Welcome to my blog. I decided to begin writing this blog last night after I did some research into the movies to be released within the next two years, and I felt obligated to share thoughts that I've had for a long time about the status of the film and television industry.
Just a quick disclaimer...I will not complete my first year of law school for another two and a half weeks, so I won't be making too many posts until after May 12. Once the summer starts, I'll have more time to write.
In recent years, there has been a conspicuous decrease in the number of "original screenplays" in the movie business. What makes a screenplay "original" is one that is written by a screenwriter, director, etc. that is NOT adapted from a novel, NOT a remake, NOT a reboot, and NOT a prequel/sequel. (I will delve more into this issue in a later post)
With this knowledge, open up the movie section of your local newspaper or, since this is the technology age, go to http://www.moviefone.com/ and take a look at the movies that are currently out. How many of them meet the criteria of an original screenplay? In a 16-theatre multiplex, maybe 25% of the movies? AT BEST!
Let's take a sample of the movies currently out in Nassau County, NY:
The Bounty Hunter - an original screenplay, but a complete box office bomb
Date Night - another successful Steve Carell movie
Clash of the Titans - a remake of a 1981 movie of the same name
Death at a Funeral - a remake of a 2007 British movie of the same name
Diary of a Wimpy Kid - an adaptation of a book published in 2007 of the same name
Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? - A sequel
Alice in Wonderland - A remake/sequel to the original 1951 animated movie, which in turn was an adaptation of the 1865 novel
Hot Tub Time Machine - an original comedy screenplay, following in the footsteps of the Bartha/Cooper/Helms/Galifianakis in The Hangover (2009).
Kick Ass - an adaptation based on a comic of the same name
The Last Song - another Nicholas Sparks adaptation
So we have three adaptations, two remakes, two sequels, and three original screenplays. Of the three originals, only two were/are successful: Date Night and Hot Tub Time Machine. Don't get me wrong, I really liked them, but they're bonehead comedies following the footsteps of The Hangover, Pineapple Express (2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), and The 40-Year-Old-Virgin (2005). Where are the quality dramatic, family, or fantasy screenplays?
An excellent example is Avatar (2009), which was completely conceived by James Cameron as far back as before he even made the original The Terminator (1984). The only reason he waited to make it until now was that he had to wait until the visual effects technology could catch up with his ideas. And it looks as if he was right because Avatar is now the highest-grossing movie of all time.
So, what's the big secret formula to making a successful original movie? EFFORT! There's a big rush to make a screenplay out of any recycled material just for the writers/directors/production companies/studios to rake in some money, that they sacrifice quality for the sake of expedience. It is now quantity over quality. Of course, the public goes to the theatre to see these movies, but it's not because they're specifically pining for these movies. It's because they don't have anything else. I certain that a person would want to see something new and original that they're not familiar with, than sitting through two hours of a movie, to which they know most of the plots points and most certainly known the trite ending. I guess we'll have to see what Hollywood churns out next and what people like most.
Until next time, I leave you with a relevant quote from Aaron Sorkin's original screenplay, The American President (1995):
Lewis Rothschild (Michael J. Fox): People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.
President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas): Lewis, we've had presidents who were beloved, who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference.
Just a quick disclaimer...I will not complete my first year of law school for another two and a half weeks, so I won't be making too many posts until after May 12. Once the summer starts, I'll have more time to write.
In recent years, there has been a conspicuous decrease in the number of "original screenplays" in the movie business. What makes a screenplay "original" is one that is written by a screenwriter, director, etc. that is NOT adapted from a novel, NOT a remake, NOT a reboot, and NOT a prequel/sequel. (I will delve more into this issue in a later post)
With this knowledge, open up the movie section of your local newspaper or, since this is the technology age, go to http://www.moviefone.com/ and take a look at the movies that are currently out. How many of them meet the criteria of an original screenplay? In a 16-theatre multiplex, maybe 25% of the movies? AT BEST!
Let's take a sample of the movies currently out in Nassau County, NY:
The Bounty Hunter - an original screenplay, but a complete box office bomb
Date Night - another successful Steve Carell movie
Clash of the Titans - a remake of a 1981 movie of the same name
Death at a Funeral - a remake of a 2007 British movie of the same name
Diary of a Wimpy Kid - an adaptation of a book published in 2007 of the same name
Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? - A sequel
Alice in Wonderland - A remake/sequel to the original 1951 animated movie, which in turn was an adaptation of the 1865 novel
Hot Tub Time Machine - an original comedy screenplay, following in the footsteps of the Bartha/Cooper/Helms/Galifianakis in The Hangover (2009).
Kick Ass - an adaptation based on a comic of the same name
The Last Song - another Nicholas Sparks adaptation
So we have three adaptations, two remakes, two sequels, and three original screenplays. Of the three originals, only two were/are successful: Date Night and Hot Tub Time Machine. Don't get me wrong, I really liked them, but they're bonehead comedies following the footsteps of The Hangover, Pineapple Express (2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), and The 40-Year-Old-Virgin (2005). Where are the quality dramatic, family, or fantasy screenplays?
An excellent example is Avatar (2009), which was completely conceived by James Cameron as far back as before he even made the original The Terminator (1984). The only reason he waited to make it until now was that he had to wait until the visual effects technology could catch up with his ideas. And it looks as if he was right because Avatar is now the highest-grossing movie of all time.
So, what's the big secret formula to making a successful original movie? EFFORT! There's a big rush to make a screenplay out of any recycled material just for the writers/directors/production companies/studios to rake in some money, that they sacrifice quality for the sake of expedience. It is now quantity over quality. Of course, the public goes to the theatre to see these movies, but it's not because they're specifically pining for these movies. It's because they don't have anything else. I certain that a person would want to see something new and original that they're not familiar with, than sitting through two hours of a movie, to which they know most of the plots points and most certainly known the trite ending. I guess we'll have to see what Hollywood churns out next and what people like most.
Until next time, I leave you with a relevant quote from Aaron Sorkin's original screenplay, The American President (1995):
Lewis Rothschild (Michael J. Fox): People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.
President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas): Lewis, we've had presidents who were beloved, who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference.
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