By KATIE KLIMACEK
Contributing Writer
You just finished a book that you have been reading non-stop for the past two days. As you get to the last sentence you feel yourself craving more of the story and more of the action. You feel all of these emotions you think to yourself “Wow, that would be a great movie!” But would it actually be a worthy movie?
As an audience member we want to be taken to a different world and be apart of the action. There is nothing better then having a book hangover and wanting for a little while longer to live in the world that your favorite characters do. So by having a favorite book or comic turned into a live action motion picture allows us to live within that realm of fantasy. Unfortunately it’s not always what we hope for.
It’s no surprise that over the years Hollywood has been riding on the coattails of popular selling books such as Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings and their franchises. But just because one film has done so well doesn’t always mean that a second, third, and forth one is going to be just as good.
According to Short of the Week , in 1991 out of the top ten highest grossing films in the US, six of them where adaptations, three where sequels and one was an original. It seems that from that year on, Hollywood really lost its touch. In 2011 there was not one original movie out of the top ten highest grossing films, and the only original movie out of the top fifteen films of 2011 was #14: Bridesmaids. It seems like Hollywood is only looking for a quick buck to make instead of a worthwhile film that is talked about for more than just a few weeks.
Back in the early days of Hollywood, a film talked about for month’s even years after it played in theaters around the world. The quality and originality was to die for, take for example Singing’ in the Rain. That film has been talked about for decades and has even been named the best movie musical all times by AFI (American Film Institute). It was not the jaw dropping CGIs (Computer Graphic Imaging) or special effects that made this movie #1, but rather the talent that Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds had. The singing, dancing, and acting that the three present on the screen is what held this film up over the years, talent that is just not seen anymore.
It has become apparent that Hollywood is no longer invested in the films that they produce. Now they just look to the daily news or the best sellers list to see what will make them the most money. It’s not only the film industry that is becoming lazy but television and music are also on the “Lack of Originality” path.
In the past three years there have been many TV shows that have been adapted from literature. Pretty Little Liars, The Walking Dead, Hannibal, Game of Thrones, and Sherlock are just a few. Music today follows the same “Bump and Grind” vibe they just can’t seem to break free of deep bass and shallow lyrics. As a whole, the industry has been dwelling on ideas of others and eventually the river of ideas is going to run dry.
You can see that Hollywood is trying to make everything relatable to the younger generation and allow them to take a step back in time but still take what they like from today. A perfect example is The Great Gatsby. This book has been adapted several times, but this last time just might be the most memorable. The film stayed true to the original content and time period but allowed influences from the 21st-century. By doing this it allowed kids to experience the 1920s but with a modern vibe. It makes sense for some films to do this because that type of culture and literature just isn’t present anymore for the younger generation like it used to be. But sometimes you get the whole package by watching the original and understanding how the author intended it to be and what it was really meant for.
In the coming years don’t expect anything new from Hollywood. Plan on seeing Smurfs 8 or The Hangover part 23, because until Hollywood plans on bringing back originality you are going to be stuck with the same characters, the same story plots and the same over priced movie tickets.
