Modern Hollywood has every reason to assume the audience are idiots - every time a Transformers makes a billion dollars, a French Connection loses its wings.

There are a number of other reasons, too - in the 70's most studios were still independently owned. (Corporations were just starting to buy studios right about then.)   So there was still a guy or a couple of guys with the power to say "that won't make a dime, but it'll be a great picture and we should make that" or maybe "oh what the hell, let's make that and see what happens".

Another factor - in the 70's studios were in deep deep financial trouble (hence the corporate buyouts) and were more willing to take risks in general, because the old stuff wasn't working.   Big expensive epics and musicals were tanking and crazy shit like Easy Rider were massive hits.   So it was a time when studios let young lunatics like Scorcese and Coppola and Friedkin make movies because what the hell, right?

Even after the corporate buyouts - when movie studios became just a minor division of companies that mostly made jet engines or Coca-Cola or whatever - it took a while for the corporate mentality to really take hold.   A lot of people credit/blame Frank Wells (who became president of Disney in the '80's) for popularizing the model that all the studios use now.   

Wells shocked everyone by moving the Disney marketing department into the executive studio offices.   Before Wells, a studio marketing department would get the order "we made another movie, so figure out how to sell it."  Wells changed that to "we're thinking of making a movie, figure out if it will sell".   

It was in this era that Katzenberg wrote his infamous "Some Thoughts on Our Business" memo.   If Eisner had appointed Katzenberg president when Wells died in 1994, maybe movie history would have gone a different way.

But because of Wells' new policy - or in spite of it, who knows - Disney under Wells became hugely successful and eventually other studios started working the same way.    And still do to this day, even though half the time the marketing department is spectacularly wrong about what will sell.   

But what do you expect them to do - go back to just making movies that might be good?    That's just crazy talk.

The Raven with John Cusack?

Super Mario Bros Movie (done to death, put you guys could finish it)
Street Fighter w/Raul Julia (Dorkman says he hasn't seen it...fresh meat)

Akira
Star Wars rereleases (for shits and giggles)
Patlabor
Patton
Amazing Spider-Man
Animatrix
that's all I can think of for now BACK TO MY ENGLISH PAPER!

If you haven't seen it yet, here's the full text of Steven Soderbergh's "State of Cinema" talk in San Francisco this week.  In which he offers a lot of great (depressing) insight into why the industry is like it is.

http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/steven- … a-address/

Thank you for that!

It really comes off as a man not really knowing what to think anymore, someone downtrodden and tired. Though he still seems to have some hope for the future, that others will rise to the occasion. I love his strategic advice for pitch meetings, such a saccharine and deeply sarcastic scathing of the people in question.

I think he's spot on about the industry, which echoes Katzenberg's, and I'll make a gamble and guess just about everyone of our's, laments – the people calling the shots now are the business men, not the craftsmen. People without passion or skill for the business they're in. They only care about money and position and the whole machinery is driven by fear of losing these. All decisions are made based upon that fear, not inspiration and love for what they are doing. And that's why everything is falling down, any risk and spontaneity is quelled by fear, a fear that is multiplied by the number of executives, all trying to cover their asses. It's utterly sad.

But, there seems to be a slow improvement, after all, we are getting a hell of a lot of movies of all sorts, all the time, and the industry seems to be getting a bit more creative, some creative dudes have ended up in quite influential positions of late. We might feel they're not making the classics like they used to make them, but that may be an effect of the saturation of movies now compared to then. After all, the milestones are remembered more often than the slight improvements, so looking at the end result now it's not all bad. But it could have been a lot better, and this creative vs conventional is really an eternal struggle. It just feels so unnecessary. Ok, I'll stop now, this is getting rambly and I'm probably way in over my head.

Last edited by Snowflake (2013-05-03 16:14:48)

That comment was annoying as hell - it wasn't creative freedom that sank those studios, it was exorbitant spending.  Giving an artist creative freedom doesn't mean "let them spend all our money".  Creative freedom within reasonable boundaries is what he's talking about. 

And I agree with Soderbergh that it's a fine idea.  It's been done before, it's being done now. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - but if you couple it with fiscal responsibility then the risk is minimal. 

Universal gave GL a million dollars to make a movie, and they agreed to make no demands or changes to it whatsoever.   The result was American Graffiti.    They offered the same deal to four other filmmakers - Doug Trumbull used his million to make Silent Running - which tanked, but it was way ahead of its time and has achieved cult status since.  The other three movies were forgettable.  But Graffiti alone made back the five million and much much more.

Yes, artists will get creative with those dollars and there's a good chance you'll get way more than you paid for in amount of work. Whether or not audiences will appreciate the results, well that's a crapshoot.

Double Feature suggestions:

Superman + Batman = would be awesome! 

Batman & Robin + Batman Begins

Heathers + Demolition Man (Daniel Waters scripts, topical as ever.)

True Romance + From Dusk till Dawn

The Goonies and The Lost Boys

Stand By Me + Misery

The Rock + Con Air

Flash Gordon + Highlander

Innerspace + The 'Burbs (mostly because they're my two favourite Joe Dante movies.)

Conan the Barbarian + Predator

Wayne's World 1 & 2

Airplane + The Naked Gun

The Howling + An American Werewolf in London

Blazing Saddles + Young Frankenstein

Mad Max 2 + Lethal Weapon

Romancing the Stone + The War of the Roses

Weird Science + Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Beverly Hills Cop + Top Gun

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion + Grosse Pointe Blank

Animal House + Caddyshack

Raising Arizona + Miller's Crossing

Army of Darkness + The Quick and the Dead

Robocop + Totall Recall

Stripes + Kingpin

This...all of this at once and at the same time. Love Nicholas Cage:

I would like to suggest a commentary on The Punisher: Director's cut (2004).

Here's a movie that I just rewatched and think should be WAYDMed... Lara Croft (2001).   

"Life is about movies; anything else is a bonus!"- Me   

It could be run like an event. A Hogwarts event. Where Eddie makes things people want to eat, and everyone gets to wear a hat.

Then everyone gets quite interested in the Goblet of Fire commentary, obviously because of the story (but also quite possibly due to the appearance of the ladies from Beauxbatons, or the gents from Durmstrang's).

I think I've made my point...