Daily Inspiration Quote by Richard Benjamin

There’s a sly pragmatism baked into Richard Benjamin’s line: it flatters the audience’s sense of common sense while quietly skewering Hollywood’s risk-averse vanity. “Remake flops, not hits” sounds like a neat rule of thumb, but it’s really an indictment of an industry that treats proven success as both a safety net and a shrine. Remaking a hit is brand management: you’re not fixing a story, you’re harvesting recognition. Remaking a flop is craft. It admits the original had a spark worth saving, that failure can be diagnostic rather than damning.

Benjamin, an actor-director who moved between performance and the machinery behind it, speaks from the vantage point of someone who’s seen how often “remake” is code for “IP.” His intent lands as a creative note and a business critique: if you’re going to spend money redoing something, spend it where improvement is possible. Hits already worked under specific cultural weather; their chemistry is historically contingent. A flop, by contrast, is unfinished business. It may have had a good premise kneecapped by casting, timing, studio meddling, or a tone that didn’t land. That’s fertile ground for a redo that can actually justify itself.

The subtext is also a defense of ambition. Remaking a hit invites comparison and punishes deviation. Remaking a flop gives you room to take a swing without defacing anyone’s cherished memory. In an era where nostalgia is monetized, Benjamin’s line doubles as a dare: if Hollywood wants to recycle, at least recycle with intention.