why bad movies still being made?
- Thread starter justine
- Start date
Because no one knows anything.
Making a good, watchable movie is some sort of weird alchemy. You can bottle it, duplicate it, or engineer it. It's a dice roll every time. Oscar winning writers fire duds, talented actors chew scenery sometimes, you just never know. That's why putting a bankable star in a movie is the best and maybe only way to hedge the bet.
Making a good, watchable movie is some sort of weird alchemy. You can bottle it, duplicate it, or engineer it. It's a dice roll every time. Oscar winning writers fire duds, talented actors chew scenery sometimes, you just never know. That's why putting a bankable star in a movie is the best and maybe only way to hedge the bet.
Barry_Green
Moderator
You might be shocked at how different the script is, from the final film that gets made. Go look up on drew's script-o-rama for the original script to Indiana Jones, for example. The ending is entirely different.
Unless you've read the bought script, you can't necessarily judge the screenplay based on the film that got made from it.
Unless you've read the bought script, you can't necessarily judge the screenplay based on the film that got made from it.
CallaghanFilms
Veteran
I blame MTV and the Entertainment-A.D.D. generation...
UnknownScreenwriter
Member
It's a DOG-EAT-DOG business...
Write a decent spec and submit to a producer who likes it and even purchases it from you for some kind of six-figure amount and within a week or two, said producer is going to have buyer's remorse especially if this is the first script you've sold.
When said producer experiences buyer's remorse, said producer obtains the services of yet another screenwriter to FIX your spec.
And another.
And another.
And another.
The problem? Many of these magic script FIXERS want CREDIT to insure their future so they change as much of YOUR spec as they can get away with... Hopefully to the point where they can share credit with you or GASP...
Take credit away from you... You may not even get story credit... LOL.
The industry eats its young plain and simple. Many screenwriters don't give two shits about what the first screenwriter accomplished once they're brought on board.
Yes there are those screenwriters who respect the first screenwriter...
Just not enough.
Too many ingredients spoil the recipe especially when everyone wants their particular ingredient included.
Just my two cents.
Unk
Write a decent spec and submit to a producer who likes it and even purchases it from you for some kind of six-figure amount and within a week or two, said producer is going to have buyer's remorse especially if this is the first script you've sold.
When said producer experiences buyer's remorse, said producer obtains the services of yet another screenwriter to FIX your spec.
And another.
And another.
And another.
The problem? Many of these magic script FIXERS want CREDIT to insure their future so they change as much of YOUR spec as they can get away with... Hopefully to the point where they can share credit with you or GASP...
Take credit away from you... You may not even get story credit... LOL.
The industry eats its young plain and simple. Many screenwriters don't give two shits about what the first screenwriter accomplished once they're brought on board.
Yes there are those screenwriters who respect the first screenwriter...
Just not enough.
Too many ingredients spoil the recipe especially when everyone wants their particular ingredient included.
Just my two cents.
Unk
Art no matter the Genre requires a core of accuracy, Since it serves not only as a temporary escape but also as The Mirror Of Nature. We unfortunately are conditioned to live in a haze of diffusion.
Getting to clearity is hard enough let alone finding an expression for it. Thats why Poets are called "Word Smiths".
It all begins with a concept and it ain`t for simple Mortals.
So all the cash in the world won`t make it work, and the opposite is also true. There must always be a brain behind it...A Master Mind.
DogDay.
Getting to clearity is hard enough let alone finding an expression for it. Thats why Poets are called "Word Smiths".
It all begins with a concept and it ain`t for simple Mortals.
So all the cash in the world won`t make it work, and the opposite is also true. There must always be a brain behind it...A Master Mind.
DogDay.
alex whitmer
Veteran
I mirror some of the comments above.
Many a good script can be thoroughly trashed by poor management once it's sold, and many of the decisions are based on money, be it rewriting a script to fit a certain budget, or adding bell-and-whistle pizzaz to draw more audience.
Two things can and do go disastrously wrong here: The writer and whoever signs off on the changes.
Many a head are involved in the 'business side' of film, and a percentage of those will be making decisions based purely on numbers, not artistic merit or story.
Once a script has been bounced through the 'suit' rickets, it's in the hands of a director who may be able to salvage what's left of the original script, or who may not, and may even contribute to its further demise.
Putting an expensive name actor in a film sometime requires painful production cuts elsewhere, and in the end you have a film the actor wished they never did. The film may break even or make enough bucks to call it a sound business decision, but in the big scope of things, it's nothing more than box office fodder and is soon forgotten, as it should be.
On the flip side, a so-so or even crappy script with a good concept can be saved by good management and creative drive to see it through.
As mentioned above, it's alchemy. Sometimes all the pieces are in the right place, and sometimes not.
Bad movies are here to stay.
aw
www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
Many a good script can be thoroughly trashed by poor management once it's sold, and many of the decisions are based on money, be it rewriting a script to fit a certain budget, or adding bell-and-whistle pizzaz to draw more audience.
Two things can and do go disastrously wrong here: The writer and whoever signs off on the changes.
Many a head are involved in the 'business side' of film, and a percentage of those will be making decisions based purely on numbers, not artistic merit or story.
Once a script has been bounced through the 'suit' rickets, it's in the hands of a director who may be able to salvage what's left of the original script, or who may not, and may even contribute to its further demise.
Putting an expensive name actor in a film sometime requires painful production cuts elsewhere, and in the end you have a film the actor wished they never did. The film may break even or make enough bucks to call it a sound business decision, but in the big scope of things, it's nothing more than box office fodder and is soon forgotten, as it should be.
On the flip side, a so-so or even crappy script with a good concept can be saved by good management and creative drive to see it through.
As mentioned above, it's alchemy. Sometimes all the pieces are in the right place, and sometimes not.
Bad movies are here to stay.
aw
www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
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fredrickkinsman
Member
Im so done with the hollywood of today,i honestly cant remember the last time i have seen a movie where i liked the entire thing and not just a couple parts,thats why i have reverted back to the 40's and 50's for influence where there was no multi million dollar effects and where the players could actually act,they would have to do it consistantly well because multi cam shots were unusual.THE movie industry needs change and fast ,its like politics as usual in the us gov.consistantly sucks but people put up with it!yuck.
despite hollywood is having so many layers of script readers, agents, managers, producers etc... and by watching the bad movies, we know that some of them are due to bad scripts/plots... that makes me wonder why bad screenplays are still sellable...
It's because Hollywood has so many layers of script readers, agents, managers, producers, and etc.
alex whitmer
Veteran
I guess first we have to agree on what is a 'bad' movie. There are several box office success stories I simply didn't like.
Pretty subjective with few exceptions.
Pretty subjective with few exceptions.
alex whitmer
Veteran
So, what makes a film bad, and who decides? Obviously not the box office.
I personally find anything Vin Diesel nauseating, no matter the money his films make. The overall intrinsic value of them won't stand the test of time. However, as long as he can draw ticket sales, someone will stick him in front of a camera.
Valid? Yeah.
aw
I personally find anything Vin Diesel nauseating, no matter the money his films make. The overall intrinsic value of them won't stand the test of time. However, as long as he can draw ticket sales, someone will stick him in front of a camera.
Valid? Yeah.
aw