By Karis Fields
Over the past couple of years, Hollywood has had an insufferable obsession with remaking and rebooting beloved films. Not only have standalone films fallen victim to this trend, but so have many franchises. Which Fast & Furious movie are we on at this point?
Photo: NBCNews — Source
Just glancing at a list of this year’s film releases, a large percentage of them seem to fit along the lines of being a remake, a reboot, a biopic, or an adaptation – based on already established pieces of IP. While these films, as well as upcoming and buzzed about releases, are getting major press coverages; other films, with a more original screenplay are receiving little to none of the same attention.
I see more exposure to movies such as Dear Evan Hansen than I do to an original film such as Last Night in Soho. Last Night in Soho is also one of the very few of such original films that are getting the privilege to have a theatrical release these days. Many original films, that aren’t already based on established IP, can’t find their way to a Regal Cinemas, an AMC or even a major streaming service. These days, unfortunately, such original films only ever see the light of day at indie film festivals.
Not only do big budget Hollywood reboots steal the spotlight from an otherwise original piece of content, but it also ruins the project that is being rebooted (most of the time at least). Some of Disney’s live-action remakes, for example, completely stray away from their original animated counterparts. I mean, Cruella De Vil is now a girl boss running her fashion empire instead of an unhinged madwoman who wants to kill puppies just so she can have a nice coat. And, better yet, Cruella is getting a sequel in the near future.
It feels like Hollywood is becoming oversaturated with these reboots, seeing as they are mostly of the same story. For instance, how many times do I have to watch a new adaptation of the story of Cinderella? Off the top of my head, I can already count about five. And there are probably more out there, and more coming in the future.
Is the film industry doing this for the sake of nostalgia, have they run out of original ideas, are they just lazy? Does Hollywood want to tarnish films that were once seen as classics? Or is Hollywood solely just concerned with trying to make a quick buck?
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