Sorry, Kenya Barris. We Need Less Remakes, Not More!
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If you’re looking for original stories, Hollywood is not helping you out right now. Changing box office trends and seemingly pickier audiences have led studios to invest in reliable, familiar titles. So no matter how tired of them we are, we’re probably getting more remakes, reboots, sequels and tentpole franchises.
High-profile filmmakers—including Cord Jefferson in his Oscars acceptance speech—have expressed their frustration with the current state of the business, asking studios to take more risks on original scripts and ideas. However, these pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears.
At least one notable writer/producer/director is fine leading the remake train, with Kenya Barris (“black-ish”) exclaiming, “I want all the remakes!” While on the red carpet for the new BET+ series, “Diarra from Detroit,” which he is an executive producer on, the “”Girls Trip” writer explained his balance between new stories and established intellectual property (IP).
“I do fresh stuff too, but I feel like there’s really no new stories if we’re going to be honest, you know what I’m saying?” Barris told People.
That’s an interesting observation from the man behind “black-ish,” “grown-ish” and “mixed-ish.” It’s also worth noting that Barris is currently in development on a modern retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” and the holiday classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I guess he really does “want all the remakes!”
In a world where moviegoers are being a lot choosier with their money, it’s going to be easier to sell them on “Dune: Part Two” and “Kung Fu Panda 4” than it is “The American Society of Magical Negroes.” But that doesn’t mean studios should stop giving new stories a chance.
“I feel like the idea of having a piece of IP during a time where it was difficult to put people in seats,” Barris said. “And if you want to do theatrical things, sometimes if you have a piece of IP that speaks to a lot of people, it gives you something.”
A soft opening for “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the perceived superhero fatigue for Marvel and DC Comics films, as well as the disappointing reception for “The Color Purple,” does suggest that fans want more originality in their entertainment.
Smaller theatrical windows, skyrocketing ticket prices, anxiety about big public spaces and an abundance of choices in at-home entertainment are all contributing to dwindling box offices.
However, lack of fresh stories for moviegoers is certainly not helping. The sooner Barris and his colleagues realize that, thesooner they can realistically turn things around.
