IMDB are carrying a rather insightful article on the problems of Hollywood and current cinema, leading off on the problems of Cinderella Man, Nikki Rocco, Universal Pictures distribution chief, says:
…the studio is going “back to the drawing board” following the box-office failure [of Cinderella Man]…”Good movies are supposed to buck this [downward] trend. You hear how it’s all about the product, but we have an excellent movie that people just aren’t turning out for. [The problem is] something bigger.”
Well I would perhaps dispute that in this instance, perhaps it’s people not wanting to see the star, or having an appetite for an older boxing movie just now, there could be many things not matching with the movie and the audience rather than looking for some big Hollywood failure. However, there are some further interesting comments. New York Times media writer David Carr suggests that…
…filmmaking [is] focused on “the wants and needs of 17-year-old boys on any given Saturday night.”
A fair comment considering the success of Hazzard ($30 million opening!), especially after John’s comments on the movie. From the article he goes on:
Carr quoted David Thomson, author of The Whole Equation, A History of Hollywood, as saying, “In the same way that audiences have lost their taste for film, filmmakers have lost their passion. … It is not surprising that some of the moguls are giving up as well. They are as depressed and tired of the business as the rest of us.” Carr concluded: “The people who built the current version of Hollywood did so by coming up with movies that people felt compelled to see — not as a matter of marketing, but as a matter of taste. What was once magic, creating other worlds in darkened rooms, has become just one more revenue stream.”
Okay, so stepping back a moment the article is suggesting that the people who make the good movies and the movie moguls are tired of the current Hollywood, well so is a huge cut of the audience…so why isn’t something being done to change it? Why isn’t Hollywood listening? $30 million opening for quickly and badly remade material and cheaper, good looking stars.
What do you think the reasons are, or do you think there is even a problem? How can Hollywood practically get out of the slump?
