One of my absolute favorite films of 2006, “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon“, has finished it’s limited theatrical run… and it totally bomed. Actually… the word “Bombed” doesn’t quite describe how badly it did. How badly? Well… when you average it out… it made ABOUT $20 each time it played in a theater. It opened on 72 screens and over 3 weeks made just under $70,000. Yikes!
This just reinforces what I usually say to people who complain about the movies “Hollywood” puts out (which is a ridiculous position in the first place). You see… the next time someone rants to me that “Hollywood” doesn’t make “better” (according to their personal tastes obviously) movies, I’m going to shut them up and ask them “Did you go to see Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon”? After they say “no”, I’ll remind them that Hollywood puts out movies that they think we want to see… and if we (the idiot population of North America) go to see films like Norbit and Wild Hogs… and yet don’t go to see a film like Behind the Mask… what should Hollywood do? What would YOU do if you were Hollywood? I’ll tell you what you’d do… you’d make more stupid Wild Hogs movies and pass on films like Behind the Mask.
Hollywood puts out MANY great films each year, but the power is really in our hands. We dictate what the studios will make by the choices of films we choose to support. If we’d wise up and pass on Wild Hogs or Norbit… then the studios would use more of their resources to make more films like Behind the Mask… a movie that was 10x better than the FUCKING GARBAGE LIKE WILD HOGS THAT YOU PEOPLE CHOSE TO SEE INSTEAD. We are all idiots… and Behind the Mask making $70,000 is a sad testament to the truth of that.
End of Sunday morning rant.
