One of the recurring themes around The Movie Blog is one of fans attitudes towards replacements. You know what I mean: One director being replaced by another, one actor being replaced by another.
Why is it that fans think that when one director/actor/writer does a great job on something, then that automatically means they were the ONLY people who could have possibly done it or should do it in the future? Here are some recent examples:
– Magnum PI can ONLY be played by Tom Sellek
– The Hobbit can ONLY be directed by Peter Jackson
– Spider-man can ONLY be played by Toby McGuire
– B.A. can ONLY be played by Mr. T
– James Bond can ONLY be played by Connery/Moore/Brosnan (take your pick)
– Indiana Jones can ONLY be played by Harrison Ford
– Superman can ONLY be played by Christopher Reeve (this is is obviously different)
Why is it so many film fans (I’m guilty of this too sometimes) can become so short sighted as not to be able to see beyond what it is they’ve already experienced? That’s what this is really all about. Fans (such as myself) are just unable sometimes to comprehend anything beyond what they already know.
We already know Peter Jackson with Middle earth… therefore we can’t think beyond that.
We already know Tom Sellek as Magnum PI… therefore we’re unable to wrap our heads around another actor in the role
ect. ect. ect.
It’s shortsightedness pure and simple. The fact of the matter is that for every actor who did a great job in a role, there is ANOTHER actor out there somewhere who would have done it better. For ever director who did a great job on a movie, there is ANOTHER director out there somewhere who would have done it even better.
To even entertain the idea that just because an actor or director does a great job on any particular project, suddenly means that they are the ONLY people who could have possibly done it in the universe, or that they MUST be the ones to continue the franchises… is…. well quite honestly… silly.
There is NOTHING wrong with “preference”. There’s nothing wrong with wanting the same actor/director/writer back for a project because you enjoyed what they did before. That’s totally cool… nothing wrong with that at all. But when we cross that line of deluding ourselves into thinking that actor/director/writer is the ONLY one who could have done or should do it in the known cosmos… then that’s just daft.
You do it. I do it. We all do it sometimes…. but that doesn’t stop if from being dumb.
