The lack of creativity in Hollywood can be seen through the manufacturing of biopics as an easy way to success. This trend has been evident since the release of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a biopic that created a breakthrough that preceded the avalanche of movies from this genre in the following years.
The biopic genre in film, which is a dramatized, and in some cases an exaggerated story of someone’s life, has been present in Hollywood for a long time. Recently, it has been more evident that the industry has been overworking this genre due to the success of films such as “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “American Sniper,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” among other high-grossing movies that had a big break worldwide in the box office.
Although the success of said genre is undeniable, it has become monotonous and tedious to see the trend incessantly reappear with no space between releases. It leaves the audience wondering if filmmakers are motivated by the actual art of retelling someone’s life, or if it is just for the easy access to success that biopics give filmmakers with a story that was already written.
In the upcoming years, filmmakers are set to release at least 10 known biopics, which shows the growth of this genre in Hollywood. The success of “Bohemian Rhapsody” in a way has influenced filmmakers into the production of more films like these, especially those telling the story of popular and historical musical figures like Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Maria Callas and Carole King.
The decline of originality in Hollywood has led to the speculation that filmmakers do not want to risk making films that may not make as much money as directing an already existing story of a person’s life. Biopics have a set target audience, which are mostly fans of said person, hence making them an easy way to market a film with minimal effort.
Filmmakers are afraid of failure; therefore, making movies about people who marked history in some way seems like the easiest, and most effective way of making their film a money-making success. Hollywood needs to support new ideas and believe in the creative freedom of screenwriters, to create films that will break the trend overall.
