The decade of remakes and reboots and old movie sequels?

Forgive me if this has already been discussed but the current trend in Hollywood really seems to be disturbing me. The past couple of years and the next few years seem to be just full of remakes, reboots and sequels of old movies.

Be it an old 80's movie or cartoon getting a movie like Transformers or a Land of the Lost movie getting made, I see lots of old stuff getting rehashed and slapped with new paint and released in the theaters. Friday the 13th, Halloween and even Prom Night got reboots. There are talks of Beverly Hills Cop sequels being made and a Buffy movie, Terminator got another sequel, there is a reboot of the Predator franchise coming out...

Lots of old stuff getting released as new stuff here lately. Seriously. If you think about a good chunk of the movies released in the last couple of years and the ones going to be released in the next few, there are TONS of old ideas long since dead getting revived. Kind of makes me sad that Hollywood has such few ideas.

Seems that nobody in Hollywood has a new, unique idea to save their life. I have friends who are screenwriters and that's all studios want at the moment. Why waste time creating something original, when they can throw some fresh paint on something else and make tons of money off of it.

The films that are truly unique right now are the independent films. That circuit has some great films nowadays.

Yeah, almost feels like there are no original ideas left.

It almost seems like every month you have a rehashed movie coming out. Either that or something that was already done. GI-JOE and Transformers got movies and they were 80's shows. Now you have Land of the Lost coming out and Bewitched came out a couple of years ago too. What's next a Full House movie?

I'm trying to think of a "remake" that wasn't just pure garbage.

The only two that come to mind are Batman/Superman(I liked S:Returns) and Star Trek. Not only was it a great film, but it didn't consider itself a "remake". There was an actual story that bridged the two times, which I thought was clever. Which is weird, because those 3 franchises are beloved and weren't crappy the first time. It's funny how they remake crappy films into more crappy films.

GI:Joe, Transformers, Land of the Lost, Bewitched =

Yeah Batman and Superman I didn't even think of but those are re-dos too. They were good movies but re-dos still.

You should see it in a more optimistic way. As Caedus pointed out, for every truckload of rehashed crap produced we get a handful of gems. People hate seeing another remake or reboot, but everyone is glad to see Batman and Star Trek get a second chance. You have to take both the good and the bad, you can't have it one way. And It isn't as if there aren't fresh ideas in cinema or untouched properties from literature or culture(s) that could be used, because there certainly are.

While I don't find these sorts of complaints unfounded, I do think they are a bit shortsighted. If you really think there aren't any fresh, original movies released every year then frankly you're not looking hard enough. Start watching more indie films, pay more attention to films outside of the $100 million+ budget variety.

Darth Caedus said:

Seems that nobody in Hollywood has a new, unique idea to save their life. I have friends who are screenwriters and that's all studios want at the moment. Why waste time creating something original, when they can throw some fresh paint on something else and make tons of money off of it.

The films that are truly unique right now are the independent films. That circuit has some great films nowadays.

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Enough said.

It's the economy, established franchises are safe bets for fans...rather than dump millions in a new film and have it bomb.

Look at the Opening Weekend numbers for the Terminator films:

T2: $31,765,506
T3: $44,041,440
TS: $43,010,000

Darth Caedus said:

Seems that nobody in Hollywood has a new, unique idea to save their life. I have friends who are screenwriters and that's all studios want at the moment. Why waste time creating something original, when they can throw some fresh paint on something else and make tons of money off of it. The films that are truly unique right now are the independent films. That circuit has some great films nowadays.

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It isn't this completely. Hollywood is as fickle as a 5 year old wondering through Toys R Us. They latch onto what made money. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween remakes made cash so that spurned Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraizer remakes. Transformers was a huge hit, which not only spawn sequels but made Hollywood look at nostalga toys and option everything under the sun. GI Joe, Voltron, possible CGI Thundercats, Master of the Universe, etc. Even the success of Jumanji had them looking at board games which was followed by Zathura and there are even Monopoly, Candy Land, Battleship and Life movies in really early pre-production. Twilight is a hit so there are a ton of Vampire properties lifting. If/When "The Wolfman" comes out and is a hit you'll see new Universal Monster movies rebooting. Comic Book movies are even a part of this.

You still have original films being done in Dramas, Comedies, Thrillers its just that the Action/Summer Tentpoles have always kinda had this formula or else you wouldn't see pitches like "Its like Die Hard but on a Bus" being thrown around. Its just worse now because these properties have a tendancy to spawn amazing merchandising revenue.

ghostbusters too...

It depends on the movie I guess but for the ones that matter most to me they kind of messed them up so far.
Those being both alien and predator in avp. I actually liked Friday the 13th and TCM but it appears alot of the older fans didn't. I hated Halloween to be honest...

I haven't seen Terminator Salvtion yet but I hope I like it.

i can't wait for the next generation of filmakers.....nothing but movies about shiny cars with neon lights, wings, and giant bass amps.

Mikey2Bullets said:

i can't wait for the next generation of filmakers.....nothing but movies about shiny cars with neon lights, wings, and giant bass amps.

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I think we're seeing the first inkling of that now. A generation of filmmakers and writers raised by tv and videogames. Zero imagination.

TheObsoleteMan said:

I think we're seeing the first inkling of that now. A generation of filmmakers and writers raised by tv and videogames. Zero imagination.

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absolutely. just think, a few years from now.....even indie films will be shallow drivel.

You guys are so pessimistic.

TheObsoleteMan said:

I think we're seeing the first inkling of that now. A generation of filmmakers and writers raised by tv and videogames. Zero imagination.

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Hey now. Nothing wrong with being raised on tv and videogames.
Surely some of us can make a good movie.

uscmhicks said:

Hey now. Nothing wrong with being raised on tv and videogames.
Surely some of us can make a good movie.

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it's not so much being on tv and video games (single parent houshold, latchkey kid, etc...). i'm in that camp too. except i went outside to play in the 80's and 90's. i think it's a lack of creativity due to the "have it your way, right away" mentality of the most recent generation. kinda like yuppies, except no college education or legitimate ambiton.

but back on track....monopoly the movie, battleship the movie, what the hell? what's next, live action my little pony???

like the rest of u guys, i'm kinda concerned abt the flood of remakes and reboots.

but having said that, there are some remakes i'm actually looking forward to.

like MACGYVER! now there's a character that's strong enough to not just withstand the remake disease, but thrive on it. i always thought the concept (a government agent who hates guns and relies on his genius for improvisation and invention to get him outta trouble) was a brilliant one. and is open-ended enough to allow for changes to his universe.

on a separate note, i also am quite keen on the TRON sequel/remake. i can just imagine what can be done with today's cgi technology, it'll look friggin awesome. as long as they have a decent enough plot, it should be a good fun movie.

Two more....

FLight of the Navigator.

https://io9.com/5270745/disney-rema...cause-you-dont-have-enough-money-to-stop-them

and Buffy movie reboot....

https://io9.com/5269598/buffy-remake-without-joss-whedonites-will-burn-la-to-the-ground-first