Analyzing Hollywood, Remakes & Reality TV

[Audioholics]

<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/HollywoodRemakesRealityTV.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 59px; HEIGHT: 100px" alt=[kingdomofheaven1] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/kingdomofheaven1_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>As the 2005 decline in film revenues continues, it is amusing to see the pontifications and proposals of Hollywood insiders regarding declining revenues.&nbsp;It's apparently up to them to&nbsp;attempt to figure out why exactly they aren't raking in the millions and millions of dollars they expect for such epic movies as <EM>King Arthur, Alexander</EM> or <EM>Kingdom of Heaven</EM>. After all, don't they have star power? Aren't they following the same methodology used to produce such successful epics as <EM>Titanic, Gladiator</EM> and <EM>Lord of the Rings?</EM> This weekend (the first weekend of May 2005), the box office took in just $77 million - the worst result for early May in at least five years. Clint DeBoer takes on Hollywood and does some analysis to see why this might be happening and what needs to occur to stop the trend.</FONT></P><P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>[Read the Editorial]</FONT></P>

 

[Takeereasy]

Nice article Clint.

I view it a little differently. I blame stupid people. (mostly kidding by the way)

People are getting dumber, largely in part I feel, due to several of the shows you mentioned. Because of increased stupidity levels studios are playing to the lowest common denominator. Take that remake of the longest yard. I think the original was a classic, Burt was THE MAN. The British soccer remake was OK, barely. I saw a preview for the new remake with Adam Sandler the other night. It looks like he's decided to replace the Burt Reynolds character with Billy Madison. All the other characters seem to have been replaced by rappers (another trend that makes my skin crawl). God I would love to get in some good crotch kicking time with Mr. Sandler over this. Happy Gilmore was fantastic, but seriously dude, get a new character. This film looks utterly retarded, unwatchable, a crime against humanity. I predict it does $80 million its opening week.

Hollywood is putting out garbage by the boatload. Every other movie is a remake like you said. Did we need a Starsky & Hutch movie? Oh dear Lord no. What sucks is that as long as this is successful the studios will keep pumping this crap out.

 

[Audioholics]

Meanwhile, one of the most original stories I've ever read - Ender's Game - sits stagnant while Wolfgang Peterson and the pre-production team work on all their other movies which will likely flop. Ender's Game is the kind of original story that people love to tell others about. And if they cast it right and put the time into it, it could make them hundreds of millions of dollars. Hollywood, of course, views it as a cult film and thinks too small to see it for the potential windfall it could offer. My fear is that when they finally get around to it, it will be a half-baked effort which they will blame on it not being a readily-recognized story (i.e. "remake").

They agreed to do this movie several years ago, but let it sit while they cater to the easier projects.

If you haven't yet read this book - read it.

 

[Takeereasy]

I think everyone has read a good book and thoguht to themselves, "Man that would make a great movie." (Actually today's generation probably think, "Man that was a good TV show, I bet it would make a great movie." Maybe that explains the problem right there, no one reads anymore. And Hollywood is really giving the people what they want.) I look at some classics and I think to myself that there is no way that movie could get made today. Do you think they would have made 1984 today? I don't pretend to be a reader of the classics. When I was younger I used to read books that I simply can not get in to today, for example the Illiad, Sherlock Holmes novels, Dicken's novels as well as Mark Twain novles,etc. Oh, and let me point out my greatest dissapointment of a movie based on a Novel. The modern remake of Great Expectations. That was my favourite book until that movie. Now I can't picture anyone not from the modern cinema in any of the character's rolls. Robert Deniro as Arthur Lustig? Come on. (Sorry, I'm a little passionate about this topic)

I hope that they make the book you like a film Clint, there is nothing like seeing the pages of a novel come to life if done right. But even more than thatI hope they don't do a chop job on it.

 

[djoxygen]

Clint,

I agree with much of what you think is happening with the entertainment industry. I believe that a glance at the top-grossing movies of all time http://imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide should show the major studios what a little care in choosing a story to produce, and then putting a great deal of care into the writing, casting, and production of that story can do for the bottom line.

Unfortuately I think it's more profitable to crank out 10 American Pies than one Titanic or LOTR.

There is one thing I want to add, though. One of my closer friends used to be a projectionist at a couple different theater chains. When a movie was released that he really cared about, he would put in the time and effort to do a good, clean job splicing together the 6 to 10 20-minute reels that make up a feature length film. Then he would call us for a wee-hours screening. Then he would get yelled at by management. Why? For sneaking us in to see Matrix Reloaded before the official release date? No... Management was usually in there with us watching it at 2 AM. He would get in trouble for taking too much time building the movies. At $10/hr, he would get chastised for taking an extra hour to do a good job. Now it is probably being done by an 18-year-old kid who just wants to get it done so he can go out back to smoke a bowl.

We got really spoiled seeing movies the first time they were run through the projector. After he quit that business, we decided to only pay for movies at DLP and Imax theaters. That same 18-year-old stoner is probably the one running the DLP systems, too, because they seem to get hosed up far too often. When they do, I always go out to the front desk to score a couple free passes. When we used our passes to see a movie at a different (film-only) theater, I was appalled. The scratches from running the film, the jumps in audio and picture when the splices come through, the blown speakers, the uncalibrated audio, and on and on...

If I were paying $8.50 a ticket to watch that disaster, I would be incensed. I will gladly wait until the DVD release and pay the same price (at 2 ticket admissions) to own a movie. Even with the occasional glitch, the DLP theater experience is far superior to both film and my home. And everyone I bring to the sole DLP screen in town agrees and is hooked. The rest of the movie industry needs to make this transition to have any hope of competing with home theater. (And thanks in advance to Mark Cuban for transitioning every Landmark screen in the US to digital projection.)

 

[Doug917]

Good editorial Clint. I think that sequels are a big problem these days as well. The Matrix being a perfect example. I think the first Matrix movie was the best movie of the decade. I was less than impressed with the two flicks that followed. It always blow me away how there are so many different directions filmakers should be able to go, especially in the Sci-Fi areana, but we seem to end up with the same junk time and time again. Honestly, I watch a great deal of 1950's Sci-Fi and Horror flicks. They don't have the effects like todays movies do, and yes sometimes can be cheesey, but I feel are much better than many movies in the genre today. I also love a lot of movies from the 1980's. I don't know if this is because they are what I grew up with in the same way I still like Totino's pizzas and Kraft macaroni & cheese once in a while or if they produced better movies then. It may be a little of both. From 1990 to 2000 I can count the movies I really felt were great on two hands. I can't accomplish this from the period of 1980 to 1990. It is just me or were movies much better then?

 

[farscaper]

Good article Clint.
I have another two items to add from my own experience.

Firstly, the price of admission. My family of four is not ready to throw away $50-65 (depending on which day you go) for movies and snacks on a crappy movie . The money adds up pretty quickly, to the point where the price of a HT Receiver and components starts to look really good. And as you mention, there are more and more movies that waste your money. One way to convince my wife for more money for my HT is to go out and let her pay for the movie.

Secondly, I have a problem with movie reviews. The sheer number of them, and the massive variation of opinions. Everyone understands that there are many opinions but lets be honest here, crap is crap. Half of these "reviews" come out a week or two before the actual movie release. Are they reviews or advertisements?

I only have one question...Is it worth my money to see it?
What I tend to do, is wait. Wait till the movie has been out for a few weeks so I can read non-media reviews and see the results of the box office.

Let’s be honest here. Who here is surprised by these financial results?
J

 

[JohnA]

Do you think they would have made 1984 today?

Now that would be a great film if done correctly!!!!

On the topic of remake classic sci-fi films...I think the "new" War of the Worlds is going to be a huge let down...but I could be wrong Just like the poor adaptation of "The Puppet Masters"...the book was great, the movie sucked!

I don't pretend to be a reader of the classics. When I was younger I used to read books that I simply can not get in to today, for example the Illiad, Sherlock Holmes novels, Dicken's novels as well as Mark Twain novles,etc.

That's funny...I'm just the opposite, when I was a kid I loathed reading (that is what cliff notes were for!) but now I'm reading more, stuff like The Nibelungenlied, Iliad, books on history, and Robert Jordan (wheel of time series) http://www.tor.com/jordan/. The Wheel of time series would make a wonderful movie series, looking at about 6 films, but hey, it could be done

 

[anamorphic96]

(And thanks in advance to Mark Cuban for transitioning every Landmark screen in the US to digital projection.)[/QUOTE]


Could you tell us your source. The people I have spoken with at Landamrk state it will not be ALL screens. It will be on some of the screens but not all. Such as couple of houses at each site kinda thing.

Also keep in mind this is more for special events and conferences with some smaller indie films thrown in so they can get theatrical releases. But most of the the product is still going to be projected in 35mm film.

I will give credit to Mark in that all of the film presentations at least in the Bay Area have been greatly improved. Better sound alignment and images are far brighter and better focused than they have ever been.

I have noticed also that all the theatres have been cleaned up a good bit and it looks like he is investing some serious cash.

As of now I will take FILM properly presented over DLP anyday. Not to say DLP will not improve and get to where film is but DLP is not quite there yet.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

"Miramax pictures brings you the awesome spectacle 1984. Starring Tom Cruise as the dashing secrect-agent who foils the global domination attempts of the evil Dr. Nogoodnik (Brad Pitt), and his army of killer robots. Also theres is a flying car chase and the a wise-cracking sidekick (Chris Rock)."


Ahem.... but anyway... we all like to complain very vocally on the internet about Hollywood. Meanwhile Uwe Boll is probably making another movie. (Man I hate that guy).

 

[Mort Corey]

Interesting. On the TV side, the ONLY one I've ever seen even once was the Queer Eye Guys.....pretty bizarre show but my wife seemed to enjoy it (hmmm, what does that say about me )

Mort

 

[b_panther_g]

Hello Clint.

I have to agree with everyone here - you wrote a great article.

...I blame stupid people. (mostly kidding by the way)

People are getting dumber, largely in part I feel, due to several of the shows you mentioned....

Sorry to say, but I don't agree. People are just watching TV like they always have. But there's too much crap on TV, so what else can they watch?

The way I see it...
If Hollywood wants to make more money they need to...STOP MAKING S*IT MOVIES!

It's not rocket science. In fact, the successes that Clint mentioned in his article prove that people are willing to pay for good movies (BTW - Titanic still sucks. I don't care what anyone says. ) But why are there soooooo many bad movies?

IMHO, it can be summed up in one word – Greed.

Hollywood (and the business world in general) seems to be consumed by hyper-greed.

There seems to be an unwritten rule...
If something doesn't take off like a rocket and make the company TONS of money from the very beginning...Kill it, fire everyone, and start over.

In such an environment, why would anyone try anything as daring as make an original movie? Put another way... If your job, livelihood, and reputation were on the line, what would you fund - something new and untested or a nice safe remake? Remember; the wrong decision will haunt you for a long time...

Hollywood (more specifically – the heads of the major studios) are now feeling the pinch from their own greed. They need to learn that not everything is going to be a runaway success. If they immediately fire people for not creating runaway successes, they are going to continue to lose more and more money. New things need time to develop a true following.

In short, Hollywood can't only chase short term dollars and still expect long term success.

Remaking Alien, Predator, and Chucky movies means they'll keep losing more and more money.

Finding new talent, testing new ideas with straight to DVD releases, and then backing the best ones with a big screen movie insures that we'll have good movies to watch at the theaters. Not just another “new hit movie” that we've already seen 5 years earlier.

But these are just my thoughts...

Enjoy,
Panther

 

[TheFed]

Excellent article Clint. The problem is the technology or lack thereof. When the movies began that experience was not available in the home. Then came sound. Then came color. Then, for over 60 years, came nothing. The technology needs to provide an experience not even remotely available in the home.