Hollywood Wants You To Relive The Year 1996
Right now the biggest horror movie sensation in the world is a little movie called Scream, starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette – not unlike the time when the biggest horror movie sensation in the world was … a little movie called Scream, starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette, way back in 1996.
Yes, 1996, that ancient time when Bill Clinton was President, photoshoots of Jonathan Taylor Thomas were plentiful, and that goddamn "Macarena" was still bloodying eardrums all over the world. The new Scream movie may not be an isolated incident; looking at the current state of the movie industry, it kind of seems like Hollywood is endeavoring to relive the cinematic year of 1996, minus the presence of J.T.T.
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This past summer, we got both a (hopelessly godawful) sequel to 1996’s Space Jam and a prequel to 101 Dalmatians. While Cruella was ultimately a revisionist take on the character, it clearly was referencing the 1996 live-action version of the story since Cruella is all about the titular character’s career in the London fashion scene and the ‘96 film depicted her as a London fashion magnate when previously she had simply been a wealthy socialite … who may or may not have been a literal demon.
1996 was also a big year for tentpole Shakespeare adaptations from big-name directors; Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet – and just recently, Joel Coen released his The Tragedy of Macbeth.
Somewhat less prestigiously, later this year we’re finally getting a sequel to Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) and next year we’ll finally see the seventh movie in the Mission: Impossible series, which began in 1996 – but to be fair, those have been cranked out fairly regularly, and presumably will continue until Tom Cruise dies while riding a motorcycle on the side of an alligator-invested space shuttle, or something.
But perhaps the best evidence of the 1996-ification of modern movie culture is the upcoming sequel to everybody’s favorite 1996 action movie … um, Eraser?
Yeah, Eraser: Reborn is the follow-up to the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams flick that will apparently feature neither Arnold Schwarzenegger nor Vanessa Williams. And some of us will probably go see it, thus falling into the trap of believing that revisiting the plotline of a 26-year-old movie will somehow make us feel young again. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like anyone is terribly interested in revisiting any aspect of Bio-Dome whatsoever.
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Top Image: Paramount Pictures
