Calling All Soldiers For Cinema

Overview: The Orem Film Festival (OFF) is designed for filmmakers and film lovers committed to originality, artistic integrity, and community. In an era dominated by sequels and reboots, OFF champions bold, independent storytelling. We're seeking creators with strong artistic visions and a dedication to authentic cinema. Join us in celebrating and supporting original films that deserve the spotlight.

“I have always tried to be a Good Soldier of Cinema”

– Werner Herzog

Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog often uses the phrase “soldier of cinema” that phrase has really stuck with me. But what does it actually mean? To me, using Herzog as the model, it describes someone principled. A craftsman with relentless integrity, never compromising the vision for the sake of commercial appeal. That commitment comes through in every one of his films—each one uniquely striking.

As an aspiring soldier of cinema myself, one of my biggest motivations in starting this festival was to contribute to our local film community—to create a space that celebrates and supports local artists. Artists who, like Herzog, are dedicated to originality and to creating with integrity. As any filmmaker knows, even the most modest project demands serious willpower and effort. These works deserve to be seen—on the big screen, with an audience. That’s what I hope the Orem Film Festival can offer.

Lately, it seems as if every other movie in theaters is a remake, sequel, or an adaptation of a video game or a plastic doll. Originality and artistically-driven films made with passion feel increasingly scarce compared to the endless wave of Hollywood blockbusters shamelessly created for financial gain alone. With the grand popularity of these formulaic films, it often feels like there are no other options. I feel that original works are becoming less and less common. But, maybe this is a romanticized view of the past. Are original films actually becoming less common? To test this, I looked at the top 20 highest-grossing films (domestically) of each decade and categorized them into three groups to see if original films are indeed less appreciated. Here’s what I found.

This graph represents the top 20 highest-grossing films of each decade, based on data from Filmsite.org.

Adaptations: Films based on existing works (e.g., books, plays, or comic books). Includes the first adaptation of a comic book series (e.g., Iron Man qualifies, but Iron Man 2 does not).

Originals: Films with an entirely new, original screenplay written for the screen.

Sequels: Includes sequels, prequels, reboots, remakes, or any continuation of an existing franchise.

Pre 2000s, there seemed to be a balance of original films, adaptations, and sequels (at least imo). However, as the table shows, in the 2010s and 2020s (so far), sequels have become significantly more prominent, and original films have seen a notable decline in representation amongst the most popular films.

Just last year, in 2024, of the 20 highest-grossing domestic films, 18 were either sequels, remakes, or part of an existing franchise. The remaining two — Wicked and It Ends With Us — were adaptations of pre-existing material. Not a single original story, created specifically for the screen, made it into the top 20. NONE of the year's most commercially successful films were original.

In an opinion piece published by The New York Times, Martin Scorsese wrote, “In the past 20 years, as we all know, the movie business has changed on all fronts. But the most ominous change has happened stealthily and under cover of night: the gradual but steady elimination of risk. Many films today are perfect products manufactured for immediate consumption. Many of them are well made by teams of talented individuals. All the same, they lack something essential to cinema: the unifying vision of an individual artist. Because, of course, the individual artist is the riskiest factor of all.”

“Many films today are perfect products manufactured for immediate consumption… they lack something essential to cinema”

– Martin Scorsese, The New York Times

Of course, the financial success and popularity of these films don’t necessarily reflect their quality. But, I believe this trend illustrates a gradual shift in priorities among filmgoing audiences and creators—a depressing shift. While bold, original films are still being created, they often require more effort to discover.

As Mr. Scorsese said, in the last 20 years, the moviegoing experience has changed drastically. With streaming platforms and endless content online, a film isn’t just competing with other movies in theaters anymore—it’s battling for attention against TikTok, Instagram, and a million other distractions. There are more options than ever for how to spend your time, which makes it easy to feel overwhelmed with options and resort to the comfortable and familiar, like a Hollywood sequel.

“Is it really worth spending $60 for my family to go see a new original movie I’ve never heard of, or should we just go see Moana 2?” you might think. In today’s landscape, it’s tempting—for both audiences and executives—to stick with the safe, formulaic franchise options. I can’t really blame them. It’s hard to find the time and energy to keep up with all the new films coming out. And when the big franchises come with massive marketing budgets and nonstop visibility, how is a small original film supposed to compete?

This past year, I saw a film called Ghostlight on a whim. I hadn’t heard of it before, but the synopsis sounded interesting and I had some time to spare. It completely blew me away! The movie has really stuck with me, I think about it often and it was one of the most emotionally powerful experiences watching a film I’ve ever had. It’s now one of my new very favorite films, yet no one I’ve asked has even recognized the title. In fact, when I saw it at the theater, I was completely alone in the auditorium. Ghostlight is just one of countless phenomenal films that fall through the cracks simply because they don’t have the financial backing or studio muscle to promote them.

Image: IFC Films / “Ghostlight” (2024)

Think about a film like Wicked, which had a marketing budget of over $150 million. How are the Ghostlights of the world supposed to compete?

Back in the 1990s, independent cinema was thriving. The rise of things like DVD sales and growing international markets gave indie films a real shot at financial success. That allowed studios and investors more freedom to take creative risks and support mid-budget films. A modest, character-driven drama like Ghostlight would’ve had a real chance in the pre-streaming era.

But as Will Tavlin describes in his excellent N+1 article, “Casual Viewing,” rather than build on this success, major “Hollywood studios spent the first decade of the new millennium stamping it out. Despite launching and acquiring indie film wings of their own, the Hollywood majors began focusing their resources on IP-driven, family-oriented blockbuster franchises and used their vast resources to book these films on thousands of screens at once, crowding out competition from smaller films. After the 2008 crash, risk-averse executives increasingly gave themselves permission to drop their mid-budget fare entirely and produce predictable blockbusters about superheroes that, when successful, generated billions of dollars in box-office revenue.”

Hollywood began focusing their resources on IP-driven, family-oriented blockbuster franchises... crowding out competition from smaller films.

– Will Tavlin, N+1 Magazine

Brian Robbins, CEO of Paramount Pictures, summed it up in a recent interview with Variety after shutting down original productions at Paramount’s animation division. He said, “We’re not going to release an expensive original animated movie and just pray people will come.” It’s a business to them. Making a great film is a secondary priority. What really matters is making a profit. This is the reality we’re up against.

As filmmakers and film lovers, it’s disheartening. Creating something meaningful is often at odds with creating something financially viable. Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky once said, “Cinema is an unhappy art as it depends on money… A film is good if it sells well. But if cinema is art, such a proposition is absurd: it would mean that art is good only if it sells well.”

That’s one of our great cultural myths—that success equals box office revenue. That a film is good because it was a hit. That’s the mindset of the bean counters—the type of executives who’ll greenlight an 11th Minions movie and another soulless Disney live-action remake. GOD FORBID WE TRY SOMETHING NEW.

In a film industry that’s increasingly hostile to risk, it's more important than ever that we step up. We have to champion original films and the artists behind them. Who will if we won’t? Certainly not the studios.

It’s definitely more convenient to catch the latest franchise film than to seek out something original or independent, but the convenient option is rarely the most fulfilling. As lovers of cinema, we have to resist the urge to settle for reboots and sequels. We can’t afford to be complacent. Instead, we need to actively seek out bold, original work rather than passively consume the algorithm-approved content churned out by finance bros in boardrooms. As good soldiers of cinema, it’s our duty to support our film community and champion daring, expressive filmmaking.

Although the Orem Film Festival is small in the grand scheme of things, I hope it serves as a reminder to celebrate and support good cinema. This festival is an opportunity to showcase great art being created in our community, to provide a platform for original works, and to foster connections among creatives and audiences alike.

It can be disheartening to think that support for film as an art form is waning, but I assure you it is very much alive!  It may just take more effort to find. I invite you to attend the festival this September, celebrate the incredible local artists being showcased, and engage with the talented creatives in our community.

Thanks for reading! Long live cinema.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Orem Film Festival’s sponsors and partners