# Greenlighting old movies in the present. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442 "2010-09-29T04:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/21 "2010-09-29T22:32:31Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Sure why not? Race related jokes are alive and well on Tosh.0 and pedophilia jokes are alive and well on Family Guy. Pretty much nothing is off limits on South Park. > . You can do things with cartoons you can do with live action. Homer can choke Bart all he likes, 90% of the time I agree with Homer, but that would never happen in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/22 "2010-09-29T22:51:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Could you name some of these new original movies? I just finished working on a Laura Nyro post and just now saw this. I’d answer but I’m off to see a movie. Amusingly enough, it’s a Chinese remake of an American movie, [A Simple Noodle Story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1428556/combined), directed by [Yimou Zhang](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0955443/), who directed [Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/combined), [House of Flying Daggers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/combined), [Raise the Red Lantern](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101640/combined), [Curse of the Golden Flower](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473444/combined), and [Ju Duo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099902/combined), among others. It’s a remake of the Coen Brothers’ [Blood Simple](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086979/combined). Have a look [at my thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573078) about the movies I’ve seen. August movies are listed further down the page. I’ll be listing the September movies soon, maybe this evening or tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/23 "2010-09-29T22:57:59Z")
“Tentpole” movies, the big hoped-for blockbusters that are expected to top the box office charts on the weekend of their release, are disproportionally remakes or sequels or pre-sold names. But it’s ridiculous to extrapolate that out to all movies, or even all Hollywood movies. A lot of the comedies that aren’t remakes have levels of gross-out bodily-fluid humor that never would have been seen earlier. I didn’t see Kick-Ass but the language that the child reportedly uses would have been banned even a few years ago. Standards always change and movies always adapt. And don’t give me that nonsense about political correctness. There never was any excuse whatsoever for the blatantly racist portrayals of blacks, Asians, Native Americans, and other groups, not to mention the way gays and other outsiders were mocked. It’s utterly wonderful that you can’t do that another. If that’s political correctness then political correctness should be everybody’s religion. The original Charlie Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers, BTW, were models for their time in the depiction of a capable, intelligent, and respected Asian-American. Yes, he has an accent and uses some aphorisms, but Biggers makes him a transitional figure struggling to do his best in a new world and makes him a wonderful father dealing with the Americanization of his children, a subject hugely important then and relevant again today. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/24 "2010-09-30T00:11:32Z")
I remember they had a Scooby-Doo style mystery/crimesolving “Charlie Chan” cartoon in the 70s, with about half a dozen of Charlie Chan’s wisecracking ABC children doing the ghost-chasing legwork in lieu of Shaggy and Scoob. I wonder if that gets shown anywhere these days? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/25 "2010-09-30T00:16:59Z")
_Borat_ got made. _Borat_ got shown in theaters. Tell me again how offensiveness is absolutely fatal to theatrical productions. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/26 "2010-09-30T03:39:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, was made in 1980 with Peter Sellers as the Oriental villain. > > Amazed me, too. But the Charlie Chan was a year later. > I don’t think Chan or Fu Manchu or Mr. Moto were _ever_ played by actors of Oriental ancestry. Nor Judge Dee (in one US TV movie and a British mini-series), although it was years before I realized that Kheigh Deigh wasn’t Chinese. Only once was Charlie Chan played by an actor of oriental ancestry. The Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. THE AMAZING CHAN AND THE CHAN CLAN had KEYE LUKE do the voice of Charlie Chan. Keye Luke had also played number one son on the films in the thirties. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/27 "2010-09-30T04:20:49Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > It’s a remake of the Coen Brothers’ [Blood Simple](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086979/combined). So, not an original movie, then. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/28 "2010-09-30T05:17:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > > [@Equipoise](#): > > > > It’s a remake of the Coen Brothers’ [Blood Simple](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086979/combined). > > So, not an original movie, then. _stares at Miller_ Uh, yeah, I know. I even said “Amusingly enough” to underline the point. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/29 "2010-09-30T06:13:57Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > > [@Miller](#): > > > > So, not an original movie, then. > > _stares at Miller_ > > Uh, yeah, I know. I even said “Amusingly enough” to underline the point. Amusingly enough, you don’t seem to have addressed the point in any fashion whatsoever, then. BTW, Zhang Yimou’s recent stuff sucks, sorry to hear you’ve been wasting time on it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/30 "2010-09-30T06:14:39Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > > [@Miller](#): > > > > So, not an original movie, then. > > _stares at Miller_ > > Uh, yeah, I know. I even said “Amusingly enough” to underline the point. Ok, could you identify the original ones? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/31 "2010-09-30T13:29:54Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > > [@Equipoise](#): > > > > _stares at Miller_ > > > > Uh, yeah, I know. I even said “Amusingly enough” to underline the point. > > Amusingly enough, you don’t seem to have addressed the point in any fashion whatsoever, then. What, you’re not going to wade through the self-indulgent link she provided in the off chance you’ll find something worthwhile in there? Me either. Reeks too fondly of Dio’s “expert” fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/32 "2010-09-30T14:37:44Z")
Avatar, despite having an extremely derivative plot, was an original work. So was Inception. There’s two massive films for you. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/33 "2010-09-30T17:53:22Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Avatar, despite having an extremely derivative plot, was an original work. So was Inception. There’s two massive films for you. James Cameron can make any film he wants to at the moment, and derivative plot is what is being discussed. IIRC Christopher Nolan said Inception was based on other futuristic films exploring the perception of reality, including his own film Memento. IMHO originality is rare in the world in any form, and usually poorly received. There can be very entertaining variations of existing themes though. But where financing of films is concerned, originality is not a selling point. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/34 "2010-09-30T19:13:57Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > > [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > > > Well modern films dont get greenlighted unless they are remakes, sequels, or movie versions of successful works in other media, especially comic books. So … most of them, if presented as new works. > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > The way to get the financiers to write a check is to tell them your movie is just like \, only the \ is a \. > > > > They never want to hear about a new, untested idea. > > That’s just silly talk. I’ve seen a LOT\* of movies in the theater this year. Many were older films at retrospectives, but I see plenty of modern-made films too. Only a handful of them are remakes, sequels, movie versions of successful works in other media. They’re not all foreign films either. > > I don’t know about you two, but many times people who say such things unfortunately live in places where many of the really good modern movies aren’t shown, not that many of them would go out and see and support the really good modern movies that are shown anyway, but then, that’s true in big cities where the really good modern movies ARE shown too. > > - 207 movies in the theater so far this year, 33 in September alone, and I’ll see one or two more in the next couple of days. I’ll probably break 300 by December 31. Well I understood “greenlighted” to imply “by a major studio.” I think you’ll find most of the original stuff is from indie cinematographers. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/35 "2010-09-30T19:24:40Z")
I can’t imagine they’d be able to remake **Soul Man** , but I suppose anything’s possible. The story: a rich white kid gets accepted to Harvard, but his parents tell him they’re not paying for it, and because his family’s so wealthy, he can’t qualify for student loans. So, he looks for scholarships, and finds one for the “most qualified black applicant from Los Angeles”. He overdoses on tanning pills to darken his skin and thus cheats his way into Harvard. The white kid is played by that most “80s” of actors, C. Thomas Howell, and James Earl Jones is featured as a professor. The only interesting bit of the movie is the girl he meets, a single mom played by Rae Dawn Chong, who is working as a waitress and struggling to pay for school. He discovers toward the end of the movie that he essentially stole the scholarship out from under her. Still, in the end everything works out fine for the rich white kid. So, anyone think they could spin that into something that’d fly today? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/36 "2010-09-30T20:37:38Z")
Is Johnny Depp too old for the part now? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/37 "2010-09-30T22:33:10Z")
> [@](#): > > James Cameron can make any film he wants to at the moment, and derivative plot is what is being discussed. It was derivative, but it was derivative of many different sources. It was emphatically _not_ just a remake of _Dances with Wolves_ or _Ferngully_, or any other single movie. And when you get right down to it, _all_ plots are derivative to some extent or another. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442/38 "2010-10-01T00:03:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > James Cameron can make any film he wants to at the moment, and derivative plot is what is being discussed. > > It was derivative, but it was derivative of many different sources. It was emphatically _not_ just a remake of _Dances with Wolves_ or _Ferngully_, or any other single movie. And when you get right down to it, _all_ plots are derivative to some extent or another. Precisely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenlighting-old-movies-in-the-present/555442.md?page=1)