Perhaps a bit harsh, but you understand the sentiment. They will ruin something, or they are simply lazy, piggybacking off another film's success, goes the thought.
This is not a new thought. In September 10, 1947, producer Billy Rose railed against Hollywood's lack of originality, particularly in its musicals.
"Having hit on a couple of song-and-dance formulas which paid off at the box office, they keep remaking them until you can...holler out the lines before the actors say them..."
Here's a solution that has helped me endure in a world filled with remakes:
Think of movie remakes and recycled plots as fan fiction.
When fellow CMBA member, Kim Wilson, proffered her delightful and unique retelling of the The Lady Eve (1941) last year, she won the Best Film Review Award from the Classic Movie Blog Association. We were all enchanted. But let a big budget Hollywood type announce a reformulated Lady Eve and we'd grab pitchforks and torches demanding that they kill the beast. [I know I would.]
Why? The more I research and write about movies the more I see modern filmmakers as just movie fans with huge purses.
So if Jessica Alba is cast in a remake of Laura or when the Annie remake comes out and it-girl of the moment Miley Cyrus is cast as little orphan Annie's hip and with it great-great-granddaughter gyrating to the latest tunes of her hard-knock life, do not think of the filmmakers as malicious monsters who are out to destroy not just the original story, but also the very meaning of life. Instead, think of filmmakers as fellow fans who have a neat spin on some story that we enjoy.
Hope that helps.
hollywood needs original musicals
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