If David Lean were in business today, he’d be out of business. American opening-weekend audiences are driven by gossip and “box office winners.” Not enough people trust their instincts. Which family movie would you rather see? An epic set in Australia, or one about a crazy dog? The kids see the trailer on TV, and say: “We want to see the dog!” Well, I sorta liked “Marley” too, except for the dog. But I offer this advice for parents: The kids will see the movie you choose for them, not the movie they choose for you. If you don’t lay down the law, you’ll end up seeing “The Spirit.” You mark my words.
Never mind the “weekend winner” charts. Everybody wants to back a winner. If you’re one of 50 people in a theater, that may mean you are more discriminating than the people who are not filling the other 300 seats. It doesn’t automatically mean you’re (a) a loser; (b) one of them Elites; (c) looking like a nerd in front of your date. Young people, heed this advice: Never marry someone who doesn’t love the movies you love. Sooner or later, that person will not love you. I could go even further, and quote the great French cineaste Pierre Rissient, who instructs us: It is not enough for you to love a movie. You must love it for the right reasons.
The bounty hunting goes on. Who is the current reigning female star? Angelina Jolie, without a doubt. She might as well find a calendar and start marking off the days until she reads learns of her “box office dive” and “comeback attempt.”
The birds of prey are circling – Roger Ebert’s Journal.
As a film lover this couldn’t have been more from the heart. I just feel that people are looking for junk food and not salads/ or steaks. This leaves them feeling empty but makes them coming back for more. And that is the crux of the matter. It is hard to find Great even Good films, compare that to mediocre films that are easier to make and ar a known quantity. Quoting deep throat “follow the money”, and that’s what the studio’s do. They do not risk and just follow the money, That’s why we get all these scary movie’s disaster movies etc while a lot of good or even great movies can’t seem to get distribution deals!
The internet is a game changer and i believe that only time and greater advances in technology that allow probably 100 times the earth’s current population would spawn what (How many real movie/film lovers do we really need) 100 million/1 billion? before the scale allows great films to be made only for the people who care/ the people who actually think. (This post made me reminiscent of “The Wire” The Best TV Show Ever!)