Lack of Creativity in Hollywood?

So far this year, most of the films coming out of Hollywood are either sequels or remakes of old TV shows and movies. Among the many remakes that came out this year are Assault on Precinct 13, The Honeymooners, Bewitched, and War of the Worlds. Later in the year we will also see remakes of The Dukes of Hazzard, The Bad News Bears and King Kong.

The box office has been in a slump for the past nineteen weeks and many experts are trying to figure out why this is. They should look no further than the quality of movies that are being released now.

It seems as those most people are getting sick of paying upwards of $10 a ticket to go see a remake of an old TV show or movie. Most of the time the studios are remaking shows that do not need to be remade. There was no need for a Bewitched remake. The original show is available on DVD now. If people want to watch Bewitched they can buy or rent the DVD. They do not need to see a reimagining of it with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell.

The 1998 remake of Psycho is another example of why remakes are not necessary. The original Psycho from 1960 is a classic horror movie and it was perfectly made. There was nothing wrong with the original that warranted a remake. The really stupid thing about that remake was that it was a shot for shot remake. The director, Gus Van Sant didn't even add anything new. He copied it exactly. I believe that would be called plagarism.

There are times when remakes can be fun and entertaining. The Starsky and Hutch movie with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson is a good example of a remake. They turned a serious cop show into a comedy that poked fun at the original show and its characters. It added something new to the story in order to distance itself from the original.

Thats what a remake should do. A remake should not retread the exact same thing from the show that it is remaking. Many producers in Hollywood still haven't figured this out yet.

If you're tired of lackluster remakes and sequels I reccomend you check out more independent films. Most independent films are very orignal and innovative. Movies like Memento and the recently released Crash are two films that have great acting, plot and are not remakes of past movies or TV shows. Some of best films of recent years have been independent films.

Napoleon Dynamite was a low budget film that became a huge cult hit due to exposure and word of mouth. I know there are a lot of producers and screenwriters out there with original ideas that are being ignored by major studios. My advice to them is make the movie yourself.

Raise the money whatever way you can and get the movie made because maybe after you make that movie somebody out there will take notice and you will get you're big break. If more people go to see these low budget independent films than maybe producers will take notice and start producing more original creative films.

I know someplaces don't have movie theaters that play independent movies. If thats the case then are always DVDs.
DVDs have helpd many films become well known after they were failures at the box office. Movies like Fight Club and Donnie Darko have profited tremendously from DVD sales.