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Hollywood's Pointless Remakes, Reboots, Prequels & Sequels

It happens. By self-confidence, determination, luck, whatever ...
But I've more respect for those who suffered setbacks, learned from the experience and adapted.
I've come across new authors who have such 'self-confidence' that when they are told, really quite mildly, that they should work on what they've done, do a bit of a re-think, maybe change this and that ... and they are so 'self-confident' that they start ranting how you don't understand that they are a genius, that the publishing industry are all FOOLS, that we should be grateful to read their unpublished works, and that WE will be sorry when we're proved wrong.
There are rags-to-riches stories since forever. Trouble is, everyone thinks they are the hero of that story.
 
Stormkhan said:
It happens. By self-confidence, determination, luck, whatever ...
But I've more respect for those who suffered setbacks, learned from the experience and adapted.
I've come across new authors who have such 'self-confidence' that when they are told, really quite mildly, that they should work on what they've done, do a bit of a re-think, maybe change this and that ... and they are so 'self-confident' that they start ranting how you don't understand that they are a genius, that the publishing industry are all FOOLS, that we should be grateful to read their unpublished works, and that WE will be sorry when we're proved wrong.
There are rags-to-riches stories since forever. Trouble is, everyone thinks they are the hero of that story.
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The best writers are those who were fortunate enough to meet a good editor and were humble enough to accept changes to their manuscripts.
Back in days gone by, that would have been a much bigger deal than it is today, because we now have word processing software an all they had back then were typewriters (or even just the pen).
 
Tell me about it - my initial writing career started with a portable type-writer, I blessed the day when word-processors were invented, moved up from dot-matrix printers, discovered Windows and so on ...
In the old days, a re-write was a major ball-ache. But, and I have to point this out, as a writer you want to present the best you can the story you've created. If it means a re-write then so be it. If you say "my story is perfect as it is" but really mean "I don't understand how I can change it" then take a breath, accept the criticism, and look to re-wording, re-describing things. You have a story and, if it's good, then it's up to you to tell it better. If you think you are right and the rest of the world is wrong ... seek psychological help.
 
Stormkhan said:
Tell me about it - my initial writing career started with a portable type-writer, I blessed the day when word-processors were invented, moved up from dot-matrix printers, discovered Windows and so on ...
In the old days, a re-write was a major ball-ache. But, and I have to point this out, as a writer you want to present the best you can the story you've created. If it means a re-write then so be it. If you say "my story is perfect as it is" but really mean "I don't understand how I can change it" then take a breath, accept the criticism, and look to re-wording, re-describing things. You have a story and, if it's good, then it's up to you to tell it better. If you think you are right and the rest of the world is wrong ... seek psychological help.
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...Or found a religion, perhaps?
 
Stormkhan said:
Tell me about it - my initial writing career started with a portable type-writer, I blessed the day when word-processors were invented, moved up from dot-matrix printers, discovered Windows and so on ...
In the old days, a re-write was a major ball-ache. But, and I have to point this out, as a writer you want to present the best you can the story you've created. If it means a re-write then so be it. If you say "my story is perfect as it is" but really mean "I don't understand how I can change it" then take a breath, accept the criticism, and look to re-wording, re-describing things. You have a story and, if it's good, then it's up to you to tell it better. If you think you are right and the rest of the world is wrong ... seek psychological help.
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I'm currently on a screen writing course. I'm not precious about it but it's increased my confidence a little so the first story I've completed, I'm being encouraged by my tutor to film it. To cut a not very long story short, someone steals a plastic duck from a pond and it ends up back there. The second story's called Stuck which is about someone stuck in a lift then people he's thinking about enter into his story and the third story is called Milk and Bacon .. I don't know where I'm going with that one yet but I asked the Mrs if she needed anything from our corner shop one morning, she said "milk and bacon" so I'm writing that one just for me but I know it's going to be disorganised which is why I'm enjoying writing it.

I ended the story about the man stuck in the lift with "I'm taking the stairs next time." .. I thought that was succinct but my tutor wanted me to change it to ".. and I tell you what .. I'm taking the stairs next time" because she read it as a joke punchline and she wanted it dragged out longer.

I've never co-wrote anything before but I've started to enjoy inventing someone who doesn't even exist because of a fellow student put in the same position as me so we had to play ping pong so to speak in writing terms ..

My character would say something, We'd have a sip of coffee, I'd slide my writing pad over to Shauna and her character would reply to mine in a way I couldn't predict so it was a very organic method of writing and sounded way more natural than anything I could have created on my own. We ended up cracking up at what we were 'throwing' at each other.
 
Swifty said:
My character would say something, We'd have a sip of coffee, I'd slide my writing pad over to Shauna and her character would reply to mine in a way I couldn't predict so it was a very organic method of writing and sounded way more natural than anything I could have created on my own. We ended up cracking up at what we were 'throwing' at each other.
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I think that is a brilliant way of writing a story. Unlike a boring remake of a film where hundreds are involved in the actual script and projected screenplay, etc, that is real freedom and in a sense, more like real life even though it's imaginary characters.
 
kesavaross said:
I think that is a brilliant way of writing a story. Unlike a boring remake of a film where hundreds are involved in the actual script and projected screenplay, etc, that is real freedom and in a sense, more like real life even though it's imaginary characters.
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It absolutely works because you have to trust a complete stranger to write a conversation with you so it's not a lot different to actually chatting with a complete stranger anyway. You never know what's going to happen. The only time that hasn't worked for me so far was when I paired up with someone who didn't like that process and was honest with me that she prefers to write alone. It also didn't help that I was stuck with some fictional bloke in the early 80's and she was stuck with some fictional Dutch looking woman in the 50's. We both kept staring at our individual photographs .. he looked to be fixing a large net and she was doing something with a ball of wool and neither of us could decide what these two characters would have in common to strike up a conversation. Then it got even harder when my co writer decided her character didn't want to be spoken to so I wasn't really sure how to progress from there? .. was her character telling my character to **** off or was my assigned co writer trying to politely ask me to **** off?. So I politely ****ed off. Shauna was ace to write with instead because she kept throwing me curveballs about two people now stuck in that lift which was good fun.
 
hunck said:
Not Hollywood but does this sound like a terrible idea or what..

Fawlty Towers stage show heads to London's West End​

It's an apparently a mashup of 3 episodes - The Hotel Inspectors, The Germans and Communication Problems.
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I hope it fails. it sounds like a lazy Frankenstein-esque facsimile, sadly I fear it will do well - people lap up this sort of cynical nostalgia-bait.
 
Speaking of lazy, cynical nostalgia-bait:

Member Slimer? He's back! Member Janine? She's back! She's saying the line! And she's in a Ghostbusters uniform! Walter Peck! Walter Peck is back! Member Library Ghost Lady? She's back! Member "terror dogs"? Well, here's an animated lion statue! Same! But different! Member Staypuft? Member that we did lots of little ones in the last one? Well, we're doing it again!

The corpse of Bill Murray appears to be in it too.

 
hunck said:
Not Hollywood but does this sound like a terrible idea or what..

Fawlty Towers stage show heads to London's West End​

It's an apparently a mashup of 3 episodes - The Hotel Inspectors, The Germans and Communication Problems.
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I hope it fails. Fawlty Towers was awful - shouting abuse at people in a posh accent is not funny, it is not amusing, it is not comedy, it's just abuse.
 
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Swifty said:
Then it got even harder when my co writer decided her character didn't want to be spoken to so I wasn't really sure how to progress from there?
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That is hysterical.
 
Mythopoeika said:
Of course she was, she's a 'Shauna':
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"If you say Ferris Bueler, you lose a testicle." ... I read somewhere that Charlie Sheen admitted to having not slept before that scene being filmed because he'd been getting high for two days instead so none of that scruffy look was costume or makeup.
 
Swifty said:
..I've never co-wrote anything before but I've started to enjoy inventing someone who doesn't even exist because of a fellow student put in the same position as me so we had to play ping pong so to speak in writing terms ..

My character would say something, We'd have a sip of coffee, I'd slide my writing pad over to Shauna and her character would reply to mine in a way I couldn't predict so it was a very organic method of writing and sounded way more natural than anything I could have created on my own. We ended up cracking up at what we were 'throwing' at each other.
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This is how the authors Carole Hayman and Lou Wakefield created the hilarious (and moving) Ladies of Letters (11? books and adapted to audiobooks). The two characters Vera and Irene would 'write' to each other before moving on to emails. They created a bloody funny world centred in northern England and all kinds of adventures for the elderly ladies :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies_of_Letters
 
Mr. Banooka said:
What!? Surely that was the point of FT. To highlight how abusive Basil is in a comedic manner.

Still just goes to show how subjective comedy is.

;0)
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There's nothing comedic about someone being abusive.
 
Tigerhawk said:
I hope it fails. Fawlty Towers was awful - shouting abuse at people in a posh accent is not funny, it is not amusing, it is not comedy, it's just abuse.
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Theatrical murder isn't murder, it's pretend. Didn't an indecency prosecution against a play fail on the grounds that nobody was actually being buggered? Actually, that might be an UL or a figment of my imagination!

My father had much in common with the abusive Basil. I recognise that YMMV but I found fun being made of him and how stupid everyone found him cathartic.

My father didn't see either similarity or the comedy.
 
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AnonyJ said:
This is how the authors Carole Hayman and Lou Wakefield created the hilarious (and moving) Ladies of Letters (11? books and adapted to audiobooks). The two characters Vera and Irene would 'write' to each other before moving on to emails. They created a bloody funny world centred in northern England and all kinds of adventures for the elderly ladies :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies_of_Letters
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Me and someone here's doing the same thing for fun at the moment. Two characters talking to each other is more spontaneous when a single writer isn't in full control. If the board member consents at any stage, I'll/we'll share what we're coming up with. Currently it's my character's turn to respond. It's a bit like playing chess with the luxury of time to write. The first time I tried this, me and another co writer were only given about ten minutes so she told me not to over think it.

I'm tempted to start a thread to encourage other people to hook with someone else here via private message so you can both take turns 'firing' responses to each other. Not in the thread itself because that would become a mess and difficult to read. Between each other so to invent a completely random scenario off the top of my head, one of you could 'be' a Headmistress concerned that a student hasn't turned in for school, another one of you could be someone else who's lost a pet which had run into the school playing field. Both of your characters could start out frustrated with each other's concerns seeming trivial to each other? (It's only a dog FFS? .. that kid's often absent anyway because he's from a single parent family and 'you know what they are all like FFS?) but then they both manage to calm down so decided to help each other. Don't forget to add the dick and fart jokes.
 
Tigerhawk said:
I hope it fails. Fawlty Towers was awful - shouting abuse at people in a posh accent is not funny, it is not amusing, it is not comedy, it's just abuse.
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Tigerhawk said:
There's nothing comedic about someone being abusive.
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Frideswide said:
Theatrical murder isn't murder, it's pretend. Didn't an indecency prosecution against a play fail on the grounds that nobody was actually being buggered? Actually, that might be an UL or a figment of my imagination!

My father had much in common with the abusive Basil. I recognise that YMMV but I found fun being made of him and how stupid everyone found him cathartic.

My father didn't see either similarity or the comedy.
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It presents verbal abuse as being an amusing character quirk, rather than a form of abuse. Just because it isn't physical or sexual abuse doesn't mean it's not abuse.
 
In the same way as the character Alf Garnet was 'presenting' racism as amusing?
You have no understanding of satire? Of laughing at someone's ignorance or self-importance?
You accept the idea that 'make-believe is as nasty as real-life abuse'? I'd recommend taking a couple of deep breaths. That way of thinking leads to satanic panic, banning books that don't fit your own opinions, protesting outside schools etc.
I agree with you that some humour in the past appealed to base prejudices, that some things are no longer acceptable. But to extrapolate that 'any representation of abuse is unacceptable' becomes problematic.
I didn't like the comedy 'Bread' and 'Only Fools and Horses' as they sometimes represented dishonesty as an endearing trait or acceptable under some circumstances. I just didn't watch them. Even "Butterflies" represented the 'temptation' of an ordinary, middle class wife to become another man's lover - something I find unacceptable personally. But I couldn't demand its ban.
 
Steven said:
It's awkward to admit this but broad and often crass comedies like Love Thy Neighbour, Mind Your Language & more taught me, as a child, that racism was wrong and stupid and pathetic. And that, actually, foreign people were pleasant.
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This may well be true, but we're not going to revisit the numerous threads of handwringing over the excessive censoriousness of the benighted present.

Those ones that upset some members enough to leave.

Not that Steven was here to witness them, let alone take part.

But this is a trail of breadcrumbs best left unfollowed.
 
Yithian said:
This may well be true, but we're not going to revisit the numerous threads of handwringing over the excessive censoriousness of the benighted present.

Those ones that upset some members enough to leave.
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Oh I am sorry - I didn't realise that this had been a contentious matter which affected the forum.
 
The upcoming prequel to THE OMEN, imaginatively titled THE FIRST OMEN, and due for international release April 5th, surely must be vying for the 'most pointless film ever' award?

It purports to tell the story of the conspiracy that led to the birth of Damien Thorn. So... that would be the successful conspiracy, that we already know about?

Brilliantly Ralph Inneson is playing Father Brennan... the "little priest" essayed by Patrick Troughton in the original. I feel this may not segue seamlessly into the first film.

Needless to say, I will be there on opening night.
 
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