Originality in Movies
Hollywood Originality
I’ve always thought that originality was something to strive for. It seemed that doing something nobody had done before would yield the best results, but it now seems that may not be the case. After looking through AFI’s list of the top 100 films of all time, it is clear that the death of originality in Hollywood isn’t something that is keeping a film from being considered great and is in fact helping make more profit for the movie industry. Sticking to familiar ideas can ensure Hollywood they will get the one thing they want: money. So why run the risk of losing money when they can remake a movie knowing they will profit from it? Whether it be a sequel, an adaptation of a book or television show, or the same exact movie shown in 3D, movie-goers seem to flock to plots and names they are familiar with. Recently, Finding Nemo was re-released in 3D and has already racked up over 30 million dollars in just two weeks. Nothing about the movie changed other than it is being shown in 3D. Fans across the country already own the movie on DVD, yet they still spend their money to go see it in theaters again. The same goes for Lion King 3D released last year. A movie that many people already owned grossed nearly 94 million dollars during its stay in theaters. Though these movies may not be defined as “great”, there are plenty of examples of great movies that are not original ideas. In AFI’s (American Film Institute) latest list of the top 100 films of all time, only one film is a sequel. However, many are based on existing material. Just in the top 10, seven are not completely original ideas. Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Graduate, and Schindler’s List are all based off book adaptations. Casablanca is based off of the play, Everybody Comes to Rick’s; The Godfather is an adaptation of a novel by Mario Puzo; and Lawrence of Arabia is based off the writings of T.E. Lawrence during his time in an Arabian desert. This list makes it obvious that
I’ve always thought that originality was something to strive for. It seemed that doing something nobody had done before would yield the best results, but it now seems that may not be the case. After looking through AFI’s list of the top 100 films of all time, it is clear that the death of originality in Hollywood isn’t something that is keeping a film from being considered great and is in fact helping make more profit for the movie industry. Sticking to familiar ideas can ensure Hollywood they will get the one thing they want: money. So why run the risk of losing money when they can remake a movie knowing they will profit from it? Whether it be a sequel, an adaptation of a book or television show, or the same exact movie shown in 3D, movie-goers seem to flock to plots and names they are familiar with. Recently, Finding Nemo was re-released in 3D and has already racked up over 30 million dollars in just two weeks. Nothing about the movie changed other than it is being shown in 3D. Fans across the country already own the movie on DVD, yet they still spend their money to go see it in theaters again. The same goes for Lion King 3D released last year. A movie that many people already owned grossed nearly 94 million dollars during its stay in theaters. Though these movies may not be defined as “great”, there are plenty of examples of great movies that are not original ideas. In AFI’s (American Film Institute) latest list of the top 100 films of all time, only one film is a sequel. However, many are based on existing material. Just in the top 10, seven are not completely original ideas. Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Graduate, and Schindler’s List are all based off book adaptations. Casablanca is based off of the play, Everybody Comes to Rick’s; The Godfather is an adaptation of a novel by Mario Puzo; and Lawrence of Arabia is based off the writings of T.E. Lawrence during his time in an Arabian desert. This list makes it obvious that