BUSINESS IS BOOMIN! Iron Man 3? The Wolverine? Man of Steel? No matter what movie wins the highly coveted title as the biggest summer blockbuster, Hollywood cashes in and most likely has one of the best years ever at the box office. Now, before I state the issue I have with this, allow me to express that I cannot wait to see all three of these films. Thus, I consider myself part of the overall problem.
Question... IS NOTHING SACRED IN HOLLYWOOD? The answer to that one has been clear for as long as the studio system has existed. However, I always kind of thought that the movies were safe; that they would be protected. After all, they are the true children of Hollywood. I was wrong. Hollywood and its major studios continue to remake, redux, and restart films and ideas as if they have no creative juice left to squeeze, and it really pisses me off.
Originality has sadly passed away. Bring out your dead! Intellectual property is a graveyard in Hollywood. They continue to rob the graves of film history in attempt to give new life to classic ideas. Show your respects, Hollywood!
Now, I really didn't like or understand the idea of a remake when I was a young man. I simply didn't see the point and thought it to be pretty lame. However, my views have changed over the years. I can understand remaking a classic film or rebranding a classic franchise in lieu of modern film technology and advancements that allow for the movie and/or franchise to be a more effective story, and perhaps an even better film than the original.
Yet, how do you define 'classic' when Hollywood is remaking films that are 20 years old? It was recently announced that one of my favorite films of all time, The Crow, was getting a remake. This sickened me. The original movie was made in 1994! '94! And if not simply for it being such a young film in the vaults of movie history, a remake is just highly unnecessary due to the fact that the original was so visionary and awesome. Show some respect for Brandon Lee!
Nonetheless, I am not surprised. I think I knew in the back of my mind that this would happen someday. I am prepared for future disappointments in Hollywood. I know that no film in the history of cinema is safe. I suppose it's the only way of preserving great ideas and immortalizing their commercial value. People will keep spending money on the films, so why not cash in on them? People loved the Broadway show, they'll see the movie version! People loved the TV show, they'll see the movie version! People loved the comic book, they'll see the movie version! These are safe investments for Hollywood. Hollywood doesn't care about respect. It only cares about one thing... dead presidents. Nothing is sacred. The movie theater is a cemetery filled with zombies, films and patrons alike. The movies are walking dead and we are the ones that end up brainless victims of Hollywood.
I'm an optimist though. Perhaps, Hollywood will realize that you preserve great films in cinema archives, not movie theaters. Perhaps, Hollywood will start protecting the great films of yesteryear. Perhaps, Hollywood will experience a renaissance of fresh new ideas that will lead to the end of cinema recycling. Perhaps, art will someday be valued as much as commerce. VIVE LE CINEMA?
Unlike you, I will not be going to a movie theater to see these comic book films. I am not pissed off. I assure you. Just absolutely uninterested. I will see them in some sort of reruns on some lazy Sunday a year from now. These films are not works of art. They are products like potato chips or burgers. They are not beneficial, innovative or profound. They are salty treats that you enjoy every now and then because your body (in this case your mind) begs for something easily digestible. No more, no less.
ReplyDeleteWhat does disturb me is how many adults around the world (not just in the USA) take these films seriously. I have an otherwise very smart, well read, mature friend, whose eyes glaze over when someone talks about "Harry Potter". Chat rooms all over the internet are filled with endless discussions about superheroes, vampires, magic, Middle Fucking Earth, witches, werewolves etc. Most of the people involved in these discussions are way over 16 years old. Now that's disturbing to me.
I am not against Sci Fi by any means. I love it. But it seems to me that films like "Space Odyssey", "Solaris" or even "Blade Runner" will never be made again because Western culture as a whole seems to be completely freakin demented. Instead of a planet as a living organism (Solaris) we are now dealing with some guy with blades in his hands fighting some other guy with blades in his feet or some such shit.
What a shame...