Ever watched a film and had Dejá view?
There we all were, 6 of us sat in my friend Sam's bedroom, all ready to watch the latest american TV show that had yet to grace our side of the pond, when Sam decides to show us a trailer for a film he's heard about. A few clicks on his computer and beamed directly into our eyeballs is a trailer I will never forget. 'Olympus Has Fallen'. A fantastic looking action film about terrorists taking down the White House in America and a lone hero, (unsurprisingly) going it alone to save the Commander in Chief, and indeed, the day. Or did we?
You see, as I even try and recall this tale I become muddled. That's because we also watched the trailer for 'White House Down' after the realisation that these two films sounded the same. Or was it the other way around? I genuinely can't remember, and with that we have the topic at hand.
You see, as I even try and recall this tale I become muddled. That's because we also watched the trailer for 'White House Down' after the realisation that these two films sounded the same. Or was it the other way around? I genuinely can't remember, and with that we have the topic at hand.
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For me, this was a ludicrous situation. How did these two films, coming out within months of each other have such similar plotlines? Someone decided to remind me that this happens all the time. I brushed away that fact and carried on down my ranting path. Yes, some films have plot points in common with another film of that year but this was, as far as the trailers made out, play-by-play, the same fucking film!
Okay, they weren't EXACTLY the same but...come onnnnn.
Okay, they weren't EXACTLY the same but...come onnnnn.
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Either cinema had stopped trying or executives had simply stopped caring. But why does this happen?
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This phenomenon is something that I can remember as far back as my childhood. 'TWIN FILMS' are one of those unusual things that we witness happen every year and don't really acknowledge. It took two ridiculous films for me to actually stop and look at this myself. The earliest I can remember is 'A Bug's life' and 'Antz'.
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This, in my opinion is the most famous example of this silent anomaly. These two family films that made debut in 1998 are extremely similar in how they pan out. Both are computer animated films about insects, starring a non-conformist ant who; falls in love with an ant princess, leaves the mound, eventually returns and is hailed as a hero.
All of this was because a Disney/PIXAR executive named Jeffrey Katzenberg, left the company and formed Dreamworks pictures. He even purchased the company that PIXAR used for their animation and made his first project ANTZ in retaliation to his poisoned relationship with PIXAR. |
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This feud went on in the run-up and release of these two films. Both did well. 'Bug's..' took more but 'ANTZ' had a lot more adult humour and...it just wasn't as good anyway.
That is probably because 'A Bug's Life' had been in the works for years and was based on the old fable of the grasshopper and the ant. 'ANTZ' was rushed and its target was for it to be released BEFORE 'Bug's...' made it to the cinema.
That is probably because 'A Bug's Life' had been in the works for years and was based on the old fable of the grasshopper and the ant. 'ANTZ' was rushed and its target was for it to be released BEFORE 'Bug's...' made it to the cinema.
It's not all as bitchy as this in 'Twin Films'. Yes, it's more often than not due to an employee leaving one company and committing industrial espionage, yet I haven't found anything as public as the Bugs/Antz fiasco. And that's quite shocking considering it's been going on for a lot longer than 20 years ago...a LOT longer.
The first coincidentally plot based films, released the same year, that I can find is in 1960. 'Oscar Wilde' and 'The Trials of Oscar Wilde' both came out then, and are clearly both films about...you guessed it...the irish playwright, Oscar Wilde. 5 years later you get two films, both called 'Harlow' that were both based on the life story of Jean Harlow. These projects are of course going to have similar stories as they were all biopics, and HAVE to follow the same thread.
There are people who claim there are plenty more films throughout history that are similar in story and plot, and come out the same year. That for every blockbuster there's a mockbuster:
- 'The Gambler' and 'California Split'
Both portray Jewish protagonists addicted to gambling on a downward spiral.
- 'Cannonball' and 'The Gumball Rally'
Films about the same illegal, cross-country race.
- 'Top Gun' and 'Iron Eagle'
Both films are about jet-fighter pilots.
Without having seen all these films (or at least only one of every two) I can't fully attest to that. On the other hand, those people aren't mad. It's no secret there is only so many stories that we can tell. There's a whole book on it!
The first coincidentally plot based films, released the same year, that I can find is in 1960. 'Oscar Wilde' and 'The Trials of Oscar Wilde' both came out then, and are clearly both films about...you guessed it...the irish playwright, Oscar Wilde. 5 years later you get two films, both called 'Harlow' that were both based on the life story of Jean Harlow. These projects are of course going to have similar stories as they were all biopics, and HAVE to follow the same thread.
There are people who claim there are plenty more films throughout history that are similar in story and plot, and come out the same year. That for every blockbuster there's a mockbuster:
- 'The Gambler' and 'California Split'
Both portray Jewish protagonists addicted to gambling on a downward spiral.
- 'Cannonball' and 'The Gumball Rally'
Films about the same illegal, cross-country race.
- 'Top Gun' and 'Iron Eagle'
Both films are about jet-fighter pilots.
Without having seen all these films (or at least only one of every two) I can't fully attest to that. On the other hand, those people aren't mad. It's no secret there is only so many stories that we can tell. There's a whole book on it!
These 7 plots are:
Overcoming the Monster
Definition: The protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force (often evil) which threatens the protagonist and/or protagonist's homeland.
Examples: Perseus, Theseus, Beowulf, Dracula, The War of the Worlds, Nicholas Nickleby, The Guns of Navarone, Seven Samurai (and its Western remake The Magnificent Seven), James Bond, Star Wars.
Rags to Riches
Definition: The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, and/or a mate, loses it all and gains it back, growing as a person and a result.
Examples: Cinderella, Aladdin, Jane Eyre, A Little Princess, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, The Prince and the Pauper, Brewster's Millions, The Emperor's New Groove
The Quest
Definition: The protagonist and companions set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the way.
Examples: The Odyssey, The Pilgrim’s Progress, King Solomon's Mines, Watership Down,
Voyage and Return
Definition: The protagonist goes to a strange land and. After overcoming the threats it poses to him/her, s/he returns with experience.
Examples Ramayana, Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Orpheus, The Time Machine, Peter Rabbit, The Hobbit, Mad Max: Fury Road, Brideshead Revisited, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Gone with the Wind, The Third Man,
Comedy
Definition: Light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion. A pattern where the conflict becomes more and more confusing, but is at last made plain in a single clarifying event. The majority of romance films fall into this category.
Examples A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Bridget Jones's Diary, Music and Lyrics, Sliding Doors, Four Weddings and a Funeral
Tragedy
Definition: The protagonist's character flaw or great mistake which is their undoing. Their unfortunate end evokes pity at their folly and the fall of a fundamentally good character.
Examples: Macbeth, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Carmen, Bonnie and Clyde, Jules et Jim, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, John Dillinger, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar
Rebirth
Definition: An event forces the main character to change their ways and often become a better person.
Examples: "The Frog Prince", "Beauty and the Beast", Avatar, The Snow Queen, A Christmas Carol, The Secret Garden, Peer Gynt,
Overcoming the Monster
Definition: The protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force (often evil) which threatens the protagonist and/or protagonist's homeland.
Examples: Perseus, Theseus, Beowulf, Dracula, The War of the Worlds, Nicholas Nickleby, The Guns of Navarone, Seven Samurai (and its Western remake The Magnificent Seven), James Bond, Star Wars.
Rags to Riches
Definition: The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, and/or a mate, loses it all and gains it back, growing as a person and a result.
Examples: Cinderella, Aladdin, Jane Eyre, A Little Princess, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, The Prince and the Pauper, Brewster's Millions, The Emperor's New Groove
The Quest
Definition: The protagonist and companions set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the way.
Examples: The Odyssey, The Pilgrim’s Progress, King Solomon's Mines, Watership Down,
Voyage and Return
Definition: The protagonist goes to a strange land and. After overcoming the threats it poses to him/her, s/he returns with experience.
Examples Ramayana, Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Orpheus, The Time Machine, Peter Rabbit, The Hobbit, Mad Max: Fury Road, Brideshead Revisited, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Gone with the Wind, The Third Man,
Comedy
Definition: Light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion. A pattern where the conflict becomes more and more confusing, but is at last made plain in a single clarifying event. The majority of romance films fall into this category.
Examples A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Bridget Jones's Diary, Music and Lyrics, Sliding Doors, Four Weddings and a Funeral
Tragedy
Definition: The protagonist's character flaw or great mistake which is their undoing. Their unfortunate end evokes pity at their folly and the fall of a fundamentally good character.
Examples: Macbeth, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Carmen, Bonnie and Clyde, Jules et Jim, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, John Dillinger, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar
Rebirth
Definition: An event forces the main character to change their ways and often become a better person.
Examples: "The Frog Prince", "Beauty and the Beast", Avatar, The Snow Queen, A Christmas Carol, The Secret Garden, Peer Gynt,
But it's okay for themes to be alike. Themes are a thread to tell a story. It's when the stories are the same. To head back to my main point, 'Olympus...' and 'White House...' were just too alike. And I feel foolish for ignoring my friend's intial reaction. This has been happening more and more in recent history. As bad as the attack of the sequel. It's the invasion of the plot snatchers!!! Each pair of these films was released in the same year as its partner.
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It's mad how Hollywood gets away with this. It's sickening how I bet all of you reading this are already pretty aware of it. You just, like me, walk around accepting that this is normal. But as I've shown, 60 years ago it was rival biopics, and going through the 70's and 80's you get similar tropes and themes. It's only in recent history we've all been taken for a ride. The saddest part is that, there's always going to be a loser, and as I hear that we're going to get ANOTHER 'Jungle Book' movie soon, I can't help but feel like the biggest losers in all of this are us. The keen movie-goers. Who want to be moved. Who want to feel.
This is where I would come up with a solution or summation. I sadly cannot though. It's a stupid thing that just happens. Even though it can be done out of laziness, theft or coincidence, these films will just happen and sometimes, one of these films is amazing. Look at the examples I've shown you. They're not all bad. You may even favour the underdog over the populist film. In a funny way, does this sort of behavior breed healthy competition and better work? Who knows.
All's I know is that I preferred 'A Bug's Life' over 'ANTZ'.
Can you think of any other films that are 'Twin Films'? Tweet me!
@ProJub
-Jay Burdett
This is where I would come up with a solution or summation. I sadly cannot though. It's a stupid thing that just happens. Even though it can be done out of laziness, theft or coincidence, these films will just happen and sometimes, one of these films is amazing. Look at the examples I've shown you. They're not all bad. You may even favour the underdog over the populist film. In a funny way, does this sort of behavior breed healthy competition and better work? Who knows.
All's I know is that I preferred 'A Bug's Life' over 'ANTZ'.
Can you think of any other films that are 'Twin Films'? Tweet me!
@ProJub
-Jay Burdett