Cameron brands `Battleship` movie ridiculous

James Cameron criticised Hollywood`s love affair with franchises, citing the upcoming ‘Battleship’ movie as an example of the "ridiculous" lengths producers will go to score a hit.

London: Acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron has criticised Hollywood`s love affair with franchises, citing the upcoming ‘Battleship’ movie as an example of the "ridiculous" lengths producers will go to score a Box Office hit.

Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard and Rihanna are set to star in the big screen re-imagining of the popular board game, but ‘Avatar` director Cameron is horrified by the idea of turning a toy into a film, reports imdb.com. ‘The Terminator’ creator insists moviemakers should be allowed to pursue more original concepts, rather than relying on old stories and well-worn ideas. "We have a story crisis. Now they want to make `Battleship` the game into a film! This is pure desperation, because now the `Sequel Business` governs Hollywood, or how we call it: the franchise," he said. "Everyone in Hollywood knows how important it is that the film before it hit theatres, is already a brand. If a brand has been around, `Harry Potter` for example, or `Spider-Man`, you are light years ahead... And there lies the problem. Because unfortunately (these franchises are becoming more) ridiculous. Battleship. This degrades the cinema," he added. IANS