Willem Strikes Back, or how number 2s are not to be trifled with [Ice Cream Sundae]
At the time I’m writing this Hotel Transylvania and The Maze Runner 2: The Scorch Trials are showing in theatres. The sequel to the Avengers was showing earlier this year. The new Star Wars will be released at the end of the year. Financial figures tell studios of the promise of riches linked with sequels, such as the second Austin Powers film that improved box office results by 282% over the first one. No wonder sequels are so popular.
As I thought of this second newsletter it occurred to me that I’m a sequel. A second child, that is. I’m basically the sequel in the van der Horst sibling quadrilogy. Thinking that way I suddenly find myself wanting to defend sequels, but the truth is they are rarely better than the original. Fortunately siblings aren’t usually compared on the same grounds as movies. Right?
I also read about the increasingly popular prequels, narratives about what happened prior to the originally released story, whatever the medium. Butch & Sundance: The Early Years is one of the first acknowledged prequels in the history of cinema. It was released in 1979, just a month before my birth.
Coincidence? Perhaps, though Rocky II was released in exactly the same week and went on to be in the top-three highest grossing film that year, both in the United States and worldwide. Stretching it even further, production for The Empire Strikes Back also started in 1979, arguably one of the rare sequels to surpass the original. Star Trek: The Motion Picture were also released in the same year, itself a sequel for the TV series.
I guess my point is that it was a good year to be born in, and an auspicious one when it comes to appreciating science-fiction. Plus it’s when Douglas Adams first published The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and when Edward Packard’s very first Choose Your Own Adventure book came out, The Cave of Time. And Alien, of course. Those are firsts though, I digress.
Back to number 2. One of the most famous advertising campaigns in history is for Avis. “We are only #2 so we try harder.” Thanks to this campaign, their market share quickly increased from 11% to 32%. They owned the perceived idea of being number 2 and completely turned it on its head. Just like Robert Wagner in Austin Powers who built Dr Evil’s empire into an extremely successful corporation. Quite the opposite of Jean-Luc Godard’s experimental cinematographic take on everyday life and pornography in the film “Numéro 2”. I saw that at university while studying cinema, and it has the curious merit of helping me confirm I dislike him as a director and most of the French new wave. I’d never realised how fitting a title “Number 2” was until now.
I’m sure there’s a lot more to say about the number two, but let’s just call it even.
Have a fantastic Sunday, if you’re looking for more to read I wrote a post about the two scoops of insect ice cream I tried while in London last month.
Forward it to a friend if you enjoyed reading!
Cheers
Willem
This newsletter was originally published via email on the 11th October 2015. Sign up to receive Ice Cream Sundae via email on the Ice Cream for Everyone website.
