Hollywood Interrupted?

Hollywood has been running low on ideas for years now, but I just heard about a remake that makes as much sense as, well, most remakes. In this case it is the awful, late Cold War thriller sans the thrills, Red Dawn. Why in the world do we need another version of a movie that was essentially anachronistic when it first arrived in 1984 (though Reagan was, of course, still stoking the fear of a communist takeover on the heels of Perestroika)? Some took pleasure in the cheesy patriotism on the cheap, but why would we need this film now? Have we run out of ideas for terrorist fear-mongering? Or are we preparing the U.S. to attack Russia? I heard Putin once read a pamphlet by Osama bin Laden ... let's attack. The original film brought together a stellar cast of A-list, B-quality stars including Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey and Charlie Sheen. The new film has Australian stud Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Avengers, Star Trek, Snow White and the Huntsman) and a bunch of other people I've never heard of. In fact, Hemsworth might be the greatest benefactor of remake fever, as he has been involved in 10 remakes or sequels since 2009 alone. 

So where have all the ideas gone? In a cultural studies I teach, we decided to look at the top grossing films the past two years (Box Office Mojo). In 2012 so far, nine of the twenty are sequels or prequels, one is a revamping of a series (Spiderman), another of a TV show (21 Jump Street), three more popular kids books (The Hunger Games, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, Snow White & the Huntsman). The originals include the Pixar kids feature Brave, the comedy Ted, Hotel Transylvania, the romantic tear-jerker The Vow and the soft-porn for women Magic Mike. Not exactly scintillating stuff by any measure. In 2011, the top twelve films were sequels except for Thor, which was sort of a prequel. The 13th highest grosser was The Help followed by Bridesmaid and then we see a sequel (Kung Fu Panda II), a remake (Puss in Boots), a prequel (X-Men: First Class), the animated film Rio, a remake of the TV series (The Smurfs) and another Alvin and the Chipmunks joint. 

So what's happened? Have we really run out of ideas? My guess is no. Instead the problem is that the marketing machine that Hollywood has become relies almost exclusively on first weekend sales, which rely almost exclusively on building hype. So how do you build hype? With famous actors, occasionally with a famous director (particularly Clint Eastwood for older men) but most often my giving audiences what they already liked -- or are willing to see out of some responsibility to stay up with the narrative. The movie theatre really has become like television although with only one episode a season. Risk taking comes with, well, risks. And Hollywood seems less and less likely to engage in them. Yes we will still see the occasion indie film, and yes P.T. Anderson and Wes Anderson will continue to get their movies made, even if they suck. But less foreign features seem to be showing up in theatres, many art house theatres are closing and the options available to the discerning fan seem to continue shrinking. How can we combat the push toward mediocrity? Only one way ... with our wallets.