Well that’s the most honest appraisal I seen out there. And Elaine Low interview further confirms the political rot Hollywood is in , It will take a strong board to say enough is enough , because the activists are vicious.
What about the fact that they spend too much on movies? Why are they spending $130M on The Fall Guy, a property that would have been a mid budget movie any other time in the history of movies?
Every time I see movie budgets I think “Well, that’s at least $50M over budget”.
I think you have a good point on loneliness and the cultural/political divide which stems from the thing we’re both typing into … the internet and to a larger extent social media. It doesn’t reflect reality yet we’re all basing decisions off what we read on the internet. It’s made us dumber and companies like Amazon feed into that and serve us the slop we deserve. Right now that’s Argylle and Road House 3. Cheap CGI, generic scripts for broad audiences and safe comedy (minus no hard feelings which went over audiences heads). Somewhat unrelated, but social media has changed the number of people obsessed with Corporate IP. I still remember when we made fun of Trekkies.
“If you’re reading this, you know that Mad Max Furiosa disappointed”
Know this about your audience, Roy: some of us in the older demos never even heard of Mad Max Furiosa, but we read Price Point for your thoughts about television.
“I think Peggy Noonan was not wrong when she recently pointed out that there now exists a mutual hatred between opposing groups”
She understates the case. I detest both the woke Left and the religious right, but neither as much as I can do without Peggy Noonan.
“No business has embraced the partisan spirit more than Hollywood. … There is now a political layer on top of every creative and hiring decision.”
Yes! The bias is longstanding, but the difference from thirty years ago is the word “every.”
The technology is out there to make movies at a much more reasonable budget- the only thing I wounder about now is an equivalent breakthrough for distribution that can actually make some real money for filmmakers.
I recently edited a post-apocalyptic comedy feature film "Cuisine De La Pocalypse" (google it) that is both an homage to and parody of 80's and 90's blockbusters. It was made in small town Montana with just a few Hollywood types involved. Everyone involved really gave their all and it has an earnestness and hope for the future that seems to be missing these days. All on a micro-budget. Distribution seems like the biggest hurdle of all though - full of gate keepers and dishonest middlemen. We don't really check the current boxes for the studios but in every screening we've had people laugh and have a good time... like we used to.
This is another excellent article by Roy Price who we believe is the #1 thought leader in the movie business.
Three years ago, an associate of mine and I decided to explore the film industry to determine whether or not it would be worthwhile to get involved as producers. We read a lot of articles and opinion pieces along with several books. Our conclusion? The old Hollywood movie business model cannot survive.
In addition to this excellent analysis by Roy Price, I would add that after decades of exploiting writers, independent producers, and outside investors, most of the talented players have left the business or are disgusted with the status quo.
We see a great opportunity to create an alternative business model, outside of Hollywood, where Indie producers, writers, and investors are treated fairly. Of course, many of the agents, lawyers, and studio executives in LA will be less important in the new system.
Intelligent, reasonable, and ethical professionals are thinking about an alternative formula for producing the kind of films that the majority of Americans want to see. It will become apparent to them that almost every aspect of the legacy film business can be improved upon.
"One of the 14 Amazon Leadership Principles is Customer Obsession"—this customer is obsessed with Whit Stillman and would love to see "The Cosmopolitans": what needs to be done to make that 2014 pilot available for purchase/streaming? (Followed a tweet from Stillman's to here; I hope this is a proper forum in which to engage!)
Hmm. I guess Amazon took the pilots down? That may be a rights issue or a general policy issue. Whit would be the one to answer that. Might make a good movie!
All old pilots came down at the end of that Pilot Season, long ago. (Cf "Really" from the same 2014 cohort.) I assumed there were financial reasons (e.g. music royalties vs expected revenue generation) on Amazon's end which could be solved by a devoted fanbase shouting "Shut up and take my money!" Would gladly pay top dollar for any DVD carrying it as an extra
Strange to say, but the high cost of going to the movies ultimately comes down to landlordism, interest, and corrupt central bank monetary policy. Until we seriously reform landlording, banking, and the Fed, finance will continue to devour culture.
Well that’s the most honest appraisal I seen out there. And Elaine Low interview further confirms the political rot Hollywood is in , It will take a strong board to say enough is enough , because the activists are vicious.
What about the fact that they spend too much on movies? Why are they spending $130M on The Fall Guy, a property that would have been a mid budget movie any other time in the history of movies?
Every time I see movie budgets I think “Well, that’s at least $50M over budget”.
That's true as well.
I think you have a good point on loneliness and the cultural/political divide which stems from the thing we’re both typing into … the internet and to a larger extent social media. It doesn’t reflect reality yet we’re all basing decisions off what we read on the internet. It’s made us dumber and companies like Amazon feed into that and serve us the slop we deserve. Right now that’s Argylle and Road House 3. Cheap CGI, generic scripts for broad audiences and safe comedy (minus no hard feelings which went over audiences heads). Somewhat unrelated, but social media has changed the number of people obsessed with Corporate IP. I still remember when we made fun of Trekkies.
I genuinely believe that the long term solution is the exact opposite of what WB is doing: https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/6/5/report-mickey-17-delay-has-to-do-with-bong-joon-ho-not-getting-final-cut (assuming this is accurate). We need to allow artists to make art and stop interfering … it’s gotten worse in the 21st century.
And finally, as a practicing lawyer, I can confirm people still hate lawyers. At least some things don’t change
Ha!
“If you’re reading this, you know that Mad Max Furiosa disappointed”
Know this about your audience, Roy: some of us in the older demos never even heard of Mad Max Furiosa, but we read Price Point for your thoughts about television.
“I think Peggy Noonan was not wrong when she recently pointed out that there now exists a mutual hatred between opposing groups”
She understates the case. I detest both the woke Left and the religious right, but neither as much as I can do without Peggy Noonan.
“No business has embraced the partisan spirit more than Hollywood. … There is now a political layer on top of every creative and hiring decision.”
Yes! The bias is longstanding, but the difference from thirty years ago is the word “every.”
The technology is out there to make movies at a much more reasonable budget- the only thing I wounder about now is an equivalent breakthrough for distribution that can actually make some real money for filmmakers.
I recently edited a post-apocalyptic comedy feature film "Cuisine De La Pocalypse" (google it) that is both an homage to and parody of 80's and 90's blockbusters. It was made in small town Montana with just a few Hollywood types involved. Everyone involved really gave their all and it has an earnestness and hope for the future that seems to be missing these days. All on a micro-budget. Distribution seems like the biggest hurdle of all though - full of gate keepers and dishonest middlemen. We don't really check the current boxes for the studios but in every screening we've had people laugh and have a good time... like we used to.
That’s why YouTube exists. No one wants to pay to see some amateur film.
This is another excellent article by Roy Price who we believe is the #1 thought leader in the movie business.
Three years ago, an associate of mine and I decided to explore the film industry to determine whether or not it would be worthwhile to get involved as producers. We read a lot of articles and opinion pieces along with several books. Our conclusion? The old Hollywood movie business model cannot survive.
In addition to this excellent analysis by Roy Price, I would add that after decades of exploiting writers, independent producers, and outside investors, most of the talented players have left the business or are disgusted with the status quo.
We see a great opportunity to create an alternative business model, outside of Hollywood, where Indie producers, writers, and investors are treated fairly. Of course, many of the agents, lawyers, and studio executives in LA will be less important in the new system.
Intelligent, reasonable, and ethical professionals are thinking about an alternative formula for producing the kind of films that the majority of Americans want to see. It will become apparent to them that almost every aspect of the legacy film business can be improved upon.
"One of the 14 Amazon Leadership Principles is Customer Obsession"—this customer is obsessed with Whit Stillman and would love to see "The Cosmopolitans": what needs to be done to make that 2014 pilot available for purchase/streaming? (Followed a tweet from Stillman's to here; I hope this is a proper forum in which to engage!)
Hmm. I guess Amazon took the pilots down? That may be a rights issue or a general policy issue. Whit would be the one to answer that. Might make a good movie!
Thanks for the reply!
All old pilots came down at the end of that Pilot Season, long ago. (Cf "Really" from the same 2014 cohort.) I assumed there were financial reasons (e.g. music royalties vs expected revenue generation) on Amazon's end which could be solved by a devoted fanbase shouting "Shut up and take my money!" Would gladly pay top dollar for any DVD carrying it as an extra
Strange to say, but the high cost of going to the movies ultimately comes down to landlordism, interest, and corrupt central bank monetary policy. Until we seriously reform landlording, banking, and the Fed, finance will continue to devour culture.