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again, just because a film makes a lot of money doesn’t mean it needs a sequel. Here is the number one reason a sequel should be made: there is more to the story that wasn’t told from the first film. You can’t create a story to push a sequel; that story has to already be a part of the film itself for it to work successfully work.
Take a look at the Wachowski brother’s sci-fi epic “The Matrix” which changed visual effects as we know back in 1999. It was unlike anything ever seen on the screen and the massive buzz for the movie made it perhaps the must-see movie of the year. Everyone was talking about it. On the dramatic side, one of my favorites is Best Picture winner “Crash” written by Paul Haggis. His ability to weave so many stories into one was a unique concept that worked well. Whenever a film that tackles such a touchy issue like race relations in the world, it can spark so much dialogue it’s special.
Currently there’s an explosion of remakes in the film industry. If it was a film made in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s there’s a strong possibility that it has been remade. “The Bodyguard,” starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, is in talks to be remade, and other remakes in contention include “The Birds,” “Footloose” and “Fright Night” to name a few. Recently audiences were treated to a remake of the 1969 classic “True Grit,” which starred Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. There was a tremendous amount of buzz behind the film, but I found it particularly dull though Haillee Steinfeld was incredible. If a film is remade, its not enough to rehash the same story with a different set of actors. The story shouldn’t be familiar, otherwise it’s a waste of time; the goal is to make the film its own, with little connection to its predecessor besides the title.
Now we’ve discussed a few problems with adaptations, remakes and sequels, but there are some Hollywood heavyweights not afraid to think outside of the box. A favorite of mine is Christopher Nolan whose mind-bender “Inception” was the most innovative film that I’ve ever seen. It was a smart, classic and visually stunning movie with character development. Ridley Scott is hard on work on his sci-fi thriller “Prometheus,” which was initially planned to be a prequel to his 1979 classic “Alien.” However, during the writing process the script took a life of its own. There’s quite a bit of buzz surrounding this movie, so I’m excited to see it in 2012. There’s also the ballet thriller “Black Swan” that has mesmerized audiences this awards season as well as the powerhouse tale of “The Fighter.”
The thing about making movies is that it is taking a risk, which can really pay off, but at the same time it can be the death of a career. So it’s a line that is carefully treaded, but, as I tell people, you have to trust your idea and let the story guide you versus trying to guide the story. All it takes is one idea to span into something amazing.
