The Other Side Of The Story

By Miko Klubz and Hope Cobb Crenshaw

Dear Mr. I Don’t Have An Original Idea In My Head (aka Hackywood),

Every morning, I visit movieweb.com. It gives me all the news, good and bad, about movies going into production and coming out in theaters. I am a regular commentator along with my fellow dorks, freaks, and geeks. Recently, however, most of my posts start off with WTF!

Mr. Hackywood, it seems you have run out of ideas. The list of remakes grows every day. Viewers may remember all of the following films from the 80s: Romancing the Stone, Karate Kid, Dune, Red Dawn, Footloose, The Big Chill, Arthur, Ghostbusters, The Never Ending Story, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Robocop. Well, guess what! They are all being remade. In fact, it seems a new release has simply become an old movie with new moves.

Don’t get me wrong, I love special effects. As a filmmaker, I appreciate ground breaking CGI technologies and film animation. I was amazed at movies like Transformers and X-Men. I’m sure I will be at James Cameron’s Avatar (Can I say I’m sitting on my hands, waiting for that one to come out?) With that being said, STOP messing with MY classics!

I’m a fan of classic movies. They help us remember our youth. Let’s take Star Wars, for example. The series won me over. In fact, it won over two different generations. But now, George Lucas is looking to redo every single Star Wars from the beginning. Don’t mess with the best! I beg you. The new Star Wars are being considered under the direction of Zack Snider. I love Zack’s Dawn of the Dead, 300, and The Watchmen. But leave Star Wars alone!

I’m onto you, Mr. Hackywood. Right now, you are banking on money and not on telling an original story. By remaking classics, you hope to attract a new audience (and new money) with an old story. But why not be a little more original?

How about giving a few young, bright writers a chance to strut their stuff. Read a few scripts before you throw them into the fireplace (I guess you don’t recycle either). You may realize there are many amazing original scripts out there.

Oh, and please don’t be afraid when our ideas blow yours out of the water. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Miko and Hope

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