
I especially agree with these two DON'Ts -
This summer will be pretty interesting, seeing as we're gonna be hit with another slew of sequels, remakes, and recycled formulas. Can't wait.Don't: Simply remake the first film
The obvious rule, however, also seem to be the most forgettable. Few things are worse than the nagging feeling you get when, halfway through a "Part 2" or a "Son of..." movie when you think: Haven't I seen this before? Because chances are you have, and it was when you saw the first movie!!! Nothing is more grating than a sequel that does little more than reprise the original's greatest hits. The most original thing about the sequel to the classic parody "Airplane!" was its goof on the endless "Airport" series of the '70s it sent up, calling itself "Airplane II: The Sequel!" The inspiration, and the laughs, however, ended there as a symptom commonly known as "sequelitis" kicked in and it merely repeated all of the first film's gags one more time. The list for these offenders goes on for miles, as what's become a common mantra for Hollywood is repeated all too often: If you simply remake it, they will come. More often than not, however, after the first weekend's bad word-of-mouth starts spreading, no one will come at all.
Don't: Forget that you have to know when to say "when"
The greed of some Hollywood honchos can often outweigh their desire for putting out top quality product (I know, it's shocking), which can lead to what can be considered an ambidextrous farming trick: Milking a cash cow and beating a dead horse at the same time. It's this type of thinking that's led some franchises to keep going when they'd run out of things to say a long time ago and keep adding installments long past their sales date. How else to explain the fact that there are seven "Police Academy" movies and a whooping eight "Ernest" feature films, or that the word "prequel" has been introduced into the lexicon? And seriously, just because Part 3 is in 3-D, don't think any of us are being fooled. Just because a movie is successful doesn't require by law that a sequel, or trilogy, or never-ending round of every possible variation under the sun ("Rocky V"? "Jason X"? The soon-to-be-unleashed "Alien Vs. Predator"?!? Enough already!!!) be foisted upon an unsuspecting public. There's nothing worse than seeing your favorite movie heroes and villains get trotted out one more time just so some slick Beverly Hills player can make a buck. Sometimes, once or twice is more than enough.
