- 9 hours ago
Discover the hidden strategies behind successful live-action films, from Hollywood’s star power era to today’s obsession with franchises and adaptations. We explore how blending respect for source material with bold artistic vision creates cinematic magic, revealing why some remakes soar while others fall flat. Dive into the evolving landscape of movies and the secrets studios use to captivate audiences worldwide.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Prestige films and box office hits, those are not mutually exclusive.
00:04We can do both and we will do both.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at the secret, or secrets, to making live-action
00:12films work.
00:13I want to make art.
00:15Arty.
00:16And I want to make trouble.
00:19You in?
00:21Star Power Era, Hollywood's Old Currency
00:24For most of Hollywood's history, movie stars were the safest bet in town.
00:28A familiar face could sell almost anything, no franchise required.
00:32All right, okay.
00:34All right, you win, I lose.
00:36Can I change for 20?
00:37For 20, I'll show you personal.
00:40Even show you what stars live.
00:41Studios banked on the drawing power of names like Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom
00:46Cruise, and Will Smith to guarantee box office returns.
00:50Research even qualified it, attaching a major star to a project could boost a film's revenue
00:55by tens of millions.
00:56Like literal stars, big-name actors were bright lights that drew in audiences with a force
01:01not unlike gravity.
01:03Don't take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.
01:09Now you're getting nasty.
01:12You know it's true.
01:14All nice.
01:15This star power model defined Hollywood's golden eras, but it did carry risk.
01:21Stars aged, salaries ballooned, and personal scandals could sink projects overnight.
01:25The cracks in that system opened the door to Hollywood's next obsession, intellectual
01:30property.
01:32I'll be back.
01:34The rise of IP supremacy.
01:36Towards the end of the 1990s and into the early 2000s, star power began to fade.
01:41A big name no longer guaranteed success.
01:43So, Hollywood pivoted towards a new safety net.
01:47Brands.
01:47Our net income is up 14%.
01:50Our latest film, G-Men World War, just grossed shy of $1.7 billion worldwide.
01:59And this fall we break ground on our newest theme park outside of Paris.
02:03The branding opportunities are limitless.
02:06Studios realized that properties like Batman, Spider-Man, and Harry Potter sold themselves.
02:12It didn't seem to matter who wore the costume.
02:15It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.
02:22Instead of building audiences around actors, they built them around intellectual property.
02:26Books, comics, toys, and even theme park rides became launch pads for billion dollar films.
02:32All hands to the votes.
02:36Apologies.
02:37You give the orders.
02:40Gents.
02:42Take a walk.
02:44This shift reshaped casting.
02:46Leads became interchangeable, while the brand name did all the heavy lifting.
02:50By the 2010s, IP wasn't just king.
02:53It was the whole kingdom.
02:54It promised built-in audiences, endless sequels, and most importantly, a buffer against star scandals
03:00and box office flops.
03:01Assume I'm going to marvel at how cinematic it feels?
03:07Gratuitous cameos?
03:09Indiscriminate use of variants?
03:11The whole package?
03:12You tell me.
03:14The Marvel Paradigm in RDJ.
03:16By the 2010s, brands ruled and IP was king.
03:20No brand adapted to the new paradigm or symbolized the new formula better than Marvel.
03:25Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe.
03:28You just don't know it yet.
03:30Who the hell are you?
03:32Nick Fury.
03:34Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
03:36Oh.
03:37I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.
03:39When Iron Man hit in 2008, Robert Downey Jr. was a down-on-his-luck actor climbing back
03:45from the abyss of a scandal.
03:47He more than launched a third act to his career.
03:50A decade later, Downey would be one of the highest-paid actors in history.
03:54Is it cool if I take a picture with you?
03:56Yes.
03:57It's very cool.
04:02Alright.
04:03I don't want to see this on your MySpace page.
04:05Please, no gang signs.
04:07No, throw it up.
04:08I'm kidding.
04:08Yeah, peace.
04:09I love peace.
04:10I'll be out of a job with peace.
04:11Marvel's success used Downey's charisma with Tony Stark's popularity.
04:16Iron Man was a box office juggernaut where character and actor were inseparable.
04:21For years, that synergy shielded him from flops.
04:24But the failure of Doolittle in 2020 exposed the truth.
04:27Audiences didn't want Downey.
04:29They wanted Iron Man.
04:30That realization reshaped how studios saw stars and risks.
04:34Perhaps I'm out of here and I'll teach you some manners
04:36and accept you a lucky foot as payment.
04:39Oh, this lucky foot?
04:40Don't worry about it, Doc,
04:42because both of my lucky feet are going to be tap-dancing on your grave
04:45when my guy's done with you.
04:47IP hoarding and risk aversion.
04:49Marvel's dominance affected more than just casting.
04:52It rewired Hollywood economics.
04:54As box office stakes increased,
04:56studios merged into mega conglomerates.
04:59Disney gobbled up Fox and Warner fused with Discovery.
05:02Today, a handful of giant mega studios control virtually everything.
05:06In 1983, 90% of American media was owned by 50 different companies.
05:15Today, that 90% of media is now owned and controlled
05:19by six giant media conglomerates.
05:22Fewer players meant fewer risks.
05:24When you factor in the ballooning costs of marketing,
05:27those risks were crystal clear.
05:29A big enough flop could sink an entire fiscal quarter.
05:32So, studios leaned into an
05:34if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it philosophy.
05:36The industry doubled down on proven franchises,
05:39recycling superheroes, sequels, and remakes.
05:42This resulted in studios hoarding IP like greedy dragons.
05:46Valuable characters and worlds are locked in corporate vaults,
06:02milked for spin-offs, crossovers, and connected universes.
06:05The industry's creative bets narrowed, and safe became the watchword.
06:09This consolidation set the stage for Hollywood's next frontier.
06:13The explosion of live-action adaptations.
06:16That's not me.
06:18I know.
06:20Resolve this for us, Epsilon.
06:21Is she the right Alice?
06:24Not hardly.
06:26Live-action adaptation explosion.
06:29By the mid-2010s, Hollywood's safe-bed obsession meant retreading old ground.
06:34Disney executives realized entire generations hadn't seen their animated classics.
06:39But old-school 2D animation was no longer in vogue.
06:43So they turned to live-action.
06:45And now, we invite you to relax.
06:49Let us pull up a chair.
06:51As the Dining Room proudly presents...
07:04Disney remade Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King into
07:10billion-dollar live-action spectacles.
07:12Kids provided fresh audiences, while nostalgia hooked their parents.
07:16It was low-risk economics.
07:18Built-in IP meant built-in profit, with built-in synergy across parks and merchandise.
07:23Soon, every studio joined in, from anime adaptations to theme park rides.
07:28Yet for every hit, critics blasted the trend as soulless.
07:32To lovers of cinema as an art form, it was just proof that Hollywood's hunger for safety
07:36was stifling cinema's creativity.
07:39The trend, they believed, was merely a symptom of Hollywood's fear of failure.
07:43If you ever want to get out there and start fighting dragons, you've got to stop all of
07:46all of this.
07:49You're just desperate to all of me.
07:51Yeah, stop being all of you.
07:53What makes adaptations fail?
07:55If live-action remakes promise nostalgia, why do so many feel hollow?
08:00Critics point to one word, magic.
08:02The stylized freedom of animation doesn't translate cleanly into reality.
08:07What is that?
08:08A dog.
08:09I think?
08:09Looks like some kind of baby beard that come out of the trash.
08:13I like him.
08:14Come here, boy.
08:15Yeah, let's put this one back, Lilo.
08:17Brightly colored animals suddenly look uncanny.
08:20Cartoonish worlds feel flat when rendered photo realistically.
08:23In the chase for realism, studios often strip away the exaggerated charm that made these stories
08:29iconic.
08:30Worse, many scripts are nearly shot-for-shot copies, just new visuals without new ideas.
08:36More importantly, nostalgia is a double-edged sword.
08:39Nostalgia can draw us in, but too much of it, psychologists warn, is a trap.
08:44Let's go!
08:45Let me out of here!
08:46This will be your home.
08:47Help!
08:47Where I can find you, always!
08:49Oh no!
08:50No!
08:51No!
08:52Yes, yes, to me, you all belong.
08:57Audiences may end up comparing projects to the originals, longing for the real version
09:01from their past.
09:02Without fresh ideas or emotional depth, these films become expensive cover songs.
09:08Instead of invigorating stories, they're just reminders of what we used to love.
09:12What makes adaptations work?
09:21When adaptations work, they don't copy from one medium to another, but translate.
09:26Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films respected Tolkien's world-building, treating
09:31Middle-Earth with love.
09:32They also streamlined Dent's lore into an emotionally propulsive story.
09:37My friends.
09:42You bow to no one.
09:46Andy Machete's It plugged Stephen King's nightmare into a more modern era, updating its
09:52scares while keeping its coming-of-age heart intact.
09:55Netflix's One Piece succeeded for the same reason.
09:58It embraced the manga's wild optimism and character bonds while trimming excess chaos.
10:03This is it, crew?
10:04The Grand Line.
10:05Nothing's gonna stand in our way!
10:06The pattern is clear.
10:07The strongest adaptations honor what made the original resonate.
10:08They also trust talented artists who are bold enough to reshape it for a new audience.
10:24Familiar yet new is the formula that wins.
10:27I'm sorry.
10:27You just caught me by surprise is all.
10:34I'm a by-the-book type.
10:36By the book?
10:39Try me again.
10:40Secret Sauce.
10:42Trust the artists.
10:43The best adaptations don't just balance reverence and reinvention.
10:46They trust artists to do something bold.
10:49Denis Villeneuve's Doom films prove the point.
10:51Johnny, what do you mean?
10:53The way they look at you.
10:56I worship you now.
11:00If I can make out your victories, they say you can see the future.
11:05Was police on Al-Qaib.
11:08I'm no messiah.
11:10Frank Herbert's novel was long considered unfilmable.
11:13It has been adapted once for cinemas and again for television.
11:17Neither effort was particularly successful.
11:20Villeneuve approached it with awe for the source material and a vision entirely his own.
11:25The studio didn't interfere with him or his team.
11:28The resulting film was a masterpiece of cinema.
11:31Bless the maker and his water.
11:33Bless the coming and going of him.
11:35May his passage cleanse the world.
11:38And keep the world for his people.
11:41Doom's sweeping visuals, immersive sound design, and grounded performances made the story feel fresh, even mythic.
11:48Crucially, Warner Brothers let him split the book into two films, prioritizing quality over quick profit.
11:54As a result, post-pandemic audiences were gifted with a courageous, stunning sci-fi epic.
12:00The films were loved by both audiences and critics.
12:03When studios empower filmmakers, people notice.
12:06Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
12:25You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
12:29If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
12:35Final Reflection and Future Outlook
12:37Today, Hollywood stands at a crossroads.
12:40Filmmakers, actors, writers, and studios alike are grappling with changing trends in technologies like AI.
12:47Despite repeatedly getting schooled, Hollywood never quite seems to learn the right lessons.
12:52I am very close to closing on the deal to get the rights to Kool-Aid.
12:58And I'm talking a huge, four-quadrant version of it.
13:03Kool-Aid.
13:03Kool-Aid.
13:04The red drink?
13:05Yeah.
13:05The guy who breaks through walls and says, oh yeah?
13:07Yes.
13:08Audiences clearly reward bold adaptations like Dune, respecting source material while trusting visionary filmmakers.
13:15Yet studios remain hooked on the safety of recycled IP.
13:19They're terrified of box office flops in an era of exploding budgets and streaming disruptions.
13:25They have to choose between, do I take the swing that will maybe save Hollywood or do I not get fired?
13:30This risk aversion has hollowed out mid-budget filmmaking altogether.
13:35There are big budget blockbusters and smaller, more independent fare, but little in between.
13:40The economics of streaming have only intensified this chase for recognizable brands.
13:45The question now, will studios keep empowering artists or retreat further into nostalgia?
13:50The future of live-action adaptations, maybe even cinema itself, depends on whether Hollywood learns to value creative risk over safety.
13:58And keep fighting, no matter who may come on horseback.
14:02How would you adapt to the changing trends in media and entertainment?
14:09What are your favorites and least favorite live-action remake?
14:12Let us know in the comments below.
14:14Think about a hermit crab, okay?
14:16And it's a shell.
14:17And it's like, they go from one shell to the next.
14:20And that's what I am.
14:21It's like, I'm just a hermit crab changing shells.
14:24I'm just a hermit crab.
Recommended
13:58
|
Up next
12:56
9:46
1:25:20
33:29
1:37:22
1:07:03
13:08
14:12
28:57
11:55
9:56
10:31
18:38
14:15
Be the first to comment