Jolly strange day in ol' Aachen ... weather-wise. A few hours back I was dripping enough perspiration to run a small hydro-electric plant, and now its pouring cats, octopuses and the like. I can't say I am complaining - the weather has been unforgivable lately. The heat has been capable of driving even me to cast the 'glad eye' on the snow covered pictures of my 2008 US trip to minus-20-degrees Penn State - a rare circumstance.
Something which has most definitely caught my attention recently in the news is the spate of remakes, reincarnations and tri-quels that have hit Hollywood. Just off the top of my head was the much despised 'A-Team', the new and improved 'Karate Kid' with that firang version of Mithunda - Mr Jackie C, 'Toy Story 3', Shrek 4, Iron Man 2, the much-ravaged SATC 2 (I swear - I think those women could have officially launched an assault case seeing the kind of coverage it drummed up) ... and am sure there must be others stuffed down that celluloid pipeline. Although I have been woefully deprived of seeing most of them, I do wonder when did Hollywood officially run out of ideas? I especially liked the central theme of this article's issue with Hollywood ...
http://www.cinematical.com/2010/06/15/hell-has-frozen-over-hollywood-is-looking-for-new-original-mat/>
Before I came here, I imagined myself easily swallowing a movie a day in Aachen, and yet I have found far more entertainment and intelligence on American television today. They truly DO cater to 'every' type of person, and no topic or subject need be taboo. They innovate on their premises, and hence we see that television today in America is truly breaking new ground - 'Glee' for example, had no relevant category it could be nominated in for the Emmys! They finally went with Comedy, although the show has far stronger themes than just that of a laugh track (which it doesn't even have). 'Dexter' is another show which I watched with almost manic obsessiveness and the class and mastery of the writers over their characters and their lines is something which one today, I think rarely sees in Hollywood. 'Weeds', 'Californication', 'US of Tara', 'True Blood', 'Big Love' ... the list is endless - and yet there is every proof of the imaginations of intelligent writers being constantly stretched to come up with shows that are well, just different. Its almost like they know that someone will watch the show, they don't need to bother about 'catering it' to anyone - all they need to do is just make a 'good' show. Even guilty pleasures like 'Gossip Girl', 'Desperate Housewives' or '90210' occasionally sparkle with wit and freshness.
To sum up - I think Hollywood needs to take a close hard look at where all the talent is heading and more importantly, why. The 'great' writers and minds are no longer taking the high and heavy road to their golden statuettes - they seem to prefer writing for people who give them the chance to do what they want ... instead of watching their efforts being churned and reworked into unpalatable drivel that can be digested by the lowest common denominator at the box office.
The thing is that studios have devised their safety net (read: http://www.slate.com/id/2258370) so they think that as long as everyone goes home with their little pot-o-cash, Hollywood will keep revving on like the machine it is. But then where's the magic of cinema?
Oh well. To close ... back to my favorite World Cup hero ... Paul.
Indeed Paul, you sure did.
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