Hey, Big Spender: Hollywood Isn’t in the Mood (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

The New York Times ^ | August 29, 2010 | Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieply

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JOEL SILVER stands on the Warner Brothers lot and points to the remnants of a house where he filmed parts of four “Lethal Weapon” movies. “We blasted a toilet out of that window,” he says, smiling proudly. “Over there, we drove a car straight into the living room.”

Ah, the glory days.

Behind Mr. Silver, the flamboyant producer of some of the biggest action hits of the last 30 years, is the modest set for one of his current films, an R-rated comedy with no stars, almost no budget and — for now — no title. Not that Mr. Silver was ready to call the production small. “It’s a little movie, but it’s a big little movie,” he says.

And therein lies Mr. Silver’s challenge: How does a larger-than-life, free-spending producer fit into a movie business that has been tightening up — and cutting some of its more grandiose characters down to size?

In the new Hollywood, stars count for less, whether in front of the camera or behind it. Financial firepower and technological wizardry matter more. And a generation of producers — whose principal assets were their industry connections and a remarkable degree of personal force — are having to adapt.

Mr. Silver, 58, has been a dominant studio moviemaker for over three decades, delivering blockbuster franchises like “Lethal Weapon,” “Die Hard” and “The Matrix.” The 59 movies he has produced have generated almost $10 billion in ticket sales, adjusting for inflation. The money he has made for Warner alone has won him lavish treatment from the studio — not just in compensation, but also in perks. To make him happy, Warner once went so far as to send movie props to his Brentwood mansion for his son’s birthday party.

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Money's Too Tight (To Mention) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrUB0g8Vjgg

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ping

[A_perfect_lady]

Hollywood is dying. I live here, and I can kind of feel it. It’s all reality shows, youtube, and video games now.

[netmilsmom]

I’m not sure this is completely correct.
I think Hollywood is just banking on sure things.

The next Batman and Ironman are being made.
Avengers is being made. Atlas Shrugged is on it’s way.

I think Hollywood just isn’t taking chances on things that are not sure bets. With that, Disney has started a policy that there is a three month window between big screen and DVD. It cut the movie theaters out of a lot and because they don’t have to pay theaters as much, they can afford to spend less on films.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

“Atlas Shrugged is on it’s way.”

That will be interesting! I’ll bet it’s the “liberal twist” version.

[abb]

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Older-Adults-and-Social-Media.aspx
Older Adults and Social Media

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/456438-Economists_to_Meet_at_FCC_About_Comcast_NBCU.php
Economists to Meet at FCC About Comcast/NBCU

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/cbs-evening-news-ties-20-year-low/
CBS Evening News Ratings Tie 20-Year Low

http://www.salon.com/news/media_criticism/index.html?story=/tech/dan_gillmor/2010/08/26/who_is_a_journalist
Who’s a journalist? Does that matter?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/wilson/detail?entry_id=71003
Axe journalism education? Maybe

http://www.observer.com/2010/media/cuts-usa-today
USA Today Cuts 9 Percent of Staff, Shifts Focus Away from the Newspaper

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/08/flagship-newspapers-wane-in-audience.html#comments
Flagship newspapers wane in audience mix

[Grampa Dave]

“Hollywood is dying. I live here, and I can kind of feel it. It’s all reality shows, youtube, and video games now.”

You left out that there is seldom anything really new.

Films are mostly spin offs of other films, some of which were never successful to begin with.

A younger relative, who was a big time movie fan, came up with this observation about a decade ago that Follywood was incapable of anything that was new and provided value to the people buying tickets.

He appears to be correct each year.

[netmilsmom]

>>That will be interesting! I’ll bet it’s the “liberal twist” version.<<

I’ve been watching them on FB. The book will be done in three movies. I’m really hoping that they kept the spirit of the book but, who knows?

I’m not really sure how they could spin this lib, unless they made James Taggart the hero!

[LS]

That's why we think we can make a success of our newly launched "Rockin' the Wall Studios." We think "Rockin' the Wall" will be very successful, and have a sequel already in the works, "Other Walls to Fall," about music's ability to subvert and penetrate Korea, Cuba, and above all, the Middle East. After that, we have three big features lined up, including the apex of it all, a mega-bucks movie about the Christian victory at Malta over the Muslims.

Insiders always say, "Hollywood will never make that movie." PRECISELY. That's why we will!

[GOP Poet]

Yes. Excellent points.

[Trick or Treat]

Hollywood is dying because they aren’t making anything that anyone wants to see. They can’t come up with original stories anymore. All they have are remakes of 70’s and 80’s TV shows that weren’t that great to begin with and umpteen sequels of movies that made a few bucks in the beginning. Then they throw in a lot of liberal propaganda pieces which no one wants to see.

[Tupelo]

I don't understand. Why can't Mr. Silver get funding for his movie? After all aren’t we right smack dab in the middle of RECOVERY SUMMER?
Did not 0bama & Biden tell us so?
Hell, by Sept. 1, money should be flowing like wine. Especially for the liberal Hollywood types.

[abb]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Headlines/%E2%80%98radical%E2%80%99-shakeup-at-%E2%80%98usa-today%E2%80%99-as-print-takes-back-seat-to-mobile-130-more-layoffs-seen-62428-.aspx
‘Radical’ Shakeup at ‘USA Today’ as Print Takes Back Seat to Mobile; 130 More Layoffs Seen

http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Paper-ordered-to-reinstate-workers-628915.php
Paper ordered to reinstate workers

http://rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2010/08/newspapers_beco.html
Newspapers become irrelevant and media is reborn by 2022

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/three_more_leave_listing_newsweek_hpc4MXHNs4ex3zvsMt4PdO
Three more leave listing Newsweek

http://newspaperdeathwatch.com/
Seismic Shift at USA Today

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Newspapers_24/USA-Today-shifts-focus-from-print-to-digital.asp
USA Today shifts focus from print to digital

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http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj16n2-7.html
Dismantling Utopia: How Information Ended the Soviet Union

[LS]

From what I've heard from conservative insiders, "Atlas Shrugged" will not only be massively disappointing, but it will be massively boring. I'm told the screenplay was one of the "worst ever" by an actor who auditioned for one of the parts---against his better judgment.

But in Hollywood, there are no "sure things," and many of the megahits---"star Wars," "Passion of the Christ," "Twilight"---were turned down by most major studios or never even considered. "Twilight" already had 12 million readers and almost every studio in Hollywood passed on it. On the other hand, "Speed Racer" was supposed to be the next "in" movie, hip, blah, blah. Then you have animated films such as "Despicable Me," which is an enormous hit.

Piracy and DVDs have certainly made an impact, but there are movies people will still make a special trip to a theater to see ("Avatar"). Although it goes back a ways, you HAD to see "Independence Day" in the theater to appreciate it.

[Vince Ferrer]

They should remake the big depression era musicals and Cecil B. Demille's movies. At least it would give jobs to a lot of extras.

[abb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJOjTNuuEVw

Gold Diggers of 1933 - “We’re in the Money”

[dforest]

The lack of imagination is most likely the result of years of leftist indoctrination.

Groupthink produces no imagination.

Even if Follywood tries to make something new, it ends up being a vehicle of dressed up leftism ideas.

[Vince Ferrer]

I've got a stimulus package right here.

[Chode]

ahhh yes, the toilet that landed on the copcar intact after being blown out of the house...