MovieChat Forums > Le dîner de cons (1998) Discussion > Is it because north-americans ...

Is it because north-americans ...

posted 13 years ago by Astronauta
9 replies | jump to latest

Why did Hollywood have to remake this movie and why did they always have to “Americanize” masterpieces from other countries?

Is it because north-americans:

1] Are too lazy to read subtitles
2] Don´t want to deal with foreign culture
3] Fend subtle clues, jokes or thoughts that aren´t telegraphed three minutes in advance
4] Don´t want to think when they watch a movie
5] Are incapable to understand new concepts
6] Don´t deal with foreign country views and places
7] Don´t cope with characters who don´t prove themselves to be beautiful, loveable or stereotyped
8] Think that only USA is able to make good movies and they will improve the original masterpiece

What do you think ?

[–] Wu_Tang_Clam 13 years ago

I'll give you the Americanized version--Money. Is that a concept you can understand? It's just our foreign culture so deal with it.

I'm on an Italian Christmas Donkey.

[–] billyok 13 years ago

There are many North Americans who saw, enjoyed and cherish The Dinner Game. But a studio can make a much easier dollar by repackaging the basic idea with brand-name actors and selling it to a much larger audience that those smaller theaters and smaller movies fail to reach through marketing.

Without the cast it has, the Americanized Dinner for Schmucks wouldn't make any more money than The Dinner Game could, because marketers would be clueless as to how to sell it. There are brilliant, unheralded American movies releasing all the time that fail to find a large audience. It's a reflection on public taste, but it's also the end effect of studios trying to sell something to as many people as possible in a short time frame before trying to sell something else to them the very next weekend. I never heard of The Dinner Game until I read up on it in the wake of this movie's release, and it isn't because it isn't the kind of movie I enjoy.

[–] pyotr-3 13 years ago

There is truth to all of your answers, but the real reason is GREED. They want to have an easy hit to make money with.

[–] TheBeardedWonder 13 years ago

The issue is more about why they changed it, not why they made it. This movie was hilarious, witty, well paced, and perfectly written and acted.

The remake is poorly cast, the jokes are obvious and not funny, they made the run-time unbearably longer, and the whole thing is just a terrible movie in every way possible. I can't remember the last time I saw a comedy as unfunny as the remake.

So i'm with the OP, why change the characters, the plot, the jokes, the pacing, etc... all for the worse? Very confusing... this movie however was amazing.

"No it's not you, I just don't like having dinner... with people..." - Paul Rudd

[–] JonasEB 13 years ago

The correct answer to this thread: EVERY COUNTRY DOES THE EXACT SAME THING

The French remake American TV shows - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_enqu%C3%AAtes_criminelles - Yes, a French Law & Order.

And you know, America isn't the only country to remake The Office - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office

British remakes of American sitcoms...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_Like_These
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grounded_for_Life#British_remake

India is particularly well known for remaking other country's films...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karishma_Kaa_Karishma

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poovinu_Puthiya_Poonthennal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistle_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Ganapathi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_%282007_film%29#Remakes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Players_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood#Plagiarism

But who cares? These aren't important cultural artifacts, they're basic ordinary mainstream fare. Most remakes are of action or horror films, comedies, and sitcoms. It isn't a big deal. A lot of the foreign films that become popular in the west are popular because they fit mainstream tastes. We're talking about The Dinner Game here, not Haut/Bas/Fragile - the French prefer stuff like this over the films of Jacques Rivette or Olivier Assayas, their important filmmakers, just as we do The Hangover vs. Elephant.

French theater admissions to The Dinner Game - 9,000,000+
French theater admissions for Assayas' Summer Hours - 330,000+

Across oceans the numbers match up - The Hangover is more widely seen in France than Elephant is, The Dinner Game is more widely known here than Summer Hours is. The French are just like the Americans, they don't value these things any differently. They like popcorn movies as much as everyone else - that's what The Dinner Party is.

Fact: Everyone is the same the world over. This should be plainly obvious, it is not difficult to see.

[–] indrasnet 12 years ago

I think the OP has swallowed hook, line, and sinker a crock full of stereotypes about the characteristics of all "north-americans." When you generalize like that, it really does reflect more on your own prejudices than on reality.

Human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself from one place to another.

[–] Iron_Gland 12 years ago

Hollywood has just run out of ideas. All they do is remake (poorly) foreign films or older films. Either that or, the now played out, reboot of a franchise. Remaking remakes of remakes....it's all about greed and the general public isn't intelligent enough to stop feeding the machine.

[–] Eponymous-too 10 years ago

It's because they don't want to deal with the condescension of non-North Americans who think they are superior simply because English isn't their first language.

"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

[–] SamoanJoes 8 years ago

I don't think it's North Americans seeing how Mexico and Canada don't remake films. Mexicans speak Spanish, and are used to seeing English speaking film as much as any other non-English country does. As for Canada, there is a large group of French speakers there so I don't think they would be interested in remaking this French film. I think it's just the USA.

I've heard many people from the US say that they simply can not watch a film that doesn't take place in their own country. They prefer to see their settings because they can relate to it.