Butler's Script Sale of the Week...
March 4th, 2002
Is it really so hard to come up with original ideas? It's bad enough that the music industry feels every other pop song has to sample a classic rift to be a hit, but now Hollywood seems to have been infected with the creative laziness bug. Yes, they've always remade classic films, but lately it's getting a bit out of hand. If I hear the word "re-imagining" again I think I'll shoot myself.
So I was relieved that Anne and Arnold Kopelson are only "re-conceptualizing" STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and that Harvey Weinstein and company are simply "re-telling" THE SEVEN SAMURAI. At least screenwriter Gwyn Lurie has chosen toignore the previous screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and work directly from the novel. But then you have to ask yourself why the screenwriters of the original flick didn't stick to the novel, especially when one of today's top scribes, Scott Frank, gave up trying pen a "true to the novel" version.
There should be a rule that filmmakers are only allowed to remake shitty movies. If the top film critics in the world deem a film "classic" then it should be untouchable. Wanna remake ISHTAR? Go ahead. Feel like "re-imagining" WATERWORLD. Be my guest. Think you could "re-tell" BATTLEFIELD EARTH? It's all yours. Got a great idea to "re-conceptualize" STOP OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT. Go for it!
Think about it. When was the last time you saw a remake that was better than the original? OCEAN'S 11? Exactly.
Hollywood filmmakers make obscene amounts of money. Is it too much to ask that they work for it? Or will we have to rely on television to bring us the truly original and inventive stories? The fact that TV is undergoing a creative renaissance at the moment and that the producers of most TV shows these days are the writers themselves is no coincidence.
Film producers take note. While you're patting yourself on the back for the brilliant idea of remaking a classic flick there's some geek with a laptop dreaming up some truly original shit.
And it's truly original shit of which careers and real classics are made.
-- Edward Butler
So I was relieved that Anne and Arnold Kopelson are only "re-conceptualizing" STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and that Harvey Weinstein and company are simply "re-telling" THE SEVEN SAMURAI. At least screenwriter Gwyn Lurie has chosen toignore the previous screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and work directly from the novel. But then you have to ask yourself why the screenwriters of the original flick didn't stick to the novel, especially when one of today's top scribes, Scott Frank, gave up trying pen a "true to the novel" version.
There should be a rule that filmmakers are only allowed to remake shitty movies. If the top film critics in the world deem a film "classic" then it should be untouchable. Wanna remake ISHTAR? Go ahead. Feel like "re-imagining" WATERWORLD. Be my guest. Think you could "re-tell" BATTLEFIELD EARTH? It's all yours. Got a great idea to "re-conceptualize" STOP OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT. Go for it!
Think about it. When was the last time you saw a remake that was better than the original? OCEAN'S 11? Exactly.
Hollywood filmmakers make obscene amounts of money. Is it too much to ask that they work for it? Or will we have to rely on television to bring us the truly original and inventive stories? The fact that TV is undergoing a creative renaissance at the moment and that the producers of most TV shows these days are the writers themselves is no coincidence.
Film producers take note. While you're patting yourself on the back for the brilliant idea of remaking a classic flick there's some geek with a laptop dreaming up some truly original shit.
And it's truly original shit of which careers and real classics are made.
-- Edward Butler
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