Can't Hollywood come up with anything original?

[Jon Starr]

Wow, you know something is wrong when the first thing they announce is who made the special effects...

That's EXACTLY what I was about to say.

Thought that for Resident Evil when the first thing they announced was the 3D camera they were using.

 

[Nektonic]

Wow, you know something is wrong when the first thing they announce is who made the special effects...

That's EXACTLY what I was about to say.

Thought that for Resident Evil when the first thing they announced was the 3D camera they were using.

I think we are seeing the first major signs of a radical shift, at least with the mainstream Hollywood film, away from it being a director's medium. Once Scorsese, Cameron, Spielberg, Sir Ridley, Fincher, etc. retire from film making, will there be much of anyone besides maybe Nolan to step in and represent the successful-non-remake-non-hack Hollywood director that still has some pull with the money people? Will Hollywood allow any new directors to attain these same levels of status or will they keep them down by diminishing their impact with all the remakes and overseeing and nitpicking over everything that has become more prevalent in the industry?

Oddly enough, I see TV becoming the go to place for original and innovative storytellers in the not too distant future. Episodic TV has been getting really good over the past decade. The production value gap is getting narrower between theatrically released feature films and the top tier television series airing these days.

So as Hollywood effects extravaganzas become more like theme park attractions, television will start to attract larger numbers of the best writers, producers, and directors. The epic miniseries is starting to make a bit of a comeback as well. Those would give directors a chance to shine in the medium of television, while longer running episodic series are more of a writer/producer medium.

Add in the fact that streaming and online technology now allows us to see much more content in our homes for less cost and with more convenience than could be imagined a couple years ago. As those services improve I think we will see a huge shift away from the theater begin, to where it could die, or will be much more limited in terms of how many films are released theatrically each season.

 

[Jon Starr]

I think we are seeing the first major signs of a radical shift, at least with the mainstream Hollywood film, away from it being a director's medium. Once Scorsese, Cameron, Spielberg, Sir Ridley, Fincher, etc. retire from film making, will there be much of anyone besides maybe Nolan to step in and represent the successful-non-remake-non-hack Hollywood director that still has some pull with the money people? Will Hollywood allow any new directors to attain these same levels of status or will they keep them down by diminishing their impact with all the remakes and overseeing and nitpicking over everything that has become more prevalent in the industry?

That's true, what will happend when these filmmakers retire? Maybe Quentin or Rodriguez, but they are very niche filmmakers. Jackson... but he's kind of in the hollywood grind. There won't be that American Zeotrope group.

Add in the fact that streaming and online technology now allows us to see much more content in our homes for less cost and with more convenience than could be imagined a couple years ago. As those services improve I think we will see a huge shift away from the theater begin, to where it could die, or will be much more limited in terms of how many films are released theatrically each season.

But first the studios have to rethink how they're going to re-structure the system. It's based off of a pre-internet world where people didn't even have television at home. Going to a theater was literally the only way they could view motion pictures of any kind. Now with the internet they have to break down the system and build it back up again, rather than try and fit a square into a triangle hole.