As film fans we have plenty of good reasons to complain about Hollywood and the state of the film industry all the time. Clearly they’re doing something right since we are film fans and keep going back, but that doesn’t mean they don’t make (sometimes massive) mistakes, and we as PAYING movie fans have the right to either cheer or criticize movies, studios or actors whose movies we pay to see. And that’s the way it should be.
However, just as we film fans sometimes give too much credit or praise where it isn’t really deserved, I think we can also fall into the habit of levying criticisms that are… well… misplaced. One good example of this is the line often used by pretentious film snobs to attack the big genre films that so many of us love. Lines like “Why do they keep making all this blockbuster crap” or “Why are people going to see such and such $300 million dollar movies”. The answer to those questions are obvious… because we like them. And as my friend Robert over at IESB once wisely said “Those self professed film experts better thank god those blockbuster movies exist, because what the hell do they think PAYS for the smaller projects they seem to love so much”. True words, true words.
But the one criticism that I want to address here is one I’ve mentioned in the comment sections a few times and even mentioned on the Uncut show more than once, but I’ve never gotten around to addressing in an actual post. It’s one that I hear all the time about certain actors or studios who choose to make certain movies. When it’s said, it’s usually meant as a blistering insult, but when you really step back to think about it, it’s just common sense. They line is some variation of:
– They’re just doing it for the money
– The studio is just being greedy
– He’s just in it for the pay check
– All they care about is money
– The studios just want another cash cow
– etc. etc. etc.
Clearly the connotations, when such phrases are used, are negative and are meant to imply that the actor, director or studio has done something wrong in their pursuit of money. “They’re making a sequel to that?!?! Obviously it’s just a money grab“.
The funny thing is that you very rarely ever hear that sort of criticism brought against any other industry. Seriously, when is the last time Toyota made a new car and heard people complaining “That car is just a money grab“? Basically never. You know why? Because it is understood by the market that Toyota is in the car business TO MAKE MONEY. In essence, it’s understood that everything Toyota does in the car business is a money grab. They are in the car business to make money. It isn’t the car hobby. It isn’t the car past time. It’s the car BUSINESS. They are in business to make money.
Too many people romanticize the film industry as just a bunch a happy artists who want nothing more than to make the world more beautiful with what they have to create and say. In a word, that’s bullshit.
Let’s start with the Directors shall we. According to the Director’s Guild of America (DGA), do you know what the MINIMUM salary is for a director on the average low budget hollywood movie (with around a budget of $1.5 million dollars) is? About $14,500 a WEEK with a minimum commitment of 10 weeks. That’s not including bonuses, percentages or other benefits. Just the flat, bottom of the barrel fee is $145,000 for 2 and a half months of work.
And guess what, we shouldn’t criticize directors for making that much money. It’s a high paying job, why shouldn’t they want it?
My point is, you most likely have a job that you go to every day. Hopefully you like your job (statistics show that most people don’t). But even if you LOVE your job, I’m willing to wager that if you weren’t getting paid, you’d stop going. Or, if another company offered you another job in the same industry and in the same city for DOUBLE the money… I bet you’d be walking into your boss’ office first thing in the morning with your two weeks notice. Are you just doing a “Money Grab”? No, you’re making a living as best you can… hopefully in a field you don’t hate. I highly doubt anyone will criticize you for the move.
Because of that aforementioned over romanticization of the movie world, we often forget that while these actors are very lucky to be doing what they do… it’s still their career. It’s their job. It’s how they earn they’re money. Do you know how much actors make? According to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) the minimum any SAG actor can make on a low budget film (low budget to SAG is about $2.5 million budget), is just over $500 a day. We’re not talking about big stars. We’re just talking about no name actors working for minimum. $500/day. I’ll tell you right now I’ve never made $500 a day in my life.
And guess what, we shouldn’t criticize actors for that. They don’t always get work. It’s a career that offers the hope of big fame and fortune… why shouldn’t they want it?
Now let’s talk about the studios. They are in the movie BUSINESS. Not the movie HOBBY. Not the movie PAST TIME. It’s called the movie BUSINESS. They invest huge amounts of money to produce a product they hope the market will like and then make a profit off of. It’s what any and every business does. If you or I were to invest $20,000 in a movie, you bet your sweet ass we’d only be doing it if we thought there was the real potential that we would at the very least get our money back, and hopefully make some profit. Essentially the studios are no different, nor should they be blamed for that.
As a business, they react and respond to what they see the market demanding. The business that meets demand (effectively) makes the money. Oh sure they’ll do smaller projects… but every single time they do they do so with the goal of making a profit on it (big or small), and so they should.
Look at Johnny Deep for a moment. Do you think he just does movies for the “art” of it? Do you think he does what he does just because he loves it soooooo much? If you’re unsure, go track him down at one of his 4 houses spread over 3 countries and ask him. In total he’s only worked about 8 months in the last 3 years. You’d think if he LOVED the art so much he’d work more than that… but he doesn’t have to because he’s a mega millionaire who doesn’t have to work all that often to keep up the lifestyle he now enjoys. And who among us can blame him for that? Wouldn’t you or I enjoy it all just as much if we had the opportunity to do so??? Of course we would! Acting is his JOB.
The point of this whole little diatribe is this: Saying “it’s just for the money” is actually a pretty silly and self evident thing to say. Every actor, every studio, every director is in it for the money. Oh they may ALSO be in it for other factors as well… no doubt… but if they ever say “it isn’t about the money” do a quick check to see if they work for free… if they don’t, they’re either lying or kidding themselves.
The movie business is a business, and those involved have CAREERS in it and we shouldn’t criticize them for that. They work to earn money. You work to earn money. I work to earn money. We spend more of our waking hours at work than we do in our own homes. Why? For the money.
So the next time you hear someone say “They’re just doing it for the money”, just ask them: “Well what do you think they’d be doing it for?”
