We’ve talked before on The Movie Blog about studios copying ideas from each other and releasing films on the same topic usually in the same year as another studio. Well… the guys over at Filmjunk put up a nice little article on it. Here are a couple of my favorite examples:
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Ides_of_March – I think making a book out of Cryponomicon would be impossible! It’s set over too long a period with lots of different characters, the story is based around a lot of clever mathy things and its just too long in itself it would have to be at least a trilogy, it took me weeks to read!! That said it’s an awesome book, I just don’t think you could really translate it to scene (just like you couldn’t translate 100 years of solitude etc)
These guys are the king of Straight to Video Clones. Oftentimes they’ll just capitalize on name similarity. They make some of the absolute worst movies ever:
http://www.theasylum.cc/
How about Madagascar and The Wild. Both films have similar plots.
Don’t forget the penguin movies. And how about all those stupid horror ghost movies with the word “Dark” in the title.
Yes, orginality is dead. If any Hollywood could make a film based on Neil Stephenson’s book, “Cryptonomicon” or “Snow Crash”, then you got an original movie that no one has done before. Anyone agree with me?
Forget all that. What I love is when they dress up a made-for-TV lifetime movie and try to sell it as a “Saw” clone complete with rip-off cover.
Yodaf, both movies dealt in 2 real separate hollywood murders.
Not a script rewrite money grab.
the prestige is so much better ;)
if you haven’t watch the prestige nor the illusionist
i recommend you to watch The Prestige first; you’ll be amazed, charmed and you’ll hardly see another magicians film that well made. XD it’s definitively awesome.
and for the illusionist, it is a very small film, and predictable as well, it looks like a tv film or something of that size.
how about Matrix, Dark City, Thirteenth Floor?
Matrix even used the rooftop set from Dark City.
What about Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia? Both were based on real life Hollywood mysteries.
SOME GUY:
Outbreak and Virus share no similarities other then title. Virus was a sci/fi horror film.
Outbreak and Virus, the latter of which was based on the book Outbreak.
Just like X-Men and X-Men 2, …X-Men was first, then they had to come along and copy a great thing, fuck that shit. Take that seriously, and I will reach through the screen and fuck choke you.
I’m surprised GoBots isn’t doing a film to copy Transformers.
Oh God why did I even say that out loud, they might try it.
Saving Private Ryan – The Thin Red Line: both WWII
I think there were two football movies that came out at the same time, although I can’t remember…
i’ve always thought about this, how movies come out in pairs.
oh, yeah:
The Chumscrubber – Thumbsucker: both similar styles/have to do with prescription drugs
I forgot about Red Planet and Mission to Mars.
but to be honest, I didnt really like either one.
The Prestige was the immensely superior film.
In story, production, direction and cast.
They really werent even in the same league.
I put the Prestige in my 10 best list. Absolutely loved it.
That’s not to say that I didnt enjoy The Illusionist, because I did, but there really is no camparison. The Illusionist had a lot of atmosphere and was shot pretty well, but the story was predictable and it just kind of dragged. They share nothing in common storywise other than dealing with magicians. The Illusionist is a love story. Again, I want to say that I did not regret watching it because… hey, c’mon… Paul Giamatti, Ed Norton, Jessica Beil, the movie is watchable and mildly entertaining but not as good as The Prestige.
Jay, we posted simulatanously! Just curious which one you liked better?
I’ve not seen the Illusionist yet (it’s on my to-watch shelf), but The Prestige was bloody incredible, I can’t see the Illusionist coming close to the Prestige in terms of story, visual smarts or intensity.
Just went to Film Junk and they found a couple I’d missed (Batteries not included and Short circuit – very sharp!!) and I remember all those body-swapping movies (18 Again with George Burns!)
I think the War of the Worlds example they use is an example of one of the Direct to video versions I mentioned above. At least it answers the question of where C. Thomas Howell went after 1988…
Ratatoulle and Flushed Away?
Red Planet and Mission to Mars?
The Illusionist and The Prestige?
A Bugs Life and Antz
Capote and Infamous
Scream and Cut (Australia)
Shrek and a slew of fairy-tale based CGI animated films (Hoodwinked, happily N’Ever After, etc.)
At one point there were two ALEXANDER THE GREAT (the Baz Lurhman one was scrapped when Stone’s failed) and two Mohammad Ali films…don’t know what happened to the other one.
Isn’t there always a direct to video rip on the big summer disaster blockbuster (which often features bruce campbell for some reason)…I seem to recall DTV versions of Twister (Tornado), The Day After Tomorrow (forget the title) and United 93 (Flight 93)…I’m sure there are many others that want to ride the free hype of a big studio marketing budget and make their money back with accidental purchases and rentals, and selling the rights to television….
The Illusionist – The Prestige
Vastly dissimilar movies, but both dealing with magicians
flicka vs dreamer?
tombstone – wyatt erpp
cave – descent – 3rd one can’t remember title….
I hate copy cat movie ripoffs
There’s a simple explanation for this phenom in the book, “Hello, He Lied.” by uber-producer Lynda Obst. If a studio exec greenlights a movie similar to another one already in production, then they’re less culpable if the movie fails. Chances are one of the movies will do better than the other one. If it’s not your movie, then you’re obviously not at fault because the CONCEPT was sound, just not the execution. You can then blame the filmmakers or the marketing team.
As a side note, the Abyss was way better than those other two kaka movies
My Favorite was Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. Tombstone is one of my all time favorite movies.
Not that they were the same movies, but i remember Deep Star 6, Leviathon and the Abyss all coming out relativley close to one another back in the day