ABSTRACT
Chapter 1: The Bigger and Better Remake introduces the most obvious reason why a film or television series is remade: to improve on what’s gone before. This chapter explores the blockbuster model of contemporary filmmaking whereby old titles are revisited in line with Hollywood’s preoccupation with “event cinema”. A key component of blockbusters is big budgets: this chapter examines money spent on new technology (including sound and color in eras past, and CGI and 3D more recently) as well as on all-star casting. The objective of such productions is making a film that is enhanced through its expansion. Cautionary notes on the subjectivity of “better” in the context of filmmaking are also provided.
