What's Old Is New Again

I've been looking at the movies lately and have found that remakes are big in Hollywood; and they always have been. I love movies as much as the next person, but there's gotta be a reason for producers who think it's a good idea to remake a film where the original was brilliant. Personally, I don't understand how remaking a movie is going to improve upon it; even if they change the script, the actors, the city, the technology and bring the whole darn thing up to speed. If you put in the best of actors and the story's weak, it's not going to take off all that well; even if those actors deliver the lines perfectly and with great conviction, it'll still be a rotten movie and people will talk with their wallets.

The main movies I absolutely adore watching is old Alfred Hitchcock films. He was a genius at suspense and he had his pick of the greatest actors around Hollywood; could he match them! I wouldn't miss a Hitchcock film on a Saturday night for anything. Yep, I'd rather stay and watch 'Vertigo', 'North by North-West' or 'Rear Window' instead of going out to see a modern movie. The reason why was because he could really spin the storyline and keep you guessing right to the end. And once he got you guessing, he had you jumping behind the lounge too! But not with gross and gore... nope, Hitchcock could creep you out with the old smoke and shadows trick. There's very few directors who can do that anymore.

And if it's not Hitchcock, I love to watch Fred Astaire films. That man could sing and dance - even if he was a bit of a corny actor - but once he danced, he was a knockout! Fred was a man who, when he tapdanced or did ballroom dancing, just floated across the room on what looked like a cushion of air. He had a distinctive voice too! And in history, since his appearance on the silver screen, there's been nobody like him. It was a great shame when Fred Astaire passed away in 1987, but he left behind a legacy of marvelous movies behind for future generations to adore.

To remake a movie - unless it really does need to be remade - I think is a total waste of money and time. What happened to having original ideas? Don't the scriptwriters have any of those anymore? I'm a writer of books and I'm never short of ideas (just check out my other blogs; especially Fry Nelson and You Can't Go Back and Other Impossibilities).