Does Hollywood have any unique imagination left?

[That'ssuper!]

In the era where movie franchises are constantly being renewed or revisited, is there any unique imagination left out there? I mean let's look at the list of films for 2008 that had a major impact on an audience. The films range from comic book real life adaptations such as Ironman, The Dark Knight, or based off a previous television show or movie series like Indiana Jones or Sex in the City. Only one large grossing film had an original storyline and that was Cloverfield. I want to know is this decade going to be like in the late 1960s and into the 70s where only repeats of previous stories are popular? There's a lot of talent out there, but is it being used like it should? Is it going to take something with the magnitude of Star Wars to get us out of a repeating cycle of remakes?

Your thoughts?

 

[Mr. Credible]

you're being very closed minded.

there are many, many original movies released all the time. maybe not as many big budget action movies like you talk about in your post, but when you're spending $150 million on a film, you want to know that it's going to make a profit. hollywood is first and foremost a business, after all.

 

[Jochimus]

Yeah, brand recognition helps. Your chances of getting money out of the hordes improves if the subject of the film is Harry Potter or Batman or the Simpsons or some other character who's become the big thing in another medium. That way you already have a pre-sold audience, which makes it a safer bet even if the finished film may not be good enough to wrack up the sh**load of money it might have otherwise gotten.

 

[Matt]

Cloverfield isn't exactly a fresh idea. The way it is carried out is unique (to a degree) but its not the beacon of originality. Plenty of original movies come out each year, furthermore, movies do not have to be original to be good.

 

[SouLeSS]

Nothing is original anymore because you can link just about everything to something else as a "based on " or "inspiried by".

 

[Galactus]

If you look at all the small movies that every week gets limited releases you could probably find a lot that can be considered original. When it comes to big productions, Hollywood has never had an unique imagination. Gone with the Wind, Jaws, The Exorcist, Psycho, The Wizard of Oz, The Godfather... the list of classics that were based on books is long.

 

[fabman]

I hope we'll get some more book adaptations, you know? Something that hasn't been seen on the big screen, yet.

I'm looking forward to "Tokyo Suckerpunch", starring Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon. By the way, any news about that?

 

[LadyVader]

That's what indie is for. Hollywood is all about standardization. That's how it's always been, since the 20's - 30's when they were making hundreds of movies a year, all practicall identical. Unfortunately, even the superhero movie boom is starting to wind down. The superhero movies released this year, Iron Man and Incredible Hulk, are very formulaic, with only special effects and the actor's charisma to make them watchable movies. The scripts however are far from original.

I think Hellboy might prove to be different. but that's solely because of Guillermo Del Toro's direction. As for TDK, wel... TDK has approached a mythological status of the perfect comic book movie before it's even been released.

 

[Cinemaman]

God, why some people can't understand that it's all about money!

Hollywood is a ceneter of film business, where major studies invest a lot money in huge projects, which have potential to make profit, because of already built fan base of the main source (book, comics, TV shows).

 

[Galactus]

Once in a while though Hollywood can make blockbusters that are original. Spielberg had huge succes early on with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and the first Indiana Jones-movie, all of which could be considered original. And today we have Pixar who always made original movies so far, with the exception of Toy Story 2. At least I don't think any of their movies have been based on books or something.

 

[Cinemaman]

Once in a while though Hollywood can make blockbusters that are original. Spielberg had huge succes early on with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and the first Indiana Jones-movie, all of which could be considered original. And today we have Pixar who always made original movies so far, with the exception of Toy Story 2. At least I don't think any of their movies have been based on books or something.

But Pixar is still an animation division. Others were made decades ago. What about today, we have only Cloverfield (you may say anything, but its story is still original) and National Treasure. That's first what comes to mind.

Besides, Hollywood surely makes dramas and and thrillers as well as blockbusters. I mean there are way more Hollywood dramas/thrillers than blockbusters coming out every year, and some of them are original.

 

[AshtonFoster]

Judging from some VERY ULTRA positive talk of Wall-E being nothing short of incredible, I'd answer 'yes'.

 

[Galactus]

But Pixar is still an animation division. Others were made decades ago. What about today, we have only Cloverfield (you may say anything, but its story is still original) and National Treasure. That's first what comes to mind.

James Cameron's upcoming Avatar shouldn't be forgotten either. At least it is a big budget production. If it also will be a blockbuster success remains to see...

 

[amazingfantasy15]

But Pixar is still an animation division. Others were made decades ago. What about today, we have only Cloverfield (you may say anything, but its story is still original) and National Treasure. That's first what comes to mind.

Besides, Hollywood surely makes dramas and and thrillers as well as blockbusters. I mean there are way more Hollywood dramas/thrillers than blockbusters coming out every year, and some of them are original.

What's original about Cloverfield? It's Godzilla crossed with the Blair Witch Project, it was a fun movie, but it wasn't original. Never really saw much originality with National Treasure either, felt like a modern day Indiana Jones with a dash of DaVinci Code.

What's your standard for an original movie?

 

[Galactus]

What's original about Cloverfield? It's Godzilla crossed with the Blair Witch Project, it was a fun movie, but it wasn't original. Never really saw much originality with National Treasure either, felt like a modern day Indiana Jones with a dash of DaVinci Code.

What's your standard for an original movie?

Looking that way mankind has probably never made anything that is original. Almost every book and movie ever written and made are similar to something else if you start nitpicking. Even most of the smaller movies released are probably similar to something already done if you looked through every damn movie ever made. Cloverfield and National Treasure wasn't at least, unlike most big Hollywood-productions today, based on books or other kind of established franchises.

 

[Galactus]

But why complain of a lack of originality? Look at the movies that makes most money every year and it's obvious that a lot of people wants movies that is something safe, something that you know what you'll get when you buy your ticket.

 

[Cinemaman]

James Cameron's upcoming Avatar shouldn't be forgotten either. At least it is a big budget production. If it also will be a blockbuster success remains to see...

But it hasn't been made yet.

 

[Cinemaman]

What's original about Cloverfield? It's Godzilla crossed with the Blair Witch Project, it was a fun movie, but it wasn't original. Never really saw much originality with National Treasure either, felt like a modern day Indiana Jones with a dash of DaVinci Code.

What's your standard for an original movie?

OMG! What I mean by saying "original movie" is a movie, which isn't based on any other source than an original story. Is Cloverfield based on a book, comics, TV show or video game? No, and that's why it's considered original.

But as a concept, yes, it's not original, although it has a very unique storytelling.

 

[Hush]

Hancock, i dont know the history behind it but it looks pretty damn good to me and pretty ****ing original aswell. Also that little movie Crash seemed pretty original to me but hey thats just me and the academy who you know gave it the award for best picture.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Charlie Kaufman, Nuff said

 

[Cinemaman]

^^^

You're damn right.

 

[mr. peasant]

In the era where movie franchises are constantly being renewed or revisited, is there any unique imagination left out there? I mean let's look at the list of films for 2008 that had a major impact on an audience. The films range from comic book real life adaptations such as Ironman, The Dark Knight, or based off a previous television show or movie series like Indiana Jones or Sex in the City. Only one large grossing film had an original storyline and that was Cloverfield. I want to know is this decade going to be like in the late 1960s and into the 70s where only repeats of previous stories are popular? There's a lot of talent out there, but is it being used like it should? Is it going to take something with the magnitude of Star Wars to get us out of a repeating cycle of remakes?

Your thoughts?

I don't think the lack of imagination lies in Hollywood but rather that of the audience. As you've pointed out, it's mainly movies based on preexisting franchises and heavily marketed as such as well as those starring big name celebrities that become major box office hits. As the gross of a movie is indicative of the number of tickets sold, these are thus the ones that draw the most viewers. It's not so much that original scripts are no longer being used (and indeed, there are still plenty, as seen in the various film fests) but that these movies, for the most part, fly under the audience's radar. The fact is, we live in a very brand conscious era and people only want to spend on something only if it's popular. Producers are merely adjusting to such a mentality.

 

[Symbiote666]

Originality is a gamble.

If you're paying someone to make a movie for you and they're using a style or technique that isn't used that often or has never been done before, they're gambling with your money. If it all goes pear shaped, they have just lost your money. If someone is making a movie that is aimed at a strict audience, they're limiting your profits due to the nature of the film. There is far more money to be earned from the general movie going public than there is from certain genre loving audiences, so why not aim for the general audience? (That's the way they see it, I hate it when studios do that).

There isn't a lack of originality, there is just a lack of companies willing to take risks and finanance a movie that isn't 'for everyone', so the original ideas are left behind.

This can even be seen in movie that aren't original, but are aimed at a certain audience. Die Hard, for example, was always aimed at audiences that like R rated movies, however Fox decided to re-boot the franchise and make it a PG-13 so they had a broader target audience, shoving the 'real' fans back to an unrated DVD, in another grasp to make more money. Same goes with Hitman, they wanted it to be PG-13 at first, Xavier Gens (director) said no, they let him shoot it as an R, then at the end, fired him and re-shot half of his movie to be more 'action packed', shorter and suitable for everyone.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Originality is a gamble.

I've often heard it said, "There's no such thing as an original idea; rather, an original take on an existing one." That's pretty much true on the most basic level. Take the issue of time-travel for example. "Back to the Future", "The Time Machine", and "Planet of the Apes" are drastically different films, yet they share a common premise. By the same reckoning, Hollywood often find itself doing the same thing. They repeatedly use many of the same ideas, but change the circumstances.

...then at the end, fired him and re-shot half of his movie...

Reminds me of what the Salkinds did to Donner with "Superman II".

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

Wall-e seemed pretty damned original to me. I've never seen a story like that one.