After trips to the cinema recently and a blog about book to film adaptations I stopped to take a think about original ideas in Hollywood. Here's a list of the current film releases (08.10.09)
(500) Days of Summer (Original Screenplay…grr)
Aliens in the Attic (Original Screenplay)
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Based on a book)
Creation (Based on the biography of Darwin written by Randal Keynes)
District 9 (Original Screenplay)
Dorian Gray (Based on a book)
Driving Aphrodite (Original Screenplay)
Fame (Remake)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Based on a book)
The Invention of Lying (Original Screenplay)
Julie & Julia (Based on a book)
Pandorum (Original Screenplay)
The Soloist (Based on a true story)
Surrogates (Based on a comic)
Zombieland (Original Screenplay)
Using my GCSE grade maths skills I’ve managed to work out that 46% (PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong) of the films listed above are based on original screenplays. Honestly that’s a lot more than I thought as it seems that whenever I go to the cinema seems to be dominated by remakes and adaptations with the only original ideas being rom-coms and horrors and it’s debatable over how original those really are …
It is understandable that, as we are in a recession, larger studios are more focused on bringing the money in than investing in new ideas and greater quality. Sadly it is much easier and safer to bank in on an already successful franchise and make a film where you are almost certain you will make a profit. Although, amid the mass-produced nonsense we’ve endured this year, some films have managed to break this mould namely the best film of the year so far Moon. Moon is based on an original idea by the film’s director Duncan Jones and the screenplay was written by Nathan Parker and is an independent film. Independent films act as a glow of light over the commercial trash which plagues our cinemas every year. Independent films, most of the time, seems to be based on an idea that the director/writer is very passionate about and as it can be difficult to get people to share your enthusiasm and get these films made. Although sometimes films based on original screenplay can still be lame (see (500) Days of Summer whose writer’s wrote the screenplay for the stellar Pink Panther 2…) Moon is based on intelligent sci-fi classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Soylent Green and easily deserves a place in their ranks (Steve’s Review: http://wasd-blog.blogspot.com/2009/08/film-review-moon-stephen-gillespie.html)
As you can most gather from my last post there are some films that aren’t based on original ideas that are still fantastic. There’s nothing wrong with adaptations but they can be extremely annoying if it’s just another go at milking the cash cow.
A much shorter post today (trying to cut down) but on an ending note…. My favourite film, American Beauty, is an Original Screenplay. So I’m asking what’s your favourite film and is it an original idea or an adaptation?
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Stephen- The Empire Strikes Back, original :D. However just because something is base don something else doesn't mean it lacks imagination. Fight Club is one of my favourite films and that is based on a book. in that iflm it is the imaginative directing that makes it so good. Also turning something like a book into a film takes a great deal of imagination because of the distance between the two mediums, however there is alot of rubbish just spouted out for a quick buck
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