Some people insist blockbuster movie franchises are always the same.
Do you agree, or are you just tired of people making that complaint? Either way, worry no more. Here are five daring ways to shake up movie franchises and make them exciting again.
Some of the following suggestions might be cost or otherwise prohibitive. Yet where there's a will, there's a way.
Have Franchise Sequels Be in Different Genres
Say I create the first movie of an action franchise. The film is a hit, and people immediately clamor for a sequel. So what do I do? I make an action-free drama, focusing on who the hero is, why he does what he does and what his personal life is like. The sequel is completely set in the real world and entirely different from the first story.
For instance, say someone would make a movie of my upcoming story, "Sodom by the Susquehanna," which will feature plenty of action and would cost millions to make. And say that movie proved a success. What should the sequel be?
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How about a small tale looking at the life of one of the characters? Show his unrequited love for the girl of his dreams. How does he deal with the depression that follows? How does it impact his character? And what is the resolution?
The sequel would be cheap, yet character and franchise recognition would be huge. The curiosity factor would be big, too. What other movie franchise went small for its sequel? End result: a massively profitable movie--especially when compared with the production cost of your typical blockbuster.
Subsequent franchise entries could bring back the action. But there would also be room for horror, comedy, suspense, romance and so forth in the series.
Wouldn't that be a fun franchise to watch?
Have the Bad Guy Win
There isn't anything new about having the protagonist lose in a film. But it would be a novel idea for a blockbuster movie franchise.
Think about it: who would expect that to happen? Furthermore, once a franchise goes this route, it has now established that a win isn't guaranteed for the good guys in future installments.
And how many more people do you think a franchise would draw now that no one knows how the stories are going to end? And how much richer does it make the other installments when the good guys do emerge victorious? . . .
Read the rest at Hollywood in Toto.
Posted September 26 2016 by Paul Hair
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