Editorial: Hollywood rips-off movie goers

Hollywood Graphic 02By Logan Stark
Editor

You are in the middle of a scam. That’s right; Hollywood is taking advantage of your wallet with little effort, by using the burglary tools: remakes, sequels, prequels and 3D.
The 80’s have returned. What, we are in the 2000’s, how have the 80’s returned? With recycled movies such as: Transformers, Terminator Salvation, The A-Team, Predators, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Why have these movies resurfaced? Because Hollywood knows that they can make a quick buck from a generation remembering the “good old days,” and if they can snare another generation too, then they can make a bigger profit by just using an old idea.
Hollywood is ran by business men who are out to make money, and they know that if they can produce the same thing again and again without having to come up with original ideas, that they can save costs while earning a large income. If you can make money while being lazy, why not do it?
Yes, some of these movies are good, but imagine how much better that they could be if they were completely new—such as Inception.  I mean, how many sequels are better than the original? Not Pirates of the Caribbean, or Night at the Museum and definitely not Iron Man 2, and why is that? Because when the original was made, it was created with a solid ending with no plans to expand it.
If that’s true, then why are there so many sequels and prequels of movies? Money.
The high ticket sales at the box office wets Hollywood’s appetite and makes them think, “If this idea worked once, why not again? If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” And so they get their staff to produce a junky sequel.
Disney is a master of this technique: Lion King II, Mulan II, Princess Diaries 2, Bambi II, Fox and the Hound 2, The Little Mermaid—2, II, 2. Why? $$$. I mean, don’t you find it odd that after 11 years, Toy Story finds its way back to the big screen? Or how about the new Monsters, Inc. being released after 12 years? And it’s not because Disney and Pixar want you’re childhood rekindled with warm feelings—not without giving them some of your hard earned cash.
Another weapon that Hollywood is a pro of using is 3D. Not only can they charge you a few extra bucks to see a 3D movie vs. a 2D film, but they have also released old films back onto the big screen in 3D for basically a free profit—charging you to see movies that they didn’t even have to spend thousands to make.
Titanic, a movie that you can watch in your living room for free, or buy at Wal Mart for $22.96, made $600,788,188 when it was first released, and in 2012, Titanic 3D made an additional $57,884,144, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.  BoxOfficMojo.com also reveals that Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace 3D earned an additional $43,456,382, Finding Nemo 3D earned an additional $41,128,283 and Jurassic Park 3D earned an additional $18.6 million opening night. Why should Hollywood make another movie when they are earning hundreds of millions from just releasing already made films in 3D?
What other rip-offs are out there? How about the sequels that never end? How many people can be tortured in Saw? How many times can you Die Hard? Or how many zombie dogs can Milla Jovovich kill in Resident Evil? These sequels are basically the same as the others before them, and yet fans still settle for them.
Or how about the new Spiderman series that has come out, not even a decade after the 2002-2007 trilogy?
You deserve better than the cold popcorn left in the microwave, so why settle for it? Stand up, speak your mind and avoid Hollywood pitfalls. Quit settling for the old and demand the new!