For over one decade now, maybe two, seemingly every big (or mid?) budget movie Hollywood has produced is based on existing IP: a comic book, novel, previous movie, TV show, or even non fiction article. I’ve been surprised many times by movies which seem original but are actually based on a French comic, or some other semi-obscure (internationally) source.

That tells me that ideas aren’t free. There’s a value to a fully cooked, ready to wear, tried and tested ideas.

As a second point, many good Hollywood pitches remain in development hell, unable to get a satisfying script, or a “second act that works”.