6 ms·

I think more than anything what we need is more movies made by low-budget places. I really don't want to see another sequel, redo, or comic book movie. It's j

by cgore 9y ago

I think more than anything what we need is more movies made by low-budget places. I really don't want to see another sequel, redo, or comic book movie. It's just lazy on the part of the movie companies.

snarf21 9y ago
This is also because Amazon and Netflix are buying up things that might have otherwise gone to the theaters. Why pay royalties forever when you can just own it forever and amortize the cost?
- thadjo 9y ago
  true, but i think these purchases have a much greater impact on TV that film. Amazon, Netflix, Hulu all have a long list of really successful TV shows but it's hard to think of a 120-minute movie that has risen to the ranks of Handmaiden's Tale, House of Cards, etc..
  - snarf21 9y ago
    True, it is affecting both. I was speaking also to the fact that Manchester by the Sea (e.g.) was made by Amazon. A great outcome for them is simply to break even at the theater. They then have an exclusive movie for free forever. The studios can't afford for all of their movies to break even.
yahna 9y ago
> I really don't want to see another sequel, redo, or comic book movie. Well millions and millions of other people do, so why should the movie companies cater to you instead?
- watwut 9y ago
  Because it is super cool if they make a movie or game you like for a change too.
- fusiongyro 9y ago
  If those people do, why are the studio executives complaining? Perhaps it's because "Ticket revenue was down at least 12 percent, and ticket sales were at their lowest point for the season in 10 years. Audiences did not want to see remakes of old TV shows (bad news for Baywatch and CHIPS). They did not want to see badly reviewed franchise entries (the take for the latest Transformers installment was way down)."[1] (linked from the article). [1]: http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/movies/dunkirk-girls-trip-are-brights-spots-in-a-bummer-summer-20170825.html http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/movies/dunkirk-gi...
  - yahna 9y ago
    > Audiences did not want to see remakes of old TV shows (bad news for Baywatch and CHIPS). 21/22 jump street suggests the problem isn't with remakes of old shows but rather the quality of the remake. I was interested in baywatch, it got bad reviews so I didn't bother. People don't want to see bad movies. I'm tired of the idea that comic book movies and sequels are all bad movies.
    - fusiongyro 9y ago
      Novelty is key to entertainment. At some point, having the same three guys show up and fight a villain gets repetitive. The studio likes safe bets because the costs are so high. But you don't get 1977 Star Wars money on things that closely resemble things that came out last year. The movie industry has gone through this kind of cycle before; they enter a very creative few years, and then they go through some greedy lazy years where they try to reissue the things that won a few years ago, tweaked slightly.
johnchristopher 9y ago
Eh ? Just stop buying tickets for those movies then.
- ihuman 9y ago
  "I am a movie critic by trade, and until recently, I got paid to tell you people which movies merely stink and which ones you shouldn’t screen near an open flame. Well, I’m putting the burden of lousy movies back on you. It’s very simple: if you stop going to bad movies, they’ll stop making bad movies. If the movie used to be a TV show, just don’t go. After Roman numeral II, give it a rest. If it's a remake of a classic, rent the classic. Tell them you want stories about people, not a hundred million dollars of stunts and explosives. People, it’s up to you. If the movie stinks, just don’t go." - The Critic
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - irrational 9y ago
    Meh, the thing is I don't want movies about normal people. I prefer stunts, explosions, superheros, etc.
  - nebabyte 9y ago
    There needs to be a term for this delusion - conflating a few people who clamor for something with "people" at large. "IT'S up to YOU! Change your politicians! Vote with your wallet! Demand better movies/industries/X!" is a horseshit response that conveniently tries to forget that these industries and ecosystems follow a lowest-common-denominator majority, so all the "clamor" and attention-to-personal-choice in the world does nothing except accomplish some fringe action at the margins. The only "people" listening to you at that point are those who recognize the frustration of dealing with that world, so it's healthier to engage in a substantiative dialogue about what can be done from those margins to renew widespread interest in the actual change you want than to resign with some holier-than-thou tirade to them regarding "the people" who aren't even listening.
SurrealSoul 9y ago
I wouldn't say it's lazy, but it is low risk high reward. If you make a movie of an already popular thing, people who like the popular thing will go watch it. Making a sequel of that thing means only the people who watched [AND LIKED] the first thing will watch the second one, also ensuring top tier ratings, making more people want to see what makes it so great. Having original movies is a true blessing; but sequels, remakes, novel and comic book movies are true "office box smashes" with very, very little to risk.
potatolicious 9y ago
I agree, but this exists to a significant extent already (though more would be great) - it's a really, really good time to be into low-budget indie flicks. The problem is that your local multiplex is not going to be showing independent films, nor are they going to be blasting marketing cranked up to 11 on all channels, so it's much harder to hear about them, and in some cases, much harder to see them period. But the scene is alive and well - I've gotten a lot more into over the past year or so, and have really enjoyed it. The accessibility is poor in some places (in the middle of Manhattan is pretty great), but absolutely worth it. I find IMDB and Metacritic to give pretty solid coverage of these films, so that alleviates some of the discoverability problems. If you have small theaters near you, please patronize them - better yet, convince a group to go regularly. They need the business, and I think you'll find a lot of worthy films.
- SomeStupidPoint 9y ago
  Things like Fathom Events are already managing to run more niche content a few showings a week. (Example: there's a Studio Ghibli film doing 1 showing an evening at 3 theaters around town for two nights next week.) It's not inconceivable that we'll eventually see a similar platform for (more) indie movies, using a screen or two a couple evenings a week. Movie theaters are hard up for money, and I suspect would happily take a full theater for any film they can do small batches of.
- criddell 9y ago
  It's also interesting to me how some of the stigma associated with VOD and straight to video releases has gone away. It's a pretty great time for film and television.
sien 9y ago
This is what Blumhouse productions do. They are responsible for Paranormal activity and a number of other cheap successful films. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumhouse_Productions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumhouse_Productions
- thadjo 9y ago
  yes, and the ROI on some of these flicks is just jaw-dropping. horror is definitely having its moment.

by cgore 9y ago

snarf21 9y ago

This is also because Amazon and Netflix are buying up things that might have otherwise gone to the theaters. Why pay royalties forever when you can just own it forever and amortize the cost?

thadjo 9y ago
true, but i think these purchases have a much greater impact on TV that film. Amazon, Netflix, Hulu all have a long list of really successful TV shows but it's hard to think of a 120-minute movie that has risen to the ranks of Handmaiden's Tale, House of Cards, etc..
- snarf21 9y ago
  True, it is affecting both. I was speaking also to the fact that Manchester by the Sea (e.g.) was made by Amazon. A great outcome for them is simply to break even at the theater. They then have an exclusive movie for free forever. The studios can't afford for all of their movies to break even.

yahna 9y ago

> I really don't want to see another sequel, redo, or comic book movie. Well millions and millions of other people do, so why should the movie companies cater to you instead?

watwut 9y ago
Because it is super cool if they make a movie or game you like for a change too.
fusiongyro 9y ago
If those people do, why are the studio executives complaining? Perhaps it's because "Ticket revenue was down at least 12 percent, and ticket sales were at their lowest point for the season in 10 years. Audiences did not want to see remakes of old TV shows (bad news for Baywatch and CHIPS). They did not want to see badly reviewed franchise entries (the take for the latest Transformers installment was way down)."[1] (linked from the article). [1]: http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/movies/dunkirk-girls-trip-are-brights-spots-in-a-bummer-summer-20170825.html http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/movies/dunkirk-gi...
- yahna 9y ago
  > Audiences did not want to see remakes of old TV shows (bad news for Baywatch and CHIPS). 21/22 jump street suggests the problem isn't with remakes of old shows but rather the quality of the remake. I was interested in baywatch, it got bad reviews so I didn't bother. People don't want to see bad movies. I'm tired of the idea that comic book movies and sequels are all bad movies.
  - fusiongyro 9y ago
    Novelty is key to entertainment. At some point, having the same three guys show up and fight a villain gets repetitive. The studio likes safe bets because the costs are so high. But you don't get 1977 Star Wars money on things that closely resemble things that came out last year. The movie industry has gone through this kind of cycle before; they enter a very creative few years, and then they go through some greedy lazy years where they try to reissue the things that won a few years ago, tweaked slightly.

johnchristopher 9y ago

Eh ? Just stop buying tickets for those movies then.

ihuman 9y ago
"I am a movie critic by trade, and until recently, I got paid to tell you people which movies merely stink and which ones you shouldn’t screen near an open flame. Well, I’m putting the burden of lousy movies back on you. It’s very simple: if you stop going to bad movies, they’ll stop making bad movies. If the movie used to be a TV show, just don’t go. After Roman numeral II, give it a rest. If it's a remake of a classic, rent the classic. Tell them you want stories about people, not a hundred million dollars of stunts and explosives. People, it’s up to you. If the movie stinks, just don’t go." - The Critic
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- irrational 9y ago
  Meh, the thing is I don't want movies about normal people. I prefer stunts, explosions, superheros, etc.
- nebabyte 9y ago
  There needs to be a term for this delusion - conflating a few people who clamor for something with "people" at large. "IT'S up to YOU! Change your politicians! Vote with your wallet! Demand better movies/industries/X!" is a horseshit response that conveniently tries to forget that these industries and ecosystems follow a lowest-common-denominator majority, so all the "clamor" and attention-to-personal-choice in the world does nothing except accomplish some fringe action at the margins. The only "people" listening to you at that point are those who recognize the frustration of dealing with that world, so it's healthier to engage in a substantiative dialogue about what can be done from those margins to renew widespread interest in the actual change you want than to resign with some holier-than-thou tirade to them regarding "the people" who aren't even listening.

SurrealSoul 9y ago

I wouldn't say it's lazy, but it is low risk high reward. If you make a movie of an already popular thing, people who like the popular thing will go watch it. Making a sequel of that thing means only the people who watched [AND LIKED] the first thing will watch the second one, also ensuring top tier ratings, making more people want to see what makes it so great. Having original movies is a true blessing; but sequels, remakes, novel and comic book movies are true "office box smashes" with very, very little to risk.

potatolicious 9y ago

I agree, but this exists to a significant extent already (though more would be great) - it's a really, really good time to be into low-budget indie flicks. The problem is that your local multiplex is not going to be showing independent films, nor are they going to be blasting marketing cranked up to 11 on all channels, so it's much harder to hear about them, and in some cases, much harder to see them period. But the scene is alive and well - I've gotten a lot more into over the past year or so, and have really enjoyed it. The accessibility is poor in some places (in the middle of Manhattan is pretty great), but absolutely worth it. I find IMDB and Metacritic to give pretty solid coverage of these films, so that alleviates some of the discoverability problems. If you have small theaters near you, please patronize them - better yet, convince a group to go regularly. They need the business, and I think you'll find a lot of worthy films.

SomeStupidPoint 9y ago
Things like Fathom Events are already managing to run more niche content a few showings a week. (Example: there's a Studio Ghibli film doing 1 showing an evening at 3 theaters around town for two nights next week.) It's not inconceivable that we'll eventually see a similar platform for (more) indie movies, using a screen or two a couple evenings a week. Movie theaters are hard up for money, and I suspect would happily take a full theater for any film they can do small batches of.
criddell 9y ago
It's also interesting to me how some of the stigma associated with VOD and straight to video releases has gone away. It's a pretty great time for film and television.

sien 9y ago

This is what Blumhouse productions do. They are responsible for Paranormal activity and a number of other cheap successful films. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumhouse_Productions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumhouse_Productions

thadjo 9y ago
yes, and the ROI on some of these flicks is just jaw-dropping. horror is definitely having its moment.