By Ryan Leon, Sept. 17, 2024
With an abundance of remakes and reboots produced by multiple Hollywood production companies, original filmmaking has been sorely lacking, and I am deeply frustrated by it.
What’s most frustrating is how there is no end in sight to the production of these films. It robs film lovers of the chance to see something they never had. The suspense of not knowing where a film’s story is going adds to the experience, keeping the audience interested. A remake of a movie with different actors telling an identical story won’t have the same impact.
Capturing lightning in a bottle once is difficult enough, let alone twice. The twists and turns, scares, heartbreak and laughs experienced upon first viewing is never the same a second time. While remaking/rebooting movies is an easy way for Hollywood to make money (“The Crow,” “Mean Girls,” “Dune: Part II”), it’s simultaneously lazy, unimaginative and lacking in originality.
If major studios are going to remake carbon copies of original movies, then there’s no point in retelling those stories. While there is no shortage of film remakes, there are a couple of ways to restrict too many from being developed.
It would be more impactful if a story was retold in a better way than it was the first time around, according to an article from National Review. Not every original story needs to be remade.
This would be a great way to limit the number of remakes and reboots being produced. Although it’s not a perfect solution, it’s a start. The article also suggests producing remakes of old, classic films that are either ignored now or ones produced in other countries that didn’t make it to the United States.
Remaking classic films that were released in the ‘30s through ‘60s makes more sense than ones that were made any time after. 2019’s “A Star is Born,” is a remake of the classic 1937 film of the same name that received critical acclaim.
These two methods would make room for more original film scripts being picked up by The Big Five major production companies – Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and Walt Disney Studios.
Luckily, there are production companies such as A24 that favor original scripts. Unusual as they may be, A24-produced films are mostly original, which is great for the film industry because more original filmmaking means less remakes.
According to The Washington Post and a survey conducted by researcher James Barnes from Verve Search, nine in 10 audience members preferred original films over remakes. Movie lovers still prefer the magic of original scripts.
“Look at A24, the studio that sort of keeps making waves right now,” said Bernardo Solano, Cal Poly Pomona associate professor of theater and new dance. “They keep doing risky movies that I bet you half the studios passed on.”
Solano emphasized that taking risks and faith in audiences are what it would take for Hollywood to prioritize original filmmaking over remakes, making sure that decisions about the creation of the film are interesting to the public.
As an avid film viewer, I appreciate when filmmakers take risks. Stories are more interesting when they don’t include predictable outcomes. The more engrossing a film is, the more people are going to talk about it.
Original films tell never-before-seen stories. Although remakes can transport people to different places and immerse them in the world they’re looking at, this experience is magnified when watching something authentic.
“You have to have your own version of lightning in a bottle to make a movie that’s just as good as the original,” said Solano.
Feature image courtesy of Ruthie Johns