Remake, Re-Imagination, Regurgitate

Adaptions, Remakes, Re-Imaginations, Oh My!

I have my writer hat on now.

"No One Knows Anything", screenwriter William Goldman wrote and his words are never truer than now. As six major corporations absorb Hollywood, more and more, business-centric managers (who I loved to hate when I was in Software) are finding themselves in charge of creative decisions. These people have business degrees from places where the ivy grows freely but don't know sub-text from rising action.

When the pressure is on and viewers are running away, these execs and producers fall victim to what I call, "Burning Barn Syndrome". A horse will sometimes run back into a burning barn because it's scared and the barn is "safe" even though the action means certain death. This applies to TV and Film, different delivery methods but the net effect is the same.

In this case, the burning barn and the false safety it offers are previously established projects that supposedly have a built in audience. They are: Books, Comics, Old TV Shows and Older Popular Films. Look at BOURNE, HARRY POTTER, THE HOBBIT, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but for every GALACTICA, there's a STARSKY AND HUTCH or BIONIC WOMAN or KNIGHT RIDER where fans are left feeling empty, people are irritated and ratings are poor.

It's a vicious cycle. Viewers are bored, they look to new media, ratings go down, execs panic and retreat to their "Safe Place" (Remakes, Adaptions and Re-imaginations[R.A.R.]), viewers resist the same old stuff and run away. You can almost hear the stampede of execs running to their legal departments to find out who owns the rights for CHARLIE'S ANGELS (oh wait, they did that) or MAGNUM PI (oh wait, they're doing that) or B.J. and the BEAR (not done yet) every time a TV or Film project tanks but for every R.A.R that works, many, many more fail and, to be honest, piss off the viewers.

I've seen a growing lack of tolerance for R.A.R projects. Over and over, in blogs and discussion groups and fan sites there's the collective groaning when a R.A.R is announced. This happens for one of two reasons; either there's the impression that there's nothing new coming out or the fear that a beloved film or show from yesteryear will be butchered in the R.A.R process.

Around the Globe, screenwriters gnash their teeth. They have the new ideas but they can't crack the walnut of Hollywood. The business insulates itself and sadly, it should. I have read a lot of scripts this year and 95% of them were DOA. Everyone hates to read, who has the time? Agents have all they can do to keep their clients happy. The internet has allowed anyone and everyone to write a screenplay and sadly,many should not. Just because a person watches a lot of TV or Films does not a writer make. The creative talent pool is dirty and there's not enough chlorine to clear it up.

At the end of the day, it all falls on the execs and they know it, which is why they go the safe route to begin with. When the bottom line drives the industry, creative ambition is squashed. Granted, Indie film, long the bastion of true creativity where R.A.Rs rarely exist, forges ahead but its work pales in comparison to the volume and distribution of the studio / network system. Show Business is a business, there's no denying, but it's also an entertainment venue and an art form. There must be some way for the bottom line to co-exist with the creative without a battle to the death and without having to resort to the desperation of R.A.Rs.

Right?