The more things change, the more films stay the same

It can be helpful, in trying to predict what will come, to look back at what has been, because so many patterns tend to repeat themselves. This is particularly true in the movie industry, where it is not so much patterns that repeat but entire plots that are played out again and again.

Looking ahead at the theatrical release schedule for 2016, there are some original screenplays to look forward to. Spotlight, releasing on February 5, is a solid drama in the style of All the President's Men, about the investigative journalists who broke the story of child abuse being covered up by the Catholic church.

Money Monster, releasing on May 20, is a fresh political thriller directed by Jodie Foster and starring George Clooney, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, releasing in November, is already being hyped as the next best thing to Harry Potter.

story_article_left1

The air between these potential bright spots is thick with sequels (Ride Along 2, Zoolander 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, Barbershop 3, Neighbors 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Ice Age 5); remakes (The Jungle Book, The Legend of Tarzan, Ghostbusters, Robinson Crusoe); and variations on a theme (Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Independence Day: Resurgence, Finding Dory, Bridget Jones's Baby).

Some of these makeovers might be excellent (Idris Elba is the voice of Shere Khan in the new Jungle Book - what's not to like?) but perhaps Foster's Money Monster is the most honestly named film of the lot. The nature of films is that they have to make money, or nobody would make them, and it makes obvious financial sense to invest in a franchise with an existing following than to risk losing all on an unknown quantity.

Looking back at the state of cinema in 1916 shows that the concerns of today's film industry are not all that different from what they were 100 years ago. There were not as many remakes then, because not as many films had been made that could be remade, but money was still the driving force.

In early 1916, the French, whose overlordship of cinema was being eroded by other countries, were complaining about foreign films invading France at a time when the French production industry badly needed the work. In 2016, South African film bodies will undoubtedly (and justifiably) continue to complain about foreign film companies bringing their workers and talent to South Africa to take advantage of cheaper production costs while doing nothing to benefit the local industry.

story_article_right2

As for the astronomical fees demanded by actors, it was no different a century ago. In 1916, Charlie Chaplin signed a contract with the Mutual Film Corporation. He received a $150000 signing fee and a salary of $10, 000 a week. Multiply that by 100 years of inflation and even Angelina Jolie would go a delicate shade of pea-green.

Some things have changed. A century ago, Chaplin won a case to prevent publication of an unauthorised biography. There is no such recourse today - that other Charlie (Sheen) had to pay bribes to keep his misdeeds quiet, and even that didn't work.

Irony remains as alive now as it was then. In Paris in 1916, a committee was formed to study the use of films for educational purposes. Also in Paris, two girls on trial for attempted murder said they were inspired by a film. (Oh, and in the midst of all this, the Paris Cine-Journal was calling for the banning of vulgarity on screen.)

In Stockholm in 1916, Mauritz Stiller released Love and Journalism, which marked the beginning of a new genre in cinema: domestic comedy. Whether he is to be praised or damned depends on your taste. Today's domestic comedy has matured into a grey-haired crop of what might be termed "geriatric comedies", where Diane Keaton/Shirley MacLaine/Judi Dench/Meryl Streep has a barbed/bitter/bouncy relationship with Jack Nicholson/ Christopher Plummer/Tommy Lee Jones/Billy Connolly.

The film history being made a century ago was not confined to Hollywood and Europe. In South Africa in 1916, US director Harold Shaw made a film called De Voortrekkers, which at the time of release was referred to as "nation-building". Later this year we shall see the release of Modder en Bloed, an Anglo- Boer War epic written, directed and produced by Sean Else.