Enough articles have been written on the brain drain in Hollywood. Enough criticism has been piled on the studios for green-lighting nothing but sequels, reboots, and remakes (although they still dont seem to be listening).

However, there is one remake that is getting a lot of buzz that I find myself particularly troubled about (you can watch the newly released trailer HERE)… yup, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Released just two years ago, the Swedish film of the same name went on to tremendous success, garnered a bunch of awards, and completed the series with two additional films. (Box Office numbers for 3 films was about $22 million, nominated for over 25 awards, won 11 awards including BAFTA award)

Now I’m not really interested in which trailer is better, which film will ultimately be better, or which film will go onto more success (undoubtedly the Hollywood version will due to the sheer amount of marketing dollars going into the American version). I don’t even doubt that the American version will be good (I am a huge fan of David Fincher and Daniel Craig).

What I am trying to discuss is a phenomenon that I think is becoming a larger and larger problem for the American film industry- Hollywood is losing dominance and influence globally. For decades, Hollywood has enjoyed a period of unrivaled supremacy. Films and movies are one of America’s greatest exports, and through the power of the medium, America has been able to influence many other countries with its culture and ideas. Because of this, Hollywood studios have enjoyed excellent business deals with foreign distributors, which means higher profit margins and continued success. If it maintains its current trajectory, I don’t think it will last.

Already, Hollywood is no longer the film capitol of the world- its Bollywood.

Mark Perry, professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan wrote back in 2007 that

In terms of the number of movies per year and worldwide audience, Bollywood is clearly bigger, producing 1,000 movies in a typical year watched by a worldwide audience of 3 billion, compared to Hollywood’s 500 movies annually watched by 2.6 billion viewers worldwide. Bollywood passed Hollywood in 2004 for global viewership, and remains the global leader for movie audience.

Bollywood produces more films and sells more tickets annually. Back in 2006, Hollywood still held the edge by a long shot in revenue ($9.2 billion to $1.75 billion), but the gap is closing, particularly as the population in India gains more wealth and is able to spend more on things like entertainment and art.

In many ways, Hollywood’s problems are the same as America’s problems.

China is currently the 2nd largest economy in the world. According to the IMF, that could change as soon as 2016  when it replaces America’s economy as number 1. I don’t think its a stretch to say that America’s economic growth benefitted Hollywood’s growth tremendously. Countries began importing more than simple goods and services, they were also importing culture. As we watch other countries like India and China rise to global prominence, could we see a similar effect as we start importing more and more of their goods and services? Will our kids or grandkids grow up watching films and tv shows made in China and India?

This all may sound a bit drastic. India and China face many problems if they are to continue this pace of rapid growth. And in some ways, their film industries face even larger problems. Film funding in India is still largely a shady enterprise (it wasnt even governmentally recognized as an industry until 1998). English, as a language, still dominates international communication. This may be generations away from happening if it ever happens at all… or it may be happening right now.

This is what finally brings me back to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Why Hollywood is remaking yet another film still confuses me (well not really, its all about the benjamins), but the fact that Hollywood is importing a highly successful film to remake after only two years (and being distributed in the US) is a really bad sign for Hollywood and America (at least films like The Departed or The Ring were remakes of  movies that never got distributed in the US).

This is the trailer to Infernal Affairs, the film that The Departed is based on.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not some anti-international pundit that believes in only America-made products or culture or people. I am not afraid of globalization, or importing foreign goods, or immigration. I’m concerned because it seems to point at a larger problem facing the American film industry- creativity and innovation are dead. Or if they are not dead, they aren’t being supported or encouraged by our current system.

Only by fostering young talent, fresh ideas, and new ways of telling stories through film will Hollywood continue its international success. Thats how America will remain relevant in a China and India dominated world-economy, and thats how Hollywood will remain relevant with Bollywood and Hong Kong film industries. Can you imagine the day when we are able to buy cheap American knock-offs of high-quality Chinese products? Or the day when every year’s Best Film Oscar goes to the American-remake of the previous year’s Best Foreign Film?

Maybe Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one step closer to that reality.