Chris Gore, Founder/Owner of FilmThreat/Author/Filmmaker: Let's say we're going to reboot the franchise
Back To The Future.
Let's just think about how we would do that right and it's a female Back To The Future
and Marty, her name is Mandy right and she goes back...
Film Courage: Why are there so many bad sequels?
Chris: There are so many bad sequels because I feel like the essence of what made the original
so interesting is the thing that's not really focused on.
Usually what's focused on in a sequel is more and it's more spectacle not the thing that
made it compelling to begin with I think the way to answer this question is to look at
the sequels that that you know succeeded, films like The Godfather II right?
Godfather II you know was an even more complex film than the original Godfather.
It tells it it plays with time where you're having two stories being told simultaneously
the story of Vito Corleone his rise to power you know along with you know the pre the present-day
Michael Corleone who's you know you're seeing his story play out in present day that the
story is being told and it's also different and it's original in the same way that the
first godfather was original I could apply that same thing to star wars and the empire
strikes back the empire strikes back ended on a cliffhanger the original star wars ended
with this triumphant ending the good guys win when did the good guys ever lose in a
fairy tale generally never but the empire strikes back did that it didn't even tell
a complete story you know and at the time you had to wait three years to to see what
the conclusion of that story would be so doing something original and different rather than
more of the same which would have been let's have another death star which of course they
did twice more in star wars films you know I mean maybe three times if you want to count
rogue one but going over old territory is boring and I feel like what you need to do
is in the same way that the original film was a risk in doing something original if
you're going to do a sequel you also need to take risks and do something different I
would I would say that this doesn't apply as much but with alien and aliens alien directed
by Ridley Scott Aliens James Cameron one's more horror set in outer space the other one
is action movie more aliens right but it's a different type of film and a continuation
of that story told with with some originality that's another sequel that holds up but so
many other sequels that I have not named are terrible for the very reason that they just
try to give you more of what was in the first one rather than you know defy your expectations
and and that I think has to do with fear on the part of the filmmakers and not really
trusting the audience I think you need to trust the audience that they want to see these
beloved characters from the first film in new and different situations things that are
challenging to those characters and and you don't often see that in sequels it's just
more I think that's lazy as much as the fast and the furious movies are financially successful
I don't know if you could call any of them critically acclaimed those films tend to do
well but it's just more craziness it's more over the top it's more in the last one they
go to outer space how much more over the top can you get it's just it's ridiculous now
I mean at this point just take you know a friend of mine once suggested just take the
drivers from fast and the furious and put them in the transformers cars they're driving
the transformers cars why not combine franchises it would at least be original right but I
think if you're going to do a sequel you've got to do something different and original
because that's keeping with the characters and you need to challenge the characters in
ways they were not challenged in the first film and i'm not saying that's something easy
but when you look at what a successful sequel is compared to one that is completely forgettable
they made of the fly too the fly with Jeff Goldblum they made a sequel to it Gina Davis's
character dies in like the opening scene no one there's many sequels I could I could name
off the top of my head you would not even remember that there was a sequel the highland
highlander two there was a sequel I think there's like nine of those but the only one
that really holds up is the first one
So it's very tricky, it's very tricky I feel like it's important to to be original in the
same way that the first one what what people liked about that flip that defy expectations.
Film Courage: I’ll go back several decades but staying alive and Saturday Night Fever
and I know I'm really dating myself here but both fantastic films.
Staying Alive to me I'm sorry yeah Staying Alive was was a little bit better in my sense
than Saturday Night Fever just because I enjoyed John Travolta's journey staying in this crummy
hotel, he's this hungry dancer, he meets the Finola Hughes character who's got this upper
hand and can help him but there are strings attached.
It's just a fantastic cast of characters and to me I thought that the the storytelling
was was richer.
But again that's it's going back several years it's not a franchise I understand that some
of the viewers may not know that movie but I thought that the storytelling was was way
better but I yeah do you remember that?
Chris: I remember it and I wish I could forget it.
Film Courage: You do okay it was that bad?
Chris: No it just that I mean that film I just remember the phenomenon being the music
I remember it was rated and I could not go see it so okay you know at the the time that
the Saturday Night Fever came out sure sure yes I think I remember that too but I think
I saw it when I was a little bit older but the Staying Alive for me just I thought that
the continuation of his journey as this like you know here he was this hot shot back home
but then he goes to the big city and he's just this small fish in this very very treacherous
pond where no one's trustworthy and everybody has their own agenda and the girl the good
girl Cynthia [Editor’s note: Cynthia Rhodes was the actress] she actually seems like the
best character and he's like whatever with you because she can't get him anywhere so
I just thought it was just a great play on on things but yeah I i realize it's not a
franchise that's a great cameo from Sylvester Stallone in the beginning.
Chris: By the way so I mean look here's another reason to me that sequels tend to suck is
that the first film generally is made to not be a series the first film is is is being
made to tell a story and it's usually being made for a reason that this is there's there's
meaning behind it there's purpose on on behalf of the filmmaker that wants to tell a story
that has themes that are woven into the film that that the filmmaker wants to express so
generally an original film that ends up being a you know part of a series unintentionally
you know that that original film is being made out of some reason that that is artistic
and sequels are made for money so by you know by that very you know because of that dynamic
sequels are made for money original films that end up being part of a series are usually
made to express something an artist is trying to say that always mucks up what a sequel
will be interestingly yes I am going to come back to Star Wars George Lucas had Alan Dean
Foster come up with a story for a low-budget independent sequel to star wars which was
to be called splinter of the mind's eye it's it ended up being a novel you can find it
used in a bookstore yeah a bookstore probably a used bookstore you know go into one they're
great books are these things it's like the internet but on really thin slices of wood
try it someday in any case this book was written to be a low budget sequel to star wars because
what George Lucas wanted to do is you know if star wars bombed he wanted to make a small
indie follow-up to that movie to continue the series and he wanted it written in a way
that that could be done inexpensively it's really interesting to see what what star wars
might have been if splinter the mind's eye was made as a low-budget indie movie there's
love to see a lot of those but but but but you know I i truly believe that sequels because
they are made purely because accountants at a studio say this will make money because
if it makes 40 of the original it'll be in profits if we scale the budget to this which
is why the budgets generally for sequels are less money being spent than the original you
know because there is a formula used by studios to say well the movie made x the first movie
made x if we scale the budget to this and it just makes even 40 of the original will
be in profits you know that old formula is different these days now with with so many
other pathways for films to make money but but generally the sequel the budget is less
Film Courage: Did you see Wonder Woman 1984?
Chris Gore: Yes I saw Wonder Woman 1984.
Okay first off did you used to watch the show?
Film Courage: I did.
Chris: I did used to watch the Linda Carter show and I love that show okay.
It’s fun, it's you know it's wholesome, there's a weird subtext.
I didn't notice when I was a kid but now I see it if you know something about the history
of Wonder Woman and that character but yes I saw Wonder Woman and I did see Wonder Woman
1984.
Is this pg-13 can you tell me the subtext.
Well it's all about it's all about being tied and weird stuff.
It was always like Wonder Woman getting tied up or Wonder Woman tying up with the lasso
gotcha you know whoever the adversary was to make them tell the truth.
It was this is not an original thought of mine.
This is all very well documented go down your own rabbit hole on the internet but feel free
to jump off okay at some point.
Film Courage: So aside from the tied angle to it which that's its own show, what do you
think fell short in 1984 the second?
Chris: I think what fell short was was logic on behalf of the filmmakers I mean they really
there was a the thing that really fell short was a believability you know you can wish
things and they come true I think it's kind of a maybe an idea that should have been vetted
it sounds kind of sounds kind of dumb to me like it just I just didn't believe it whereas
yeah I believe a woman who's an amazonian could be imbued with these powers but wonder
woman isn't wonder woman because of her powers she's because of her because of her character
and her morality because of her commitment to you know defending those that are powerless
you know against the from the powerful and I feel that that essence of her character
was kind of captured maybe a little bit in the opening scene which I thought was kind
of cute and clever and and the opening scene of Wonder Woman 84 is kind of harking back
to a Richard Donner Superman you know I enjoyed that it was kind of cute and goofy I'll take
it, it’s fine once it got into the the main plot with Pedro Pascal it just sort of defied
logic and and the the way that that you know you know Chris Pine's character was brought
back it was I just thought was ridiculous I don't know if the gender was reversed it
was done the other way it might have worked it might even be somewhat offensive you know
sort of like if they made a female Back to the Future let's say if they rebooted the
franchise let's say we're going to reboot the franchise Back to the Future let's just
think about how we would do that right and it's a female Back to the Future sure and
Marty her name is Mandy right and she goes back and there's a uncomfortable tension between
her dad or who will be her dad a younger version of her dad.
I don't think that will work?
Film Courage: Yeah, that's a little creepy, it's a little creepy.
Chris: So maybe it's a really good thing that Back to the Future franchise may be one of
the only franchises that will not be rebooted because if you did reboot Back to the Future
with a female Mandy right and well I guess it could be Doc Brown not gonna work it just
doesn't work
sure please Hollywood realize that it's not going to work because we've seen these franchises
get rebooted and it's disheartening to me when you see the number of movies made it's
always based on pre-existing material and the reason Hollywood does this is because
ideas must be vetted in some form it was a play it was a novel it's a franchise which
is generally the answer it's a franchise that's existed for 80 years 50 years 40 years whatever
it is right like it's vetted if you're going to invest that kind of money you know it's
just it's you know you want to make sure you have your best chance of being profitable
so I understand from their thinking but it really does it does quell what might be some
amazing original ideas that's why I'm upset that we may never see a type of filmmaker
like George Lucas again of creating a fantasy world from nothing as an original series of
movies I mean Star Wars was certainly inspired by everything from Marvel Comics Dr. Doom's
character, Darth Vader from Flash Gordon the serials from Dune the book by Frank Herbert
it was inspired by so many things it's like a blender of all this cool stuff into something
that's original and risk is not something Hollywood likes.
Questions For The Viewers: What sequel do you wish you could forget?