A Time for Bravery

By Moocher: Chaz Harris

A trend in Hollywood right now is for studios to make and buy scripts for direct remakes of classic movies and also ones that are best left forgotten. Why I hear you ask? Formula - if you add x and y you will get z, or at least many Hollywood executives have arrived at that method. In a recession, everyone is paranoid about their jobs and they become even more adverse to risk than they were before, their job depends on not having a flop on their hands. When other artists are pushing the envelope and boundaries, why does the film industry appear to be running away screaming like a girl in the other direction?

The fear of piracy and illegal downloading has caused many film giants to bet on what they believe will be a sure-fire winner. I think the film industry could really learn a thing or two from some of the more daring and provocative music artists of the moment. Earlier this year, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert was criticised for unexpectedly thrusting a dancer's head into his crotch during a performance of "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards at 11pm on family-friendly network ABC. Just to make his point, he kissed his male keyboard player in the performance as well. Some might consider it a shameless ploy for attention, but let's face it, it worked. Was it controversial? Yes. Did it make people talk about him? Yes. Did it make people buy more of his records? Probably. It was a total middle-finger to the musical conveyor belt and it took guts. So come on Hollywood, thrust the audience's head into your proverbial crotch - it might just work!