Posted on 08/23/2005 10:40:31 PM PDT by Plutarch
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23 - With the last of the summer blockbusters fading from the multiplex, Hollywood's box office slump has hardened into a reality that is setting the movie industry on edge.
Multiples theories for the decline abound: ...But many movie executives and industry experts are beginning to conclude that something more fundamental is at work: Too many Hollywood movies these days, they say, just are not good enough.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
That's because all of Hollywood's movies suck, and have for a long time.
I did take my daughter to see a re-make though. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I thought it was pretty well done, and Johnny Depp was incredible.
I would agree in general with this. However there are other issues as well... hollywood has done a TERRIBLE job marketing their product as well.
I have seen a few movies recently that based on the marketing I had no desire to see, because they were portrayed very poorly in their marketing, but actually were very good films.
Spanglish was a great movie, marketing almost was right on this one... but not good enough for me to plop down 10 bucks for a ticket. Had they marketed it better, I would have probably seen it in the theaters.
In Good Company - Came out in 04, but was a very good movie, very poorly marketed.
And one I just saw that completely suprised me...
Guess Who - portrayed in marketing as little more than a cheap slapstick rip off of the classic "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" honestly the movie was not nearly as low brow as I expected from the marketing.
The way I see it, Hollywood has put out so much crap, and tried so hard for so long to get people to go to the crap, that when they actually do have a good movie, they don't realize it, their marketing approach is flawed, and their audience who they have insulted the intelligence and values of for years are so cynical that you wind up with the perfect storm of, Nope, not gonna see it, or I'll wait for it on DVD it definatley won't be worth the price of admission.
You guys have no one but yourselves to blame, so much garbage, so much insulting tripe... so much insulting of the values that most of your audience holds dear.. combined with trying to hype that crap as good... when you have a good product, you just don't know what to do with it, because you can't recognize it, and your credibility in presenting something as good is shot.. spent trying to get another person to go see your 200million dollar to create "blockbuster" bomb.
You have lost credibility... with perhaps the exception of PIXAR, who only does a movie every 1-2 years... I cannot think of another studio that consistently spends the time to make sure the STORY that is about to be put on film.. is one worth putting on film.
Think about it...the only the kook left in Hollywood stays in business, keeps their lofty status, and gets to keep flapping their idiot gums are because people let them. Without fans, they are, and have nothing. Most of them are not educated past high school and couldn't get a real job on a bet. They are there because people let them be there. And people can tell them to stuff it too.
As it has already been reported here on FR, there were 63 million people who voted for GWB in Nov. 2004. If just 10% of those people say "Screw you Hollyweird, I'm not buying it anymore", its gonna leave a mark. If 20% or more say it, thats even better.
Good points all!
Regards...
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