Nothing excites me more than original properties, films written directly for the screen. To be honest, I'm just tired of just about every film being made nowadays being either a sequel, a remake (and/or reboot), or based upon a comic book, video game, or novel. Something has gotta give. So whenever I hear about large scale, big budget blockbusters being made based upon original properties, properties that were written for the screen, not for some other medium first and then transferred to film, it makes me extremely excited.
If anything, I'm burnt out on superhero films at the moment, and I love the genre, it just seems like everytime you turn around every superhero ever dreamed up is getting the big screen treatment; same goes for children's fantasy novels, which we have stuff like Harry Potter and Twilight to thank for that. One of my favorite filmmakers is Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki, and the reason I love his works is because everything he has ever done, aside from one or two exceptions, was based upon an original idea that he came up with. He writes his films directly for the screen, and it shows in cinematic masterpieces like Princess Mononoke. Now we're seeing more and more big Hollywood films being made from original ideas, and I just hope that this is the next big thing and not just a small bump in the road.
I've just been wondering whether or not Hollywood is beginning to see the value in original ideas once again? After all, Avatar, the highest grossing film of all-time was not based upon a comic book, it was an original idea that was not written for another medium first, but was written as a screenplay from the very beginning. I think that this is a large reason as to why I love this movie so, not to mention it's just a fascinating sci-fi/fantasy story, but also it's just so original compared to anything else Hollywood is pumping out right now.
Audiences are responding to original material, with one of the more hyped Summer blockbusters this year being director Christopher Nolan's Inception, a $200 million budget action/thriller about these people who enter into people's dreams to steal their thoughts. This is an original idea from Nolan himself, and the film is tracking exceedingly well. While I don't think it will put up Avatar numbers, I think it will be a solid sleeper hit that will go on to make back its budget. Is Hollywood taking notice?
Director J.J. Abrams' next film, Super 8, which hits theaters next Summer, is based upon an original idea that he came up with and he is directing it. The story is set in 1979, about a couple of teenagers fooling around with a Super 8 home video camera and they accidentally capture an alien in the background of one of their shots. An original idea. It seems so novel nowadays after such a bludgeon of annoyingly cliche'd genre efforts over the past decade or two.
To me, the reason why something like Avatar did so well, isn't because of 3-D, but because it was seen as a breath of fresh air for many film enthusiasts, and while the general populace will eat up anything the studios shove down their throats, at the end of the day, an original idea stays with the viewer longer than something that has been done thousands of times before and we're familiar with. Just look at Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., some of the most unforgettable blockbusters of all-time. Why? Cause they were original.
So are you paying attention Hollywood? I hope you are, cause the future of the film industry isn't gonna be made on the back of gimmicks like 3-D, but once the newness of stuff like that wears off, you know what's gonna have to save your butts? Storytelling, the one thing that has been around for creative folks since the dawn of time, and that is what will make ya'll millions, not some dumb gimmick.
No comments:
Post a Comment