Movie Remakes

What is Hollywood’s obsession with remaking movies? This obsession overflows to more than just movies but TV shows too. It seems that when one network finds some kind of hit show the next network is right behind it. For example the crime show epidemic has already been pointed out. One network has CSI, while another has NCIS. Network hits on one station spark hits for another. At least in these cases and other televisions programs the story lines differ from show to show. A remake of a movie on the other hand usually means the same storyline, but more up to date with new actors, sets and viewers.

Year after year there are all kinds of remakes such as King Kong, Superman and War of the Worlds to name a few. I understand that in some cases movies get remade because there is new technology available to make it better but what remains constant story. A movie gets remade because story has so much potential that it is wanted to bring to new generations and audiences. . For example Oceans 11 was remade and I think that the new one was great. However that is not always the case. Sometimes the film should be left to be appreciated in its original state and a remake is not necessary. A film as a cultural text is a collection of the people who made it, acted as part of it and the story that makes it. When all these things are interpreted as successful the movie is a hit and becomes a classic. You cannot remake a classic. There has recently been talk about a remake of Ferris Buellers Day Off which in my opinion is a classic and a personal favorite.

Are there really so few original ideas nowadays. Many times I finish novel and I think, wow that would make a great movie. There is so much potential material available yet some movies being mad are just the same as what is already out. Perhaps writers, producers and directors feel differently but surely they could write something original. Or perhaps, they think that by remaking previously successful films they can make them successful again and thus make all the money from a large blockbuster. Whatever their fascination, hopefully they will learn what texts to preserve and what to reproduce.