Proof That Hollywood has Stopped Trying

It is a long established truism that Hollywood ran out of original ideas and thus it constantly has the need to lift intellectual property. Sequels, remakes, rip-offs, tributes and every other method of borrowing stories is a common move, even to the length of competitors producing the same story at the same time. (Evidence of this comes next year when two competing “Snow White” movies will be released.)

However this summer it may be even worse, as it appears that not only is there a familiarity between titles, but they may in fact be identical. Two family pictures – Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and The Smurfs — are on the way that are not only similar, they appear to be the exact same movie. To illustrate this you are asked to imagine a meeting at a film studio. You are the executive, and currently you are listening to a writer sell you on their idea for a film. As they pitch the details let’s compare the two elements from the movies’ trailers.

That must have been one impressive pitch-meeting, considering both 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures bought the rights to the exact same script.

(Mr. Popper’s Penguins opens June 17. The Smurfs opens July 29.)