nutmegger
Active member
Interesting article.
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/08/1014...tudios-he-now-says-the-movie-business-is-dead
Enjoy.
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/08/1014...tudios-he-now-says-the-movie-business-is-dead
Enjoy.
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I can't that I disagree. Although I am not young anymore. The quote from the article - "They ain't movies. They are some weird algorithmic process that has created things that last 100 minutes or so." makes sense to me. I watched "Tenet" the other night and it just seemed like a bunch of scenes put together, like a music band that was created by the recording studio. But it looked very good.
"These streaming services have been making something that they call 'movies,' " he said. "They ain't movies. They are some weird algorithmic process that has created things that last 100 minutes or so."
For Diller, this is about seismic change and nostalgia, but it is also about semantics. The definition of "movie," he said, "is in such transition that it doesn't mean anything right now.
"There used to be a whole run-up," Diller said, remembering how much time, energy and money studios invested in distribution and publicity campaigns.
The goal, he said, was to generate sustained excitement and enthusiasm for new movies. "That's finished," he said.
That is probably more of an example of how out of touch I might be since I had never heard of it until my wife suggested we watch it So the run up did not reach me. How would one action movie save theatrical cinema anyway?
The coldest of cold takes...
I wonder if news agencies are contractually obligated to write drivel like this every time another aging movie exec/director/critic complains about the "death of cinema" or some variation.
Yes, streaming services (like Amazon in particular) have goals that aren't exactly aligned with "make great films." But if you're using those services as metrics of where cinema is today you're really limiting the scope of your inquiry. That's not to say there isn't room for improvement, but articles and statements like this do nothing to advance any sort of real dialogue or discourse.
True, there is always a motivation. I do see some truth in his opinions though. My hope is that budgets actually go down due to this shift and allow more types of projects to be made. This cycle of mega spendy productions that need a sure thing mega hit to earn it back has decreased the circle size to almost a few types of movies. I see "Game of Thrones" as an example of the decline of a cinema focused world. The production level was very high and was immensely popular. The series went on for ten years and nobody seem to care it was not in a theater. All for the (monthly) cost of, or in some cases below one movie ticket.
His analysis is terribly premature. One'd have to look at 18-24 months worth of releases to spot any trend and the summer of 2021 may not even be the starting point. The fall/Christmas of 2021 may be.