Creative Laziness

or How to Survive Being Thrown into a Lions Den

Every time I hear critics

yammer on about the problems

with the film industry today

they list the lack of originality

at or near the top of the list

pointing to a remarkable proliferation

of remakes and sequels

these being the results of

creative laziness

on the part of film-makers

But these remakes and sequels

are not a new phenomenon

After the success of the original

new versions of the Acts of the Apostles

(which was itself a kind of a sequel)

were written

and this was way back

in the first and second centuries

One remake included a story

of Paul being thrown into a den of lions

but (being a quick thinker)

he baptized one of the beasts

and ended up having a long

and thoughtful conversation

with the big cat

This story doesn’t strike me

as being the result of

creative laziness.