5. We Are Going To Get More And More Remakes And Franchises
My love of film grew as a child through animation and horror. And it breaks my heart to see so many horror films that terrified me like 'Halloween', 'The Thing', 'The Omen', 'Nightmare on Elm Street' and fantastic Spanish and Asian fare like 'The Orphanage' and 'Ju-On' remade, and repackaged safely without a unique vision or any real terror- many of the great horror films are social commentaries on the time they are made, and if the remakes dont understand this and adapt suitably, then what the hell is the point in remaking it? However, franchises arent necessarily a bad thing- I mean, Shakespeare practically invented the modern franchise with The Hollow Crown, and the spin-off with The Merry Wives of Windsor. I wouldnt be surprised if Ive missed out one of his plays that is technically a prequel or a sidequel. I am actually a big supporter of franchises like Harry Potter, James Bond (perhaps less of a solid example considering the total lack of continuity), Toy Story and The Lord of The Rings where a saga is told, and in some cases we grow up with the characters in them and learn to love them. It means you dont have to cram everything into one film or tease sequels because you have time to tell your story and develop your characters. But I am incredibly cynical of films based on books when the rights are bought before publication, or they the books are split into two to make sure we dont leave anything out. Everyone wants their own Harry Potter. How many failed attempts by suits desperate for some of that cash have we seen? 'Eragon', 'Stormbreaker', 'The Spiderwick Chronicles', 'The Seeker: The Dark is Rising' And a most repulsive term is thrown about by the suits now Brand Recognition. It makes me sick to say it. Thats why they remake horror films which they already cannibalised with inferior sequels, because people already know about it and they dont take risks. Thats why they are adapting films based on Monopoly and Stretch Armstrong, for crying out loud! One thing I completely disagree with is the idea that big-name actors arent a draw anymore, and that its the brand behind a film that draws the punters. That simply isnt true- acotrs will always win out. They are the faces we see on screen, the characters who we go through the journey with and care about, not the friggin mythology (Because the tales of Cybertron just make me go all misty-eyed) In some cases, yes, people know what youre talking about when you say lets see 'The Hunger Games', but I guarantee you that new Leonardo DiCaprio movie will be more appealing to joe public than Lets see the movie based on a Ouija board, which happens to star Leonardo DiCaprio (This is hypothetical, because Leo is clearly better than that)