Hollywood Conspiracy #1: Ideas in Pairs
I’m a tad confused about something. I’ve noticed that movies, tv shows, and miniseries with similar themes and/or plots are often released at the same time. In the case of tv shows, they are even put in the same time slot on different networks. Why do they do this? Particularly in the case of television, you would think they could move a show that competes with another show that appeals to a similar audience or has a similar concept. All of the science fiction on the planet seems to be on Friday night. Yet the rest of the week is barren. (Well, there’s Lost, but that’s spec-fi, not really sci-fi). Realty shows of similar themes get pitted against one another (though, if you ask me, you can let them self-destruct). Anyone else remember the year ER premiered? Chicago Hope premiered in the exact same time slot on a different network. The only two medical dramas on tv at the time and you could only watch one. Maybe it’s a “may the best show win” kind of thing. But I’ve seen a lot of cases where the audience just seemed to split, not giving enough ratings to either show, thus killing both. (Yes, I do watch too much television. Why do you ask?)
As for the movies: I took the releases of Armageddon and Deep Impact in stride, figuring that asteroid and end-of-the-world movies had been done before and would be done again. That summer was the summer of asteroid movies. Fine. In 1991, there were two Robin Hood movies – Kevin Costner’s version, and a version made for tv. Okay, Robin Hood’s been done before. We were long overdue for the latest remake anyway. Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes? Ghost movies. Each a unique take on the usual ghost movie fare, but ghost movies nonetheless. Standard stuff. The Matrix and The 13th Floor – this is getting weirder. Two movies about living in virtual reality and how that virtual reality can become a reality all its own. Still, technology is up and coming. The role of technology and how it changes our perceptions of reality was eventually going to make it into a movie. Why not two at once?
But the thing that got me was Antz and A Bug’s Life. When was the last time you saw an animated movie about bugs? Never and never? Then suddenly, there were two released in the same year! What is this? Are Hollywood studios blatantly stealing each other’s ideas? Or is this a discovery of calculus thing playing itself out every year?
As for the movies: I took the releases of Armageddon and Deep Impact in stride, figuring that asteroid and end-of-the-world movies had been done before and would be done again. That summer was the summer of asteroid movies. Fine. In 1991, there were two Robin Hood movies – Kevin Costner’s version, and a version made for tv. Okay, Robin Hood’s been done before. We were long overdue for the latest remake anyway. Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes? Ghost movies. Each a unique take on the usual ghost movie fare, but ghost movies nonetheless. Standard stuff. The Matrix and The 13th Floor – this is getting weirder. Two movies about living in virtual reality and how that virtual reality can become a reality all its own. Still, technology is up and coming. The role of technology and how it changes our perceptions of reality was eventually going to make it into a movie. Why not two at once?
But the thing that got me was Antz and A Bug’s Life. When was the last time you saw an animated movie about bugs? Never and never? Then suddenly, there were two released in the same year! What is this? Are Hollywood studios blatantly stealing each other’s ideas? Or is this a discovery of calculus thing playing itself out every year?
posted by SpakKadi at 12:37 AM
1 Comments:
Why do TV and cinema simultaneously issue mirroring releases? Simple. Both industries are underwhelmingly creative, and blatantly derivative.
Someone gets a bright idea to do, say, a nanny show. Word gets around; a competitor hears about it and says, "A nanny show! Brilliant!" But the competitor can't put out a match one season later - that's an obvious ripoff. But because (s)he hears about the "new thing" during early production, (s)he can rush to slap a mimic together and release it at the same time. I hear that the imitator nanny show actually hit the airwaves a week or two before the original.
As to why all sci-fi is on Friday nights: that's when everyone else is out on dates. Not to stereotype, but the networks schedule based on audience projections. To quote the Simpsons: "A fat, sarcastic Star Trek fan. You must be a devil with the ladies."
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