Sunday, May 19, 2013

I’m not stealing ideas, really!

As a novelist, I sometimes worry that I’m subconsciously “borrowing” characters, settings, and / or plotlines from other writers. After all, how many original ideas are there? I honestly try to create new things, but I’m sure if someone did a close analysis, they could point out how I’d been influenced by previous works. 

Then came the summer of 2013. 

I like to watch movies, so when it came time to pick out the movies I’d spend my time watching I smiled when I realized something: many of the big summer releases were based on books, plays, TV shows, toys or comics from years gone by. 

Here are some, starting from the most recent creations and going back in time: 


My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Based off of toys first created in 1983 


The Wolverine 
Based off of the comic book character created in 1974 


Star Trek: Into Darkness 
Based off of the TV show created in 1966 


Iron Man 3 
Based off the comic book character created in 1963


The Smurfs 2 
Based off the characters created in 1958


Man of Steel 
Based off the comic book character Superman who first appears in comics in 1938 


Lone Ranger 
Based off of the radio program that first aired in 1933



The Great Gatsby 
Based on the book published in 1925 (5th time this book has been made into a movie!) 

Last but not least: 




Much Ado About Nothing 
Based on a play from 1623 


Well, if Hollywood can outright remake other people’s stories, I shouldn’t worry if some of my work is influenced in some way, shape or form things I’ve read or seen.

3 comments:

  1. Mr. Morgan - as Shakespeare said, "There is nothing new under the sun." Even if you do somehow subconsciously borrow, your take on things will be unique. And with a summer movie slate of digging back to the 80s, how can you possibly worry about borrow from somewhere else and being in trouble for it!

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  2. As Shakespeare said, "There is nothing new under the sun." We all steal subconsciously. Hollywood steals blatantly. No worries - just write. Your unique take on things is all that really matters.

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  3. Fantastic post that had me chuckling. Wow! There are a lot of remakes coming out! I guess if something ain't broke... remake it and do it again!

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