Columbia Pictures is releasing David Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on Dec. 21. The film is a remake of the Swedish movie of the same title made just two years ago. Fincher’s film is an “Americanized” version of the worldwide phenomenon that is the Stieg Larsson trilogy.

Hollywood has been trapped in a cycle as of late. The big production companies are making films audiences have already seen or are making more sequels to established franchises, with many series moving beyond the standard trilogy length.

Sequels are a way for studios to maximize capital, whether audiences approve of the films or not. However, with remakes being released only two years apart from the original, this poses many questions for modern Hollywood. 

As Hollywood continues to recreate stories, it may be a sign of dwindling originality within the film industry. Further, audiences are left with remakes and “re-imaginings” of questionable necessity.

The Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a successful film not only in Sweden, but also all over the world, including in the United States. However, the film is being remade with an English-speaking cast as a way to further increase the profitability of the film.

“I’m ok with there being a lot of remakes today,” Arin Taylor, sophomore in math and computer science, said. “I enjoy high quality movies, whether they are remakes or not. I also greatly enjoy the original films.”

2011 has already seen several remakes, such as Arthur, Conan, Fright Night, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Thing, among others. Many of these remakes, with a few exceptions, released to lackluster box office results and unfavorable critical review. However, some remakes, like Rise of the Planet of the Apes, were a success, both critically and monetarily.

Success or failure, studios must always have the audience in mind when thinking of the next film to remake. Some may despise the idea of their favorite movie being remade, while others may be ecstatic for the update.

Megan Kelly, freshman in zoology, is a proponent of original ideas, not monotonous remakes.

“Movies seem to be repetitive and predictable nowadays,” Kelly said. “Each love story, action plot, or comedic design seems to follow specific a path that make it unoriginal and prompted. Of course, some movies are exceptions in which brilliant, original stories are formed, but it is rare to discover these types of movies today.”

This is not to say that all remakes are failures and inessential. For example, critics deemed the Coen Brothers film True Grit as one of the best films of 2010. The film also found success at the Academy Awards.

“I guess it really depends on the movie,” Russell Riley, a freshman in civil engineering, said.  “It’s ok to remake some movies because it can make them better, but if they were to remake something more iconic like Casablanca, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, it would not do the original justice.”

A dependency on old ideas continues to mark the Hollywood process recently. The most successful films in recent years tend to be sequels or remakes. The summer film schedule is often filled by one sequel after another.

Directors and writers like Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese manage to deliver original stories on a consistent basis. However, even the best directors succumb to the temptation of remakes. Martin Scorsese himself directed a remake of the 1962 film Cape Fear, though many saw the re-imagined version as a step up from the original.

Whether it is a filmmaker’s ambition to attempt something different, a storyteller’s passion to recreate one of their most beloved films, or just a downright running out of ideas from Hollywood, it all comes down to the subject matter of the work. However, as long as remakes and sequels provide profitable avenues, it is safe to assume studios will continue to make them.

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2011 Movie Remakes vs. Originals

-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Remake of 2009 Swedish film

-Arthur: Remake of 1981 film

-Conan: Remake of 1982 film

-Footloose: Remake of 1984 film

-The Thing: Remake of 1982 film, itself a remake of a 1951 film

-Fright Night: Remake of 1985 film

-Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Remake of the 1968-1973 film franchise