Since we want to see everything we’ve seen before, it’s no surprise that pop culture of the ’80s has played a major role in this summer’s offerings.
“The ’80s at times have been one of the most maligned and revered decades ever,” says Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office division of Hollywood.com, about the proliferation of reboots.
“The ’80s had an innocence about them, almost like they were an updated reboot of the ’50s. It’s as if we’re mining the old brands and ideas in a sense, like ‘The A-Team’ and ‘Karate Kid,’ and I think ‘McGruber’ is a take off on that, too.”
Sean Phillips’ grandmother took him to see the original “Clash of the Titans” the same week as “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Now he’s the executive producer of Yahoo! Movies and admits he’s a little wary of the reboots.
“I don’t try to root against any of these films,” he says. “So many of us have nostalgic interest in what becomes the new generation of these titles we love, but perhaps they’re not for us. Maybe we’re the secondary audience.”
Kirthana Ramisetti, managing editor of Predicto.com, says it might just be a case of Hollywood being out of ideas. “I think what’s interesting about the ’80s is you had a lot of iconic characters who were born then, like Indiana Jones and Freddy Krueger, and I don’t think movies in recent years have had that,” she says. “It’s just easier to take Freddy Krueger and use some CGI than trying to come up with a new monster.” Pat Healy
