# Films (or film concepts) which would never be greenlighted today **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170 "2008-07-30T00:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/1 "2008-07-30T00:35:31Z")
My roomie just flipped on **Ghost Story** , and while idly catching glimpses of scenes, I realized that a horror film where most of the protagonists are 70-80 year old men probably wouldn’t get made by a major studio today in their quest for the younger demographic. What other films, perhaps even classics, just simply wouldn’t have the right collection of stars and/or modern tropes to make it appealing to today’s audience, and, by extension, to the current big name studios? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/2 "2008-07-30T00:38:30Z")
**Ben-Hur The Ten Commandments** **The Birth of a Nation** ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/3 "2008-07-30T00:40:22Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] **Ben-Hur** The Ten Commandments\*\* [/QUOTE] Seriously? In the aftermath of **The Passion of the Christ**? Not only would both of those movies be made, they’d probably be huge hits. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/4 "2008-07-30T00:46:21Z")
Blazing Saddles ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/5 "2008-07-30T00:47:30Z")
I’ll bet **Forbidden Planet** wouldn’t be. When CBS showed it on its Late Night Movie (just before they started running Letterman) they seemed kinda embarrassed by it. Talky, intellectual drama with not enough glitz or action I’m amazed it got greenlighted in the fifties. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/6 "2008-07-30T01:42:24Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] Seriously? In the aftermath of **The Passion of the Christ**? Not only would both of those movies be made, they’d probably be huge hits. [/QUOTE] I doubt it. Gibson had to finance his movie mostly by himself. The major studios aren’t going to put up the mega-millions necessary to do **Ben-Hur** , even with CGI. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/7 "2008-07-30T01:59:19Z")
Any romantic comedy where the male suitor persists to the point of obsession in trying to win the heart of a woman who has no interest in him or actively hates him. Double points if he uses mild force such as holding or kissing her against her will. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/8 "2008-07-30T02:01:46Z")
**Laura**. In an era of “10 words or less” high-concept pitches, how on earth would you sell that at a pitch meeting? About the best you could do would be to say, “It’s based on this book, we were lucky to grab the option on it”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/9 "2008-07-30T02:12:28Z")
**The Birth of a Nation** Actually, it was pretty controversial when it first came out, but any film that glorifies the Ku Klux Klan and shows Blacks as bestial is not going to be made (and that’s a good thing). Any silent film, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/10 "2008-07-30T02:15:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Any silent film, for that matter. You can’t really believe that. In the past few years we’ve had versions of **the Phantom of the Opera** and **The Four Feathers** , to name just two. Your statement would only be true if you stipulated that the new versions would have to be silent, as well. ---
**Author:** ![gnagtcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@gnagtcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnagtcha)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/11 "2008-07-30T02:29:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Talky, intellectual drama with not enough glitz or action I’m amazed it got greenlighted in the fifties. Why? I saw the movie when I was 10 or 11 and sat in the Cornell Theater in Burbank, Ca. with a hundred other kids watching in fascination, and, probably not understanding everything going on but, still enough effects to hold our interest. I’m not sure there was a film made before the 70’s that equaled the worn-out, every two minutes cgi action to grab the audiences attention and who needs to talk and think to possibly form a believable solid character because people nowadays aren’t capable of sitting for more than 2 minutes without that kind of action formula. At least none that I know of. So, I agree. That film wouldn’t work now, but it was sure fun watching when I was young. Also saw 12 Angry Men and The Haunting at the Cornell. Couldn’t beat the price. 50 cents and you got two movies, a Disney nature short and 2 or 3 cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/12 "2008-07-30T03:37:59Z")
_Singin’ in the Rain_, and other musicals, with the only exceptions being ones based on long-running stage musicals like _Chicago_ or _The Producers_. For that matter, elegant dance numbers are gone. No more Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire, now it’s all “you been SERVED!” and such. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/13 "2008-07-30T04:15:21Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] _Singin’ in the Rain_, and other musicals, with the only exceptions being ones based on long-running stage musicals like _Chicago_ or _The Producers_. For that matter, elegant dance numbers are gone. No more Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire, now it’s all “you been SERVED!” and such. [/QUOTE] I think it’d be really interesting for someone to release a new original musical. High School Musical was crazy popular. We’ve had _Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Hairspray_ and _Mamma Mia!_ in the past few years and they all seem to have been really big. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/14 "2008-07-30T04:27:09Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] I think it’d be really interesting for someone to release a new original musical. High School Musical was crazy popular. We’ve had _Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Hairspray_ and _Mamma Mia!_ in the past few years and they all seem to have been really big. [/QUOTE] Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog is the number one TV download on iTunes. Once More With Feeling is often cited as on of the five best Buffy episodes. The musical episode of Scrubs was a huge hit. I have no idea how anyone can say that musicals can’t be made nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/15 "2008-07-30T05:03:01Z")
It would be very difficult to greenlight a new Charlie Chan film for todays audience. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/16 "2008-07-30T05:18:31Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] My roomie just flipped on **Ghost Story** , and while idly catching glimpses of scenes, I realized that a horror film where most of the protagonists are 70-80 year old men probably wouldn’t get made by a major studio today in their quest for the younger demographic. [/QUOTE] I’d have to wonder whether something like [Batteries Not Included](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batteries_not_included) could be made. Though obviously if someone like Steven Spielberg decides it should be made, that’s all there is to it, regardless of the times. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/17 "2008-07-30T10:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Any silent film, for that matter. [/QUOTE] [Call of Cthulhu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Call_of_Cthulhu_(film)), 2005. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/18 "2008-07-30T10:39:38Z")
Any of the great late-60s or 70s dramas - Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter, Midnight Cowboy - just to name a few - with a completely different standard of pacing and editing than what we have today. Modern audiences wouldn’t have the _patience_ for movies like this in theaters today. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/19 "2008-07-30T12:17:59Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I doubt it. Gibson had to finance his movie mostly by himself. [/QUOTE] That’s the point. He financed himself and made an incredible amount of money as a result. The studios that turned him down and said it woudn’t make money looked like idiots. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170/20 "2008-07-30T12:42:10Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] You can’t really believe that. In the past few years we’ve had versions of **the Phantom of the Opera** and **The Four Feathers** , to name just two. Your statement would only be true if you stipulated that the new versions would have to be silent, as well. [/QUOTE] That’s what I said: any _silent_ film would be turned down. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-or-film-concepts-which-would-never-be-greenlighted-today/458170.md?page=2)