1. Remakes and Production Factors Which Influence Them
Accordingto the oxforddictionarythe termremake meansto ‘makesomething again ordifferently’;
withinthe mediaindustryit’susedinreference toamovie whichusesanearlierfilmasitssource of
material. Althoughanumberof factorscan influencethe reproductionof amovie,itneedstobe
carefullythoughtaboutinorderto ensure thatresourcesandtime aren’twasted.
As an audience we don’talwayswanttowatchthe original movie,particularlyyoungergenerations;
thismay be because we don’tknowwhothe actors are,the footage isof bad quality,we’venever
heardof the filmorthe effects aren’tasgoodas whatwe’ve become accustomedtoo. The following
are all elementsthatmayhave effectedorimpactedthe decisionastowhetherremake amovie:
Financial Factors:A productioncompanymayfeel thattheynow have more moneyand resourcesto
spendona movie thatcouldhave beenabiggersuccessif it hadbeenavailable atthe time of
release.
Technology:Overthe yearstechnologyavailable withinthe filmindustryhasandisbecoming
increasinglyadvanced,thereforeenablingthemtocreate movieswithelaborateeffectsandcamera
work.Thisis a major factorwhenremakingafilm- alot of thistechnologymaynothave been
available whenitwasinitiallyreleasedwhereasnow itcan be made a lot more extravagantly.In
some casesthe producermay choose to reproduce afilmhe initiallyworkedonbecause he’snow
able to make itas he envisioneditoriginally.
DistributionandExhibition: Aswell asthe mediaindustrybecomingincreasinglyadvanced,the way
inwhichwe consume informationwhetherit’sthroughprintordigitallyhasdrasticallychanged;
we’re nowmore exposedtoconsumptionthaneverbefore.A filmmade inthe 80s may nothave
had a bigenoughdistributioncompanypromotingitandthereforemaybe remade now that
marketingtechniqueshave advancedallowingittobe a biggersuccess.
Trends:Althoughnewtrendsare constantlyappearingolderonesare alsoreappearing. If atrend
foundwithinanoldermovie isbecomingpopularagain,aproductioncompanymaybe influencedto
recreate it- they’re meetingaudience demands.
Genres:Justlike trendsreappear,particulargenre of moviesare constantlyindemandbyaudiences-
thisisusuallybasedonwhatmoviesare popularat that momentintime.Therefore,aproduction
companymay feel thatanoldermovie of a particulargenre maybe bighitif it was tobe remade
now.More oftenthannot these are moviesthatat the time of theiroriginal releasewere notin
demand,howeverwouldbe ahuge successwithaudiencesnow.
Stars: At the time of itsoriginal release amovie maynothave hada bigenoughensemble tomake it
a success or in the case of most moviesthe actorsmayhave now become outdatedhoweverthe film
it ‘self mayhave beengreat,therefore byremakingthe movieandreplacing the castwithactors
popularto thisparticulargenerationitwill allow the movietobe a successonce again.Thisis known
as star theory- the famousactor will provide the moviesbrandidentity. Social issuesconcernthings
that are viewedasataboo subjectforexample- amovie maybe remade withanew topicor go
more indepthintoasubjectbecause it’snow become more acceptable todiscussit.Political issues

2. are moviesthatmaycause controversyor conflictdue tothe nature of the topicand thus mayne
remade forthisreason.
Social,Political andRegulatoryIssues: Regulatoryfactorsconcernthe BBFCandwhat theirtermsare
for classifyingamovie- whichmaychange overtime dependentonthe eraand what hasbecome the
‘norm’or viewedasacceptable.
SynergiesBetweenFilms: Thisiswhendifferentmediaconglomeratesworktogethertopromote a
linkedproduct.Forexample the ‘HighSchool Musical’movie promotesthe CDsoundtrack,which
promotesthe clothing,whichpromotesthe dolls,whichpromotesthe stationarywhichall promotes
the movie. Althoughthisisn’tanexample of aremake,itworksinthe same way- a DVDproduction
companywill releasethe original whichwillthenpromote the remake,whilstthe remake will
influencepeople tobuythe original.
Vertical andHorizontal Integration: Vertical integrationiswhenmediainstitutionscome together
and eachtake a differentpartinthe productionanddistributionprocessof the movie;forexamplea
move studiomaybuyup or work witha productioncompanytoproduce the product forthem.
Horizontal integrationiswhenalargermediacompanydevelopsitself bybuyingoutsmaller
companies;forexample warnerprostudiosowncable companies,entertainmentservices,television
networksandpublishingcompanies.A movie maybe remade due tothisfactor,a largerproduction
companymay have boughtouta smallerone whoproducedthe original andthey’renow able to
distribute itmore widely.Ordifferentcompaniesmaybe able towork togetherinordertoremake
the movie more successfully.
In 2012 afterlonganticipationaremake of the 1995 movie ‘Judge Dredd’wasreleasedunderthe
name ‘Dredd’.
Judge Dreddfirstappearedasa character in the BritishComic2000 AD in1977 and wasinstantlya
bighit; 2000 ADdescribe hisas‘an Americanlaw enforcementofficerinthe dystopianfuturecityof
Mega-Cityone.He isa streetjudge empoweredtosummarilyarrest,convict,sentence andexecute
criminals.Due tohisgrowingpopularityin 1994 HollywoodPictures,CinergyPicturesandEdwardR.
PressmanFilm- three smallindependentproductioncompaniesatthe time of itsrelease- boughtthe
rightsto Judge Dreddand thus‘Judge Dredd’the movie wasreleasedonthe 30th
June 1995.
The movie wasdirectedby small time director- duringthe nineties-DannyCannon,however
consistedof anall-starcast includingSylvesterStallone andRobSchneider.Althoughitwasbasedon
the comic stripcharacter the narrative waslooselyfollowed. The moviefollowsJosephDreddand
hisbattle to clearhisname afterhe’sconvictedof murderandsentencedtolife inprison.We later
findoutthat Judge Rico- a traitor- whoshareshis DNA has framedhim.Withthe helpof a trusted
colleague he setsouttotake on Rico,corrupt council memberJudge Griffin,geneticsscientistIlsa
Haydenand ABCrobot inorderto put a stop to theirplanandavoidthe destructionof Mega-City
one.
Althoughthe filmreceivednegative reviewsuponitsreleaseitmade astaggering£113, 493,481
exceedingits£70 millionbudget.Thisisdue tothe fact that Judge Dreddwas alreadysuchan iconic
character withinthistime periodwhowasalsobeingplayedbyone onthe biggestHollywoodstars
duringthat generation- people hadhighexpectations.Audiencesdidn’tlikethatthe directorwent

3. againstthe ‘DreddMythology’;he removeshishelmetaswell asdevelopingalove interestin
anotherJudge whichisstrictlyforbidden.
In 2012 the movie wasremade bydirector Pete Travis andwrittenandproducedbyAlex Garland;
twofairlypopulardirectorswithinthe UKfilmindustry. The moviewasyetagainbasedonthe 2000
AD comicbook character.A multitude of factorsinfluencedthe remake of the movie fornew
audiences. DNA film,IMGlobal andReliance Entertainment- eachasubsidiaryof amuch larger
companyall at differentstagesof production,therefore meaningtheywerehorizontallyintegrated-
boughtthe rightsto the original movie andthusitwentintoproduction.
‘Dredd’followsasimilarthemeof vengeance tothatof the 1995 film, howeverthe plotline is
different.Withinthe moviewe see JosephDreddandhisrookie apprentice CassandraAnderson
trappedinPeachTrees- a 200 storybuildingthathousesdruglordma-maand hergangsters.Judge
Dreddand Judge Andersonare facedwiththe taskof makingtheirwayto the topof the towerand
puttingan endto ma-maby judgingher.
The movie remake hasbothits negative andpositive elements.Whilstisreceivedamucha higher
approval ratingfromcritics andaudiences,itdidnotexceedthe 1995 box office intake,makingonly
41.4 million- £3.6millionlessthatit’sbudget.Ipersonallybelieve thistobe because Judge Dredd
was a much more prominentcomicstripcharacterinthe nineties,whereasalthoughasa generation
we are transfixedinthe worldof superheroesasapersonhe’snolongeras iconic.
Technologyplayedamajorimpactinthe reasoningbehindthe influence foraremake;whilstlavish
setswhere usedinthe 1995 versionitwasn’ttrue toJudge Dredd’scomicstripstyle. Technology
was now muchmore advancedandproducers were now able tocreate effectsway beyondthatof
the original;alot of the footage wasshotwithadvancedCGItechniques suchasa 3D rig that was
outfittedwithphantom-flex highspeedcameraswhichcouldshootataround3,200 framesper
second;thiswasthenspedup to a more standard frame rate.Thiseffectalone allowedthe movieto
be true to itsoriginal comicbookstyle.Lavishsetsin the 1995 versionmeantthatthe budgetwas
much biggerinorderto recreate the comicbook setting,howeverwiththe use of CGItheywere able
to make SouthAfricathe backdrop of the movie andthenapplyeffectstothe alreadyexistingprops
and scenery.
Whilststar theory wasn’ta majorimpactwithinthe new movie- whichmaybe whyitwas not a
massive success,since audiencesdidn’tknow muchaboutthe lead, the actor-Karl Urban- stayed
true to the iconiccomicbookcharacter by maintaininghispersonalityandthe wearingof the mask.
Althoughtechnologyisthe majorinfluence behindthe remake of the moviesince it’sthe most
prominentfeature change withinthe film,synergydoesplayapart.As mentionedabovesynergyis
whentwoor more mediaconglomeratesworktogetherinordertopromote a film- thismethod
worksinmany of ways.For example,youmaysee the trailerforthe movie orbe an alreadyexisting
fan whichwill cause youtowatch the remake incinemas,youmaythenbe encouragedtobuy the
original DVD- whichwasre-releasedthe same daythe movie screened- thereforeprofitingboththe
DVD productioncompanyandthe movie producers.A merchandisingcompanybythe name of ‘2000
A.D.Collectables’the beganproducingJudgeDreddclothingwhichpromotedthe moviewhichthen
promotesthe DVD,therefore causingabigcircle of promotion.

4. In the followingpartof the essayI’ll be lookingatRec andits latterHollywoodremakequarantine;
financial factors,trends,genre andpopularity,synergyandvertical integrationare all elements
whichinfluenceditsreproduction.
Rec wasinitiallypremieredatthe 64th
Internationalfilmfestival inAugust2007 before goingon
general release onNovemberthe 23rd
in cinemasacrossSpain.The movie wasboth co-writtenand
directedbySpanishdirectorsJaume BalagueroandPacoPlaza- whohadpreviouslyworkedtogether
on otherprojects.The movie wasproducedbya small independentcompanybasedinBarcelona
knownas Filmax- theyproduce anddistribute audiovisual contenttothe Europeanmarkets.Due to
the successof the movie,the sellingof itandthe moneyearnedthe productioncompanysoon
expandedtoaninternational marketandbecame knownasFilmax International.
Filmax’sfinancial circumstancesmeant thatRechad a budgetof onlytwomillioneuro,howeverit
earneda staggeringthirty-twoandahalf milliontoppingthe successof anymovie previously
producedbythe company.Withinmonthsthe movie wonnumerousawardsandbecame abig hit
withinthe Europeanmarketdue toit’sone of a kindhandhelddocumentarystyle andregeneration
of the zombie genre.InaninterviewsourcedfromIGN ourdirectorstatesthat theywantedthe
audience tofeel asif theywere apart of the movie,unlikeconventional horrorswhere you’resimply
watchingthe action.A handheldcameratechniqueallowedthemtoturnour screensintoa video
gamingexperience;justlike videogamesare playedlive theywantedpreserve thatdynamicfeeling
withinthe movie.Atthe time of its release CloverfieldandDiaryof the Dead soonfollowed,
howeverJaume Balguerobelievedthatthe coincidence behindthisisdue tothe fact thatthe role of
audiencesisquicklychanging,we’re notjustspectatorsanymore,we wantmuchmore interaction.
The movie followsayoungreporterandhercameraman- the person‘filming’the movie- asthey
embarkon a nightshiftwiththe local fire department.Afterreceivingacall froman old ladytrapped
withinherapartmentblockthe nighttakesfora terrifyingturnastheyfindthemselvesconfinedtoo.
Theymust uncoverthe truth,face the ‘possessed’home ownersandfindawayout before it’stoo
late.
Hollywoodsoonpickeduponthe stormRec had createdwithEuropeanaudiencesandnotbefore
longSony- a verticallyintegratedcompanythatprofitsfromall areasof production,distributionand
exhibition-requestedthatitssubsidiary,screengems,buythe rightstothe movie.Filmax gave upall
rights,howeverstillprofitedfromproductionastheywere the originalcreatorsandhadminor
involvementinthe remake.ThusjustmonthslaterinOctober2008 Quarantine wasreleased- itwas
praisedforstayingtrue to the original movie.
The most prominentdifference betweenthe twomoviesisthe language barrier;whilstRECisin
SpanishQuarantine wascreatedinEnglish- one of the mainreasonsHollywoodrecreatedthe movie.
VideoGamingandthe hand heldcamerastyle wascomingbackin ‘style’andthustrending,
therefore Hollywoodknewthatif the movie wassucha successwiththe Europeanmarketthey
couldtailoritto and attract Englishspeakingaudiencesthusgeneratinganevenbiggerincome.Rec
was alreadypopularwithinwesternaudiences,howeverwhenaudienceshearditwasshotin
Spanishthismostlikelyputsthemoff watchingit,thereforethe Hollywoodproductioncompanies
knewthatthey’dgaina profitsince they’re cateringaprominentgenre of movie tothe right
audiencesthusalsoincreasingthe popularityof REC.

5. Althoughgenre popularityandtrendsdidplayanimpactin quarantinessuccesssince asaudiences
that whatwe were seekingatthatmomentintime,financial factorswhere amajorelement.Screen
Gemsis a subsidiaryof Sony- one of the largestconglomerate companiesinthe world- therefore
meaningtheyhave accesstoa lotof movie.Thismeantthattheywere able toproduce the movie
veryquicklyandmarketand distribute itonamuch largerinternational scale thusgeneratinga
largerincome,increasingthe genre popularityand increasingawarenessof REC.
The use of synergywouldhave made amajor impacton the ProductionCompanyorREC. Quarantine
produceda staggering41 millionatthe box office andhada 70% positive ratingfromcriticsmeaning
it wasa cinematicsuccess.Thismeansthatthe movie wasviewedbyalarge numberof people,
audienceswouldhave heardit’saremake of anothermovie whichwill thencause themtogoand
buyREC onDVD crestinga profitforthe DVDmanufacturersandProductionCompany.Hence the
movie promotesthe DVDandthe DVD promotesthe movie.
Regulatoryfactorssurroundingafilmwill be basedonhow strictthe BBFC regulationguidelinesare
at the time of release.Forexample in1967, StanleyKubrickdirectedanadaptionof Nabokov’snovel
‘Lolita’; a storythat delvedintothe worldof averycontroversial andunspokenof topicconcerning
incest- particularlyforthe eraitwas produced.Howeverbythe 1990’s it became more ‘acceptable’
to discussthe subjectmatteras we became more understatingthatitwashappening,thereforein
1997 AdrianLyne directedaremake.
War of the worldisa prime exampleof amovie thatwas remade due topolitical factors.The original
movie wasan instantsuccessandlooselybasedonthe eventsof the coldwar- the alienswere a
representationof the Russians.Atthe time of itsrelease- 1953- societylivedinfearof aninvasion
and thusthe movie looselyconveyedthis.
Due to its successandpopularityin2005 the movie wasremade bydirectorStevenSpielberg.
Howeverthistime roundthe political factorshadchanged,due tothe 9/11 attacks societiesfearsin
terrorismhadincreasedandthusthe moviesrepresentationnow conveyedthis.The moviesare
almostactingas a reflectionof society’s worstnightmare.