I know what you mean. But sometimes they work out...Ocean's Eleven, for instance.

And the point of that was ...?

The Psycho remake was a thought experiment - an experimental film masquerading as a commercial remake. (Which is to say, it was never meant to be viewed in isolation. It only makes sense in relation to the original.)

I can't see the point in remaking something that was done nearly perfectly the first time around

What if the people remaking it don't think the first time was perfect? What if they think they have something to add in how they'll tell the story?

They may be wrong, in your eyes, but if they can pull together the resources, why shouldn't they try?

I think the idea of "adapting" the game Battleship into a movie is incredibly ludicrous, but, on the flip side, they can tell any damn story they want. From reading the script, I don't like the story they told, so I won't go see it. But I don't feel some arbitrary standard is compromised by them trying--it's just a shame if they fail.

And, seriously, as much as I think the Transformers movies have been deeply stupid, it's not because they were an adaptation. Or that Pirates II sucked because it was a sequel to something based on a theme park ride. Plenty of original ideas suck too.

There's a point at which it's just a thing. Retelling stories isn't new--are we supposed to suddenly stop what's been happening since about the third story was told? Is it because there's more and more money in it that it becomes a worse offense?

A new version of Rebecca certainly won't tarnish the old one, but there are so many new books out there that could be adapted, and screenwriters writing original scripts, I can't see the point in remaking something that was done nearly perfectly the first time around. It's a great story, but there are a lot of those if you know where to look.

Wasn't Rebecca itself a conscious attempt to create a Jane Eyre type story, though?

And the point of that was ...?

To prepare the audience for his true ambition, a frame-by-frame remake of Teen Wolf Too.

Maybe. I am tired of knowing they spent fortunes on some thing that just made me all "Meh...it's all right," But that's separate from the remake thing.

When I've objected to remakes of great films (or adaptations of great books), it's mainly because I worry that the shiny new version will eclipse the old one and the current generation of moviegoers will miss out.

Which isn't a reason not to retell stories, just me being curmudgeonly and resistant to change.

Retelling stories isn't new--are we supposed to suddenly stop what's been happening since about the third story was told? Is it because there's more and more money in it that it becomes a worse offense?

Remaking movies employs lots of people, which is a good thing, but I'm still going to sympathize with screenwriters who can't original scripts produced because it's not a guaranteed moneymaker. There's nothing wrong with making money -- Hollywood is a business like any other -- but they claim that they aspire to art, too. In which case, take some of your profits and support some independent filmmaking where nothing blows up and ninety percent of the audience doesn't already know what's going to happen.

Hollywood used to rely heavily on popular novels and plays. And a book could be filmed over and over (The Wizard of Oz, anyone?). Series of movies could be built around a single character -- think of Nick and Nora Charles. Or, if you'd like a series character from a novel -- James Bond.

Even where there was an original idea, Hollywood didn't shy away from using the same plot multiple times. Example: Young single women pool their resources to rent a nice place so they can meet and marry wealthy men. That's How to Marry a Millionaire. And Moon Over Miami. And Ladies in Love.

Don't get me wrong. Hollywood did (and probably still could) ring some interesting, or at least entertaining, changes on used ideas. (Is anyone going to diss The Philadelphia Story because it was originally a play?)

I think entertainment has changed. Before 1980 or so, when a movie left the theater, it was gone unless you were lucky enough to live in a city that offered film festivals. The same basic idea with TV, although you might be able to catch a TV show in a rerun, or if the show was successful, syndication. Since then, as VCRs gave way to DVDs and DVRs and Netflix and Hulu, the old stuff isn't gone. You can schedule your own Thin Man marathon, pretty much whenever you want.

And the point of that was ...?

As far as I could tell, the point was, if you make Norman large and physically threatening looking and Marion almost waifishly tiny and desexualize her, it kinda changes the visual narrative into something much less interesting.