Oh Where, Oh Where Has Originality Gone?

What’s with movies these days? They’re either a reboot, a musical reboot, or franchise related (reboot).  Ok, I forgot the formula rom com, overdone spy adventure and the cross-genre identical plots. Where has all the originality gone? Don’t tell me that the world of screenwriters cannot create a unique and entertaining movie. Seriously, don’t try it. There’s something like 50,000 scripts written a year, a measly 50 of which get produced. Why are the 50 worst movies being chosen for production recently?

Okay, I know why. Because they’ll sell. It’s a big gamble running with an idea that might be too complicated or high-concept for the mass population to swallow. So, instead they choose what works. A plug and chug, stereotyped narrative or a fresh view on an old classic. For one, they’re called classics for a reason. Don’t mess with it! It did well on its own (when it was original…). The few movies that slip through the cracks that offer the audience a way to exercise their brain are more often than not, written by well respected (read: already popular) screenwriters or directors. Where’s the love for the kid from Iowa who has been pounding on his keyboard for years? Or the Manhattan socialite who has a bone-chilling expose?  Are their stories not worth telling?

Am I talking about book writers, too?  Sure! Why else would there be such a booming industry of self-published and independently published authors? Because Nora Roberts has a bajillion and one romance novels that practically write themselves (read: ghostwriter). Honestly, the books that are published look like carbon copies of each other half the time. I mean, everyone loves a sexy vampire, right? Oh, yeah…wrong complaint. My point is that the mass market audience would enjoy an original plot as much, if not more, than something that’s predictable or rebooted. Juno is a great example. Or Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Greatness is out there!

Yes, I’m well aware the reason many books and screenplays aren’t brought to the next level of production is because they aren’t good. That’s fine. But believe you me, there are plenty of stories that made it that also are not good.  Give creativity a chance. Please, for the sake of our entertainment. Show me the originality.