Rebooted Creative
It seems that almost every other day another rebooted TV or movie idea is brought back to life. Has Hollywood run out of creative ideas? All there seems to be are remakes and reinventions coming out of the motion picture and television industry. Where's the originality?
Do we really need a remake of Bewitched? Wasn't the awful movie starring Nicole Kidman enough to bury that sitcom forever? Charlie's Angels is being revived by ABC this fall which follows in the footsteps of the semi-success of Hawaii 5-0. Call it 70's re-do TV.
TNT is bringing back the Ewing clan to reign once again over Southfork ranch. Having last aired in 1991, can the rebooted Dallas recapture its once-devoted fan base and enthrall a new generation of viewers with the in-fighting Ewings? It helps that original stars Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray are back, although Hagman must be about 100 years old. Pop-culture nostalgia can only take you so far.
The latest buzz in movie circles is the remake of Dirty Dancing. Tough to top a classic. There is talk of an I Love Lucy movie. We've had the Flintstones, Yogi Bear, A-Team, Get Smart and too many Star Trek's to mention. When does it stop?
What it signals is that the entertainment industry has lost its creative mojo, and with it the ability to create an intriguing new TV series or movie. Sure, brand recognition gives a new series or movie a lot of tailwind equity, but in many cases it can be a brand impediment. The brand associations you once held near and dear are a liability.
Reinvented or remade entertainment usually doesn't work. Who thought that making a Dukes of Hazard or Beverly Hillbillies movie was a good thing? They were mediocre TV shows at best. How many times could you laugh at "cement pond" jokes?
Where's the originality and story? Re-dos and sequels are safe choices. The built-in, well-honed brand relationships that audiences have with the original promise predictability at the box office, especially for risk averse movie studios. It's the easy way out - choking out any creativity in the process. Risk aversion kills creativity. That's the reality in today's entertainment industry.
Do we need more sequels? Name one good sequel that comes to mind. Pixar is the one studio that dispels this conventional wisdom - Toy Story III may have been the best! Superman II outdid the original based on the comic genius of Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and his bungling assistant, Otis (Ned Beatty). Who doesn't have friends that resemble this fine duo?
You would think with box office receipts being down and viewers flocking away from network TV, executives would wake up and ramp up the creativity! Instead, we get more of the same - re-dos, remakes and sequels. Instead of better stories, studios give us 3D which glosses over the problem. Once in a while fresh creative such as the Soprano's and Mad Men sneaks up on you, but it is the exception rather than the norm today.
Buzz worthy TV and movies are a thing of the past. It's as if the entertainment industry has stopped creating. We're in the creative business because we love ideas. Ideas that can make you think, laugh, cry or get angry. Characters that you care about - ones you're invested in on a week-in and week-out basis. That's what I miss about great TV and movies. If people stay away enough, maybe we'll get it back.
Keywords: TV Show remakes; TV Show redos; Movie Sequels; Motion Picture Box Office; Entertainment Creative;
There are some innovators in American TV - the FX network, HBO and Showtime, and somehow AMC. And some would argue that a lot of creativity is going into net TV - but little of that goes beyond low-budget shorts and sketches, since there's no money behind it. The problem is that the people with the money and the distribution won't take chances on the people with the creativity. And when they do, they drown the talent in market tests and executive "notes." Funny how those socialists at the BBC keep turning out the best TV product in the world, and that we can only see it on PBS. Steve Jobs resigned today - one of the few American businessmen who understands that individual creativity is the only path to real innovation - and that you can make a bundle supporting it.
Like many corporations who are slashing their R&D budgets supposedly because of economic conditions (although they are making obscene profits), I suspect Hollywood has reduced its investment in the creative development of content. Perhaps, dare I say it, LaLa land is becoming more conservative, i.e. safer, in the development of new TV series and films. But as we all know in this business, safer can be dull and boring.
Creativity these days seems to be driven by the introduction of new and innovative forms of technology. And that technology was launched by the creation of an idea which is what the entertainment industry needs more of now, not more retreads like Dallas. Think today's generation of millenials will care about the shenanigans of the Ewing clan? Don't think so, dude!