Director William Friedkin has called out Hollywood, saying there are too many films based on comic books coming out and not enough original ideas.
“It’s harder and harder to do [original adult material] in this climate of American film… which is mostly concerned with movies that are comic books and remakes,” the director of the Exorcist tells AFP. “The audiences have changed. They are conditioned by television and television is aimed at the lowest common denominator… their expectations are lower.”
“Originality Is Overrated” is something I say a lot and not that I think someone shouldn’t try to be original, it’s just mostly futile. With a hundred + years of television and film combined how much originality is really left. I would challenge this “guy” to come up with something that hasn’t been seen before and I bet he won’t so *insert raspberry sound
I am an adult and I am loving these recent comic films. I would have loved to see these when I was a kid but the technology to properly make them just wasn’t there. Sure they have been done before in comic book form but most people never read them and it’s all new to them. Also most of them have been altered to make a better film. That is pretty original.
Morgothik,
It’s all about telling an old story to a new generation and just because said story has been told before doesn’t invalidate it’s quality. If Mr. Friedkin were in charge of Marvel or D.C. comics Batman and Superman would have died off decades ago. But something keeps us wanting those characters despite multiple incarnations.
True, but retelling a story is no excuse to be lazy about the story you’re telling. THAT’S where the remake and reboot maniacs are losing sight of their purpose.
Dark Knight was a slam dunk in the reboot department, and I think X-Men First Class was a magnificent way to jumpstart an exploration of the early X-Men timeline, if they decide to continue with more sequels from that starting point rather than from X3.
I went to see the remake of “The Mechanic” (Jason Statham, Ben Foster) with low expectations and came out happily surprised. I also enjoyed the remake of “3:10 to Yuma” more than I expected to.
Doesn’t mean I prefer the remakes or reboots, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll give them any slack when they get it wrong (I’m looking at you, Singer!)
And the whole “introducing a character to a new (younger) audience” doesn’t fly 100% for me. Wouldn’t it be less expensive to remaster the original (or its director’s cut) and give that a new theatrical run? Lucas has done it 20 times with Star Wars, and we saw it done with Blade Runner, Aliens, The Abyss, T2, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, and at least a handful more. It’d definitely be cheaper than $100 million per film.
Well said.