I don't know if this topic has been talked about much here but I want to start the topic of movies made in Hollywood. Yes, there has been many very good movies to come out but so few and most don't even get noticed. What I can't stand are movies like Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and all the teenage horror movies. I'm 16 and hate Saw, The Hills have Eyes, and stupid remakes like House of Wax. Blockbusters still get audiences hyped up and all but they don't deliver and can't satisfy what has been built up in the audience. If I can remember there was an article I read that said attendance in theaters is dropping. Not by much but it is. What can be expected in the future of Hollywood? I'm a bit optimistic because I believe that Hollywood is going through what it did in the 50's when movies were in a slump. I hope new filmmakers can come around just like in the 70's and turn Hollywood around. What do you think?

Any drop in theater attendance is more likely attributable to audiences opting to watch films on DVD — home video sales are rising.

The entertainment industry always goes through stages. Right now I think we're in a transition from postmodernism to neo-classicalism. The culture will change; the people will change; the filmmakers will change — but there will always be good cinema despite all the drudge.

There are people who can analyze all those numbers for you and tell you why what is going on with theater attendance: the weather, piracy, other entertainment, the internet- whatever. None of that matters for you, the filmmaker (which I assume you are or want to be). "Hollywood" used to be the only way, years and years ago. Now Hollywood basically just means the most funding and biggest distribution, and therefore the most dubious marketing. They're a business, so don't expect to be in complete control of your film.

Stuff like Epic Movie has always been around; that is, filler. Though I don't believe it's ever been so empty or horrendous or pointless. I think we should think about our generation of filmmakers. Nobody has really utilized what we have at our fingertips. The digital age. Instant films. Most of the things have been marketing gimmicks. Youtube was a good idea but inevitably became a marketing gimmick. You can literally make a film for a matter of a few hundred bucks- a real film, even if it's a short one, and submit it to a festival and get noticed. There are people in their 20s doing this now, and people are seeing their films. I am tired. Sorry for these random thoughts.

I would say Hollywood's position is pretty secure, mainly due to the irreplaceable nature of their venue. Sure piracy may slightly effect their profits, but an illegal copy of a film as viewed on a laptop screen can never really replace that immersive theater experience.

This is something that the music industry wishes it had. Unfortunately for record labels, listening to pirated songs is an identical experience as listening to "legal" songs... and so I would give a life expectancy of perhaps another 10 years to the music industry as we know it today. Music will totally be around, but the whole philosophy and funding will be shifted .

However, Hollywood will probably be pumping out the same types of blockbusters and "epics", whether you like it or not, for a loooong time to come, mainly because they are profitable and will continue to be profitable. I'm not sure about the exact statistics, but I'm sure all the Spiderman3s and the Batmanbegins, that rake in a billion dollars worldwide, do more than cover and permit the making of all the placeholders that exist so the theatres can have something to show on all their screens all year round.

However I also see the counter-Hollywood movement growing to much greater strength and support with all the people that believe films should be much more than a collection of cheap thrills and contrived plot-twists.

I would say filmmaking will be a permanent cultural element, but then again the early 1900's radio industry never would have believed that something else would come along and steal 95% of their market.

I've definitely found the hollywood movies to be at an all time high in terms of pointlessness and the fact that it cannot give you that emotional experience you are looking for in a film. Have you seen all of the announcements for remakes? It's more than insane...

How many of us our in our 20s and teens here? Those of use born in the late-late 1970s, all 80s and 90s are the new generation of film makers. It's up to us to bring something meaningful to the industry and to audiences.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...



Let's not be comparing Batman Begins to Spiderman 3, now.

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Originally posted by Cinematical:
Whoa, whoa, whoa...



Let's not be comparing Batman Begins to Spiderman 3, now.

LOL! The Dark Knight, baby! THAT will top Batman Begins!

I would like to see a movie come out of Hollywood that isn't buffed up with FX. And I'm worried about Indiana Jones because those were some good movies and now George Lucas continuing another 'saga'. I suppose sequels and remakes are the money makers because people get excited when they see a familiar t.v. show or movie up on screen. Ironman is planning a sequel. For me the Tim Burton Batman is one of the best superhero movies I've ever seen because it goes against what all the hero movies are doing today. Thanks for reading guys!

Iron Man kicked ass! But I also saw The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (finally) this week. I had two totally different big-screen experiences, but the effect was the same. I was able to escape into another world and leave all my troubles behind. So bring on the effects, movie scores, box office stars. I don't care. That's Entertainment!

quote:

I've definitely found the hollywood movies to be at an all time high in terms of pointlessness and the fact that it cannot give you that emotional experience you are looking for in a film

this is the same hollywood that gave us The Fountain....this is why i think there is hope.

I'd be interested to hear what you made of The Fountain, Evan. I found it very frustrating to watch...visually fantastic, though...I needed a translator to follow the nuances. I suppose it could be a metaphor for how tortuously difficult some paths can become when we lock onto narcissistic fantasies...like being a Hollywood filmmaker (ha ha)!

Here is what I think about The Fountain:
It is one of a handful of truly moving films i have seen. I don't think it really has a ton to "say," and i think people get caught up in trying to "figure it out." It isn't a film that really makes you think. It makes you feel...

Yeah I don't think very many people appreciated The Fountain.

Because on one hand you have the traditional Hollywood lovers who are bored if at any time there is not any of the following present on the screen:
1) an explosion
2) a "tense" situation where the life of someone's family is at stake
3) 10,000 Orcs fighting

And on the other hand you have the more independent people who think that the only films worth making are those that
1) contain a monumental life-changing message
2) express anger or discontent with society


So you've got a significant portion of people on both sides of the spectrum that aren't going to appreciate something like The Fountain

I should have appreciated The Fountain more, particularly as I identified the movie as containing both a "tense" situation where the wife's life was at stake AND a monumental life-changing message spanning centuries of evolution. I would definitely have appreciated it more if Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt were in the lead roles...

I want to see a movie that has 10,000 orcs expressing anger or discontent with society.

Hell, you should make one!

quote:

Originally posted by Cinematical:
I want to see a movie that has 10,000 orcs expressing anger or discontent with society.

Well USC has 30,000 students...so really you only have to get 1/3 of the people on campus to register to be an orc, and then you just have to find a way to get all your Trojanorcs into the documentary on prostate cancer that Kegan is making, and that can be your issue of discontent with society? That would be such a great collaboration.

quote:

I was able to escape into another world and leave all my troubles behind. So bring on the effects, movie scores, box office stars. I don't care. That's Entertainment!

Uh, I don't really think Iron Man and Diving Bell give you the same type of experience. At all. In any way.

I found Iron Man to be a very enjoyable experience - Downey hit just the right note.

I have, unfortunately, yet to see Diving Bell. I shall amend this soon, now that it is on DVD.

And braininabox, you might be on to something...maybe we can have a huge rallying/battle-cry scene around Tommy Trojan.

Neither Iron Man nor Diving Bell have anything to do with my life experience. I agree that that is the only thing they have in common. Oh, and they are both fantastic movies.