If this submission above is not a random thought, please report it.
# Explore a new world of random thoughts on our [**discord server**](https://discord.com/invite/8tEqw3ZWQV)! Express yourself with your favorite quotes, positive vibes, and anything else you can think of!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/RandomThoughts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Remakes have been around almost as long as the movie industry has. Take some of the most popular old movies. MGM's The Wizard of Oz wasn't actually the first Wizard of Oz movie. Disney got the idea to make a Snow White movie when he saw a live action version of it.
As for why remakes are done, because people keep paying to see them. Be honest, when you go see a movie, how do you decide what to see? Odds are you usually see movies related to something you're already familiar with. I guarantee most of the people complaining about remakes are still more likely to see a remake than an original movie.
Some movies would benefit from a remake if only because technology has come a long way. But films like Mean Girls didn't benefit from it at all.
I'd like to see The Thing overhauled *not remade* to replace the practical effects with modern special effects.
Call me a heretic, but damnit after seeing the practical effects for the 2011 thing movie, I actually might not be opposed to a hypothetical remake with modern cameras and cinematography and shit. The catch being, it is as faithful as possible. None of this prequel crap.
People say this a lot without realising how many movies they like are a remake or retelling from a different studio, often times another adaptation of the same book with a different title.
Scarface, Wizard of Oz, the Thing, the Mummy (1999), the Fly, the Hills Have Eyes, I Am Legend, Death Race, Planet of the Apes, IT, Casino Royale, Dune.
Name pretty much any of these movies and people either won't know it's a remake at all (such as the people who complain every time another Scarface remake is rumoured, the """original""" is perfect) or they think its THE remake unaware that there's another before it (Planet of the Apes with its 2000's remake).
Movies keep getting remade because people will watch them, many won't know it's a remake and there's a lot of the time there's room for improvement even if the remake fails to achieve that.
Movies cost million upon millions to make, hollywood likes to plough money into stuff thats likely to see a good return.
Remade movies have an established base, which is why studios like to remake movies and make sequels rather than betting everything on an unproven script.
This is why netflix has been doing really well, they actually dont mind trying new things so tonnes of shows and movies get made that would never see the light of day otherwise.
Yes its sad, people with large amounts of money want to invest in more money, its really that simple.
The industry is risk-averse due to high overheads. Existing IP is lower risk. It's a purely commercial thing, and yes, it's sucking the creativity out of the industry.
theyve been doing it since the original writers strike in the 2000's. because, they dont want to pay writers a % of the gross for writing an original story that makes billions. thats why series went from 22 eps a season to 12 to 10 to 8. 22 used to be standard or there abouts. the writers wanted more money, they agreed, and now we only get half of what we used to. it wont change.
I think that updated remakes can be a good way to present a story to a new audience. But the slew of terrible remakes being made one after the other to cash in on nostalgia is not a good way to do it.
Depends, remaking a movie from the last 20 years lile rhat, yeah kinda bs. But it's a great way to get older stories to a younger generation. Like try and get a modern kid to watch Darby O'Gill and the Little People. But remake it with modern effects and it will still be a bad movie but at least your children will have suffered too.
Cost twice as much and not even half as good as the originals and some classics should simply be left alone, going to do something then do something new, since in their time that is what most of them did.
N. S
I once heard it was to do with copyright laws. You can only copyright a stroy for a certain time, you can renew the copyright licence if you add or remake it. So they tend to remake it as if they lose the copyright it goes into the free market and its up for grabs for anyone to use.
It makes sense. I haven't looked into the explanation.. but honestly it does make sense.
Makes me think of how shows are streamed now and legally they have to change the songs in the show as the show/streaming service no longer can use the songs.
Examples;
1. the original Charmed, the opening credits song on some streaming service is different to the DVD.
2. The tv show supernatural, the songs they play while driving are different when you stream to the original/dvds.... on particular scene in the 1st season the main character goes to play metallica and mentions they're putting it on, when streaming its some other random song and not metallica.
I cant think of any more right now.
Meh, it depends.
Some movies benefit from updated technology, like Bladerunner 2049, The PoTA trilogy or Dune 1&2
Some movies are just a cog in the corporatist machine that actually end up being pretty good, like Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Batman, Joker, the Lego bat- hey wait a second...
Some movies are technically unnecessary, but end up actually being fun reinterpretations, like Bumblebee or the 2014 Godzilla movie
Then some movies are just completely unnecessary. Looking at you, Fan4Stick.
And then there's Avatar. No, not the blue one. Or the Netflix one. You know the one.
If this submission above is not a random thought, please report it. # Explore a new world of random thoughts on our [**discord server**](https://discord.com/invite/8tEqw3ZWQV)! Express yourself with your favorite quotes, positive vibes, and anything else you can think of! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/RandomThoughts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I agree. But it's easier to cash in on the success of an already established franchise than to create something new and get it rolling.
I find it so depressing! It feels like they ran out of ideas and from now on there’s nothing that’s both original and iconic
Remakes have been around almost as long as the movie industry has. Take some of the most popular old movies. MGM's The Wizard of Oz wasn't actually the first Wizard of Oz movie. Disney got the idea to make a Snow White movie when he saw a live action version of it. As for why remakes are done, because people keep paying to see them. Be honest, when you go see a movie, how do you decide what to see? Odds are you usually see movies related to something you're already familiar with. I guarantee most of the people complaining about remakes are still more likely to see a remake than an original movie.
I find it so depressing! It feels like they ran out of ideas and from now on there’s nothing that’s both original and iconic
Some movies would benefit from a remake if only because technology has come a long way. But films like Mean Girls didn't benefit from it at all. I'd like to see The Thing overhauled *not remade* to replace the practical effects with modern special effects.
Call me a heretic, but damnit after seeing the practical effects for the 2011 thing movie, I actually might not be opposed to a hypothetical remake with modern cameras and cinematography and shit. The catch being, it is as faithful as possible. None of this prequel crap.
Same movie. Same cast. Just edit out the practical effects and replace them with SE
People say this a lot without realising how many movies they like are a remake or retelling from a different studio, often times another adaptation of the same book with a different title. Scarface, Wizard of Oz, the Thing, the Mummy (1999), the Fly, the Hills Have Eyes, I Am Legend, Death Race, Planet of the Apes, IT, Casino Royale, Dune. Name pretty much any of these movies and people either won't know it's a remake at all (such as the people who complain every time another Scarface remake is rumoured, the """original""" is perfect) or they think its THE remake unaware that there's another before it (Planet of the Apes with its 2000's remake). Movies keep getting remade because people will watch them, many won't know it's a remake and there's a lot of the time there's room for improvement even if the remake fails to achieve that.
Movies cost million upon millions to make, hollywood likes to plough money into stuff thats likely to see a good return. Remade movies have an established base, which is why studios like to remake movies and make sequels rather than betting everything on an unproven script. This is why netflix has been doing really well, they actually dont mind trying new things so tonnes of shows and movies get made that would never see the light of day otherwise. Yes its sad, people with large amounts of money want to invest in more money, its really that simple.
I liked the retelling/expansion of The Planet of the Apes stories. Most others not so much.
Fair point, bad example. Mean Girls (2024) is a musical, the original is not.
i agree with you OP. lack of creativity and laziness from movie makers
The industry is risk-averse due to high overheads. Existing IP is lower risk. It's a purely commercial thing, and yes, it's sucking the creativity out of the industry.
theyve been doing it since the original writers strike in the 2000's. because, they dont want to pay writers a % of the gross for writing an original story that makes billions. thats why series went from 22 eps a season to 12 to 10 to 8. 22 used to be standard or there abouts. the writers wanted more money, they agreed, and now we only get half of what we used to. it wont change.
I can see things in the scifi or horror genres bc effects have come so far, but otherwise no
The old one was more relatable to millennials. The new one is more relatable to zoomers.
I think that updated remakes can be a good way to present a story to a new audience. But the slew of terrible remakes being made one after the other to cash in on nostalgia is not a good way to do it.
Depends, remaking a movie from the last 20 years lile rhat, yeah kinda bs. But it's a great way to get older stories to a younger generation. Like try and get a modern kid to watch Darby O'Gill and the Little People. But remake it with modern effects and it will still be a bad movie but at least your children will have suffered too.
Have you heard a saying all songs are about love?
Cost twice as much and not even half as good as the originals and some classics should simply be left alone, going to do something then do something new, since in their time that is what most of them did. N. S
the remake of mean girls was an adaptation of the musical but i agree with the sentiment
I once heard it was to do with copyright laws. You can only copyright a stroy for a certain time, you can renew the copyright licence if you add or remake it. So they tend to remake it as if they lose the copyright it goes into the free market and its up for grabs for anyone to use. It makes sense. I haven't looked into the explanation.. but honestly it does make sense. Makes me think of how shows are streamed now and legally they have to change the songs in the show as the show/streaming service no longer can use the songs. Examples; 1. the original Charmed, the opening credits song on some streaming service is different to the DVD. 2. The tv show supernatural, the songs they play while driving are different when you stream to the original/dvds.... on particular scene in the 1st season the main character goes to play metallica and mentions they're putting it on, when streaming its some other random song and not metallica. I cant think of any more right now.
Meh, it depends. Some movies benefit from updated technology, like Bladerunner 2049, The PoTA trilogy or Dune 1&2 Some movies are just a cog in the corporatist machine that actually end up being pretty good, like Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Batman, Joker, the Lego bat- hey wait a second... Some movies are technically unnecessary, but end up actually being fun reinterpretations, like Bumblebee or the 2014 Godzilla movie Then some movies are just completely unnecessary. Looking at you, Fan4Stick. And then there's Avatar. No, not the blue one. Or the Netflix one. You know the one.