Hollywood Remakes

I read an article today that there are talks going on to make another Buffy the Vampire Slayer theatrical movie. However, this new movie will have nothing to do with either the television show or Joss Whedon, the mastermind of that show. Predictably, the internet is up in arms over this. Fans of the TV version of Buffy are, for the most part, dedicated almost to the point of being rabid in their love for the vampire world that Whedon created (as evidenced by the fact that the Buffy comic book, which picked up the story after the last season, routinely is within the top 15 for sales every month and is the only non-superhero, non- DC or Marvel book to sell that high). I realize that thanks to Twilight, Hollywood is vampire-crazy right now. The thing that I don't understand is that the main driving force (other than a like of any original ideas, which I'll get to in a minute) between all of the remakes that have bombarded us the last 10 years or so is that Hollywood producers think that by slapping a well-known name on a movie or TV show, that there will already be a built-in audience and there is that much more of a chance that it will make money. That being the case, why would you start off by alienating the biggest potential fan base for your movie before you even get out of the talking stage?

As I stated above, the glut of remakes that Hollywood has forced upon us just show how few original ideas there are out there and how afraid the studios are to take a chance on anything. Unfortunately, for the most part, you can't really blame them - people don't really want originality, they want something that they are comfortable with. That's why Hollywood will remake something, no matter how obscure or unrelated it ends up being to the original in anything but name - I just read recently that they are thinking about a remake to "Flight of the Navigator"... does ANYONE even remember that movie???

The sad thing is, if we are going to be fed a constant diet of remakes, the least they could do is make them good. Almost all of them SUCK. For every remake that is just as good or better than the original, like Battlestar Galactica or The Office, you get 150 Charlie's Angels or Miami Vices, which are unwatchable. Yet, the studios keep pumping them out, and people still keep watching them. I don't know why it still bothers me so much. I should be numbed to it by now, but I am not. Whenever I read an article on Ain't It Cool or The AV Club about the latest remake that is in discussion (which is usually once a week), I get all irate - "How DARE they? Is nothing sacred?" Oh well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go watch the preview trailer for the remake of "V" that will appear on ABC this fall...