Hollywood Is Undergoing A Creative Fatigue
In the past two decades, Hollywood has been churning out remakes and adaptations.
Warner Bros.’ Willy Wonka, starring Timothy Chalamet, was one of the highest grossing movies of 2023. But, the film is merely a remake of the 1971 and 2005 versions of this tale.
Another example is Mean Girls (2024).
Directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., the comedy puts a musical spin on the original film produced in 2004, which was followed by a sequel seven years later.
Although nostalgia sells, 74 percent of Gen Z and Millennials prefer authentic films versus remakes, according to a survey conducted this year by Tubi, a streaming platform owned by Fox Corporation.
Audiences are seeing one too many sequels and not enough new stories.
From my eyes, the film industry is experiencing creative fatigue.
In an article for the Daily Mail, English T.V. critic Christoher Stevens puts it this way:
“It seems no one in Hollywood now has an original notion in their heads.”
Disney is another example of this phenomenon churning out live-action remakes.
The film giant is set to release Mufasa in December of 2024 as a prequel to The Lion King (2019).
Similar to the original, the sequel follows a young cub—Kiara—as she matures, while exploring the origins of her grandfather, Mufasa, the legendary king of the Pride Lands.
Hollywood is clearly struggling to create new concepts, choosing instead to recycle old plots.
Big companies like Disney and Warner Bros are worried about money.
Film studios want to ensure they aren’t wasting millions of dollars, so they reproduce old movies or make sequels to crowd favorites.
Even employment in Hollywood is choked, as executives rely solely on big-name stars to work, mostly to attract fanbases to their productions.
In such a competitive industry, the brightest ideas are not always given a chance.
American Horror Story actress Jessica Lange spoke up about the decrease of creativity in Hollywood during an interview with Vulture last month.
“You look at some of the best films of the past year—what do they have in common? They’re not from America. My favorite was ‘Anatomy of a Fall.’ How often do we get to see a film like that…?”
It’s not to say that there are no original productions. Writer and actor Mike White’s HBO series White Lotus (2021) was not based on any other production and is one of the most successful streaming series’ to date.
Building upon existing art is normal and has been done for years, yet it is becoming too normal.
Recreating another film shouldn’t be the norm when filmmakers and writers with fresh ideas are overlooked.
It may be uncomfortable to branch out to uncharted territory, but there are infinite possibilities for what American TV and cinema can bring.
