The Hollywood Copy Machine

Now, I haven't been to Los Angeles in a very, very long time. In fact, I think the last time I was there on vacation I was around 11 years old. But from my east coast perch, it doesn't strike me as a land of very deep thinkers. I come to this conclusion because of the way that movie and television executives just take an idea that works and beat it into the ground, usually very quickly. Sometimes it can be the recycling of an old idea (why else have there been roughly 35 Friday the 13th movies?) or the need to take advantage of a new idea why it's still new (hence 13 Law and Orders and 5 CSI's).

But, the weirdest trend to me is when separate movie studios end up putting out the same movie a couple months apart. You know, first they come out with Volcano, then they follow it up the same year with Dante's Peak. There was even talk that another Titanic movie was in the works, but when they got a hold of stills from the Leonardo DiCaprio one, they knew they weren't going to top that and halted production. What's funny is that there is usually one (Armageddon) that is much better than the other (Deep Impact).

Well, this year's theme appears to go back to the old standard of fighting Nazis, cause we can't make movies about fighting Russians anymore. And again, one of them sucks and one of them was good. First came Valkyrie, which is apparently hysterical to watch for all the wrong reasons. Now, I haven't seen it, but I'm told Tom Cruise is doing his best "Tom Cruise is really serious" acting job and not quite coming up with the goods. This was followed a couple months later by Defiance, which I covered the other day. But, this year we've even got a third Nazi-themed movie in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This was based on a book, and I'm sure the book is better (cause it always is), but I saw the movie and that was enough - this was depressing as all hell. Reading the book would just send you over the edge. I can't believe this was recommended to me, and really I can't believe I followed the recommendation. I need to do my homework about these artsy movies beforehand. When I recommend a movie it's because I think it's provide you with some enjoyment, not ruin the rest of your night. Apparently, not everyone feels the same way.

I should mention that it's not all bad to use an old idea. For example, when you take an idea that failed (turning comic books into movies that SUCKED: The Phantom or The Shadow) and make it good (X-Men) then it's a great thing. But you should only do it when an idea fails. If the movie works perfectly, but doesn't set itself up for a sequel then you should just accept that and move on. I mention this because I heard the worst thing ever: they're going to make Green Street Hooligans 2. Worst... idea... ever. Look, they knew not to mess with Rudy, or Swingers or Hoosiers. Hollywood just needs to let this little notion pass on through. The first one was a great film, they need to just let it stand on it's own.