The Movie Industry: Commerical Profit Over Creativity

I was browsing the net today, and I decided to look further into this "Rebuild of Evangelion" movie I've been hearing so much about. As a casual fan of the orginal source matieral, I couldn't help but get just a little excited about the concept. Take one of the weirdest anime shows ever created, and remake it into a four part movie series. It would have the same basic plot and premise as its orginal source matieral, but with brand spanking new animation, new scenes, and a reworked ending. 0_0 I was hyped! Heck, I still am hyped!

A couple hours, I stepped back and actually started to think about it. They did this before, they already made an Evangelion movie... and it sucked. It really sucked, actually. Now they're going to go back and milk a dead cow that has been in retirement for over ten years? Come on! Why doesn't the show's creator make something new we can be excited about, why remake Evangelion? Then it hit me. Creativity isn't what pays off in the end, it's all about the money.


Rei! Now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! This adds a whole new layer to the EVA mythos. You see, with Rei's new curve appeal and computer enhanced animation, we can now create a new kind of Evangelion. One with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation!

I mean, look at the way Hollywood is run now. There isn't any quality control there?! The last two Pirates movies sucked, but I would bet you good money that we're going to see even more Captain Jack Sparrow in the near future. Not because it's necessary! Not because they have an orginal idea that would steer the series in a whole direction! But because it'll make the studio more money! Heck, we fall for it everytime. Disney has managed to feed me two extra doses of Pirates, and to be quite frank I don't care if I ever see Captain Jack Sparrow on the big screen again.

What made the first Pirates so appealing was the orginality of the characeter. Captain Jack was like nothing we had ever seen before, and the movie he starred in wasn't too bad either. It was easily some of the most fun I had at the cinema. I can't remember another movie where I laughed so often and so frequently. So when I heard they were going to make not only one, but "TWO" more outings for the then legendary "Jack Sparrow", I couldn't wait! Alas, I walked out of both Dead Man's Chest and At World's End thinking.... "What the hell went wrong?" It seemed like such a good idea on paper.


Thank you for seeing my crappy sequel! I couldn't have made all this money without you!!

The truth was, neither the writers nor the director had anything new to add to the franchise. They would try to trick you into thinking otherwise though! The scripts were so sloopy that it would take a "Pirates Expert" to make any sense out of the whole thing. Does the movie have any kind of message? Is there really any point to all this swashbuckling? And more importantly... is this really entertainment, or a really bland carbon copy of what we've already seen. Honestly, it feels like the writers spent a whole 'weekend' devising this plot, and you can easily see where they liberally borrowed from just about every other successful trilogy ever made. This is Pirates, not Star Wars. If I wanted to watch epic drawn out battles, I would have watched Lord of the Rings. Just be Pirates for me! Not only are you uninspired and unorginal, but you have an identity crisis as well.

Looking at the movie business as a whole, it really feels nothing more then a huge commercal market. The most creative and thoughtful movies produced every year are usually in 'limited release', while the surprisngly uncreative "Spider-Man 3" is shown in every theatre under the sun. It's kinda sad really. If there was any true justice, the personal dramas would be at the top of the box office, not the sequels.


The movie wasn't nearly as cool as this poster would make you think. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't particularly good either.

If a sequel is done well, then there's really no problem. But how often does that actually happen? When the sequel is just as good if not better then the orginal. I can only think of a few off the top of my head, and I know alot of people are going to disagree with me, but I usually don't agree with them either. xD I have a different taste in entertainment then most people.

-Toy Story 2 (just as funny, just as sharp, and just as 'strangely' touching as the orginal. The new characters didn't feel slapped on either, they actually had a reason to exist in this franchise besides the sales of 'Toy Story 2 merchandise.' Who could forget the famous freeway crossing scene?)

-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (some actual emotinal substance with my Star Trek movie?!! Who da thunk it?! This one packs quite an emotinal wallop as well, easily out perfoming the orginal in every conceviable way. Awesome flick.)


Kirk to Enterprise. .... My movie rocks!

-The Harry Potter franchise (what can I say, each movie is better then the last. It actually makes me sad that there'll only be seven, and that's saying alot)

-The Empire Strikes Back (darker, deeper, and contains some of the best writing out of any Star Wars film. Makes me wish that George had stuck to his day job, and let other people write his stories for him)

I could go on and on with this, so I'll just list the rest: "Aliens, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Lord of the Rings films..... gah, I give up! There just aren't very many."

This whole rant being said and done... I'm still excited about "Rebuild of Evangelion." I just find it funny how the majority of blockbuster hits now are either based on a pre-existing franchise or a succesful book. Where is the creativity? You can find it in 'limited release', but very rarely do you find it on the box office charts. So while the majority of people are being fed the same crap and paying good money for it, a 'real' movie written by an 'inspired' writer often just floats by without any media attention. Remember "The Iron Giant?" Of course you don't. No one remembers that movie. But it was damn good, especially for an animated flick.


After seeing this poster, I really can't blame people for not having seen this. Trust me! It's alot better then it looks.

So I dedicate this blog post to director Anno Hideaki, who feels it necessary to milk his former glory instead of creating a brand new (and possibly more exciting) mythology. We don't need another Evangelion. I just want to watch great anime. I'll watch the movie because I'm an Evangelion fan (and I have a feeling it's gonna be "sugoi"... but that's the geeky side speaking again), but I still can't help but feel a little weird. This guy is feeding me the same story all over again. That's worse then making a sequel. That's about as low as you can get without jumping into prequel territory. I hope your movie turns out great, because I really want to see it. But maybe next time you should rekindle your relationship with Mr. Pen and Mr. Paper and make something new for us. Something truly new. Not something 'kinda new' that you know will make you money. You already have enough money. You're an artist! Make art!

.... Okay, that's the end of my rant. xD Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did typing it.


At least I'll stil have Rei.... now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! xD