Just this past weekend, Kerry Birmingham and I were having a conversation inside of a comic book store with a friend of his – Steve a.k.a. Doc – about one of my favorite subjects: movies, of course.
During our rap session, we touched base on TRON: Legacy, the soon-to-be-released, big-budget sequel to the 1982 cult classic starring Jeff Bridges, who reprises his role in the sequel. We all agreed that the original broke new ground in terms of special effects and introducing moviegoers to a new sort of cinematic experience. However, I, for one, remain a little baffled by how beloved the original is considering how convoluted the plot is and how tacky the then-groundbreaking special effects now look compared to today’s standards.
Which brought about a series of questions: Is there a large enough audience for a big-budget (reportedly $245 million) sequel to a 28-year-old sci-fi film that most of today’s teens and young adults have likely never heard of, much less seen? Would they even want to see it? Sure, hardcore fans of the original (read: middle-aged fan boys and sci-fi geeks) will come out en masse and drag their wives and children with them, but will that be a large enough crowd to justify having made it?
We’ll find out soon enough when TRON: Legacy bows next week.
These questions got me to thinking: has the output of original material for film gotten so sporadic that sequels to, and remakes of, decades-old films and television series have become the wave of the future?
If At First You Don’t Succeed, Why Not Do a Follow-Up?
Recently Warner Bros. announced its 2011 film slate and it’s made up primarily of sequels (The Hangover 2, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Journey to the Center of the Earth 2, and Happy Feet 2, among others). And they’re fast-tracking a follow-up to the star-packed ensemble film Valentine’s Day (which was a substantial box office hit for the studio earlier this year) with another star-packed ensemble effort called New Year’s Eve set to feature the likes of Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Hilary Swank.
In a day and age where it’s increasingly difficult to get original scripts produced into movies (and to a degree, television series) unless a big star or two or three is attached – a harsh reality that has hit the independent film community as well – it comes as no surprise that the proliferation of sequels and remakes and revamps is happening at such an alarming rate. The way the studios see it, material that comes with a built-in audience is a surer bet than something unfamiliar in terms of public awareness.
In short, originality isn’t so much dead as it is fiscally undesirable. Which is ironic considering most sequels bomb at the box office. For every Terminator 2: Judgment Day you have a City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly’s Gold, a Speed 2: Cruise Control, and most recently a Sex and the City 2.
But when they do hit, and hit big, like the Lethal Weapon and Ocean’s Eleven and Spider-Man franchises, clearly the gamble outweighs whatever financial risk was involved.
Imitation: The Sincerest Form of Flattery?
Speaking of the Spider-Man franchise, a fourth Spider-Man film from director Sam Raimi was recently scrapped due to creative differences between Raimi and the studio. In response, Sony is gambling on a revamp of their cash cow with an entirely new cast and crew.
A few years ago when news broke that 300 star Gerard Butler had been picked to step into Snake Plissken’s boots in a remake of director John Carpenter’s 1981 cult classic Escape From New York, Kurt Russell (who originated the role) let his disapproval of the remake – and Butler’s casting – be known. Recently, actor Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Town) has shot down media reports that he would assume the role now that the once-stalled remake is apparently back on track.
Before Russell sounded off on Escape’s proposed remake, Kathleen Turner voiced her disapproval following Catherine Zeta-Jones’ announcement that she was interested in doing a remake of The War of the Roses (1989) with her husband Michael Douglas, who starred in the original opposite Turner. 20th Century Fox is reportedly working on a remake of 1984’s Romancing the Stone, which also starred Douglas and Turner, and this is on the heels of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, Fox’s follow-up to 1987’s Wall Street. Turner has made no public comment regarding the Stone remake.
Furthermore, on the remake and revamp front, Halle Berry and MGM tried to get a remake of the Pam Grier blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown produced for years with no luck. Before running into financial trouble, the studio also attempted to redo another blaxploitation classic Truck Turner with Queen Latifah assuming the role made famous by the late-Isaac Hayes.
And meanwhile, just in time for Christmas, the Coen Brothers (Raising Arizona, Fargo, No Country For Old Men) will debut their new film, a remake of the classic 1969 western, True Grit, with TRON and TRON: Legacy star Jeff Bridges assuming the role of Rooster Cogburn (a role that won John Wayne an Oscar). According to media reports, the Coens’ remake more closely adheres to the source material (Charles Portis’ novel of the same name) than the original film did.
As far as the recent explosion of film remakes, sequels and revamps go, is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Perhaps. Or, as some have suggested, is it the caveat of studio and network chiefs devoid of an original thought or idea?
Something to think about.
