4 ms·

> Studios need to reach the widest audience possible to make the most money, so it's a safer bet. As opposed to... what time in the past where this was not tru

> Studios need to reach the widest audience possible to make the most money, so it's a safer bet. As opposed to... what time in the past where this was not true?

ikurei 6y ago
I'd guess this was always true, but to a lesser extent. Movies today are super expensive, and at least the movies discussed here are considered failures if they don't reach a huge ammount of people. The risk was still there before, but may be not to this extent.
- fumar 6y ago
  That is the game the studios have been playing. Larger investments, higher risk, but more calculated same-ness with high appeal to the 4 quadrants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-quadrant_movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-quadrant_movie Netflix has turned this model upside down and releases films on its platform that are designed to target specific audience groups.
JeremyNT 6y ago
It's now a "solved problem" though. We live in the endpoint where the formula to craft an optimally revenue generating movie is not only possible but expected, and studios are designed with that expectation as a baseline. There are certainly fewer happy accidents out there now.
- stjohnswarts 6y ago
  I would say it's been a solved problem for all movies. We all know what sells and have for 100 years. People claiming modern movies are all sequels, prequels, and unoriginal aren't really paying attention. We've been telling the same stories for the past 2000 years with the same archetypes, skeletal plots, and emotional presentations. 4 out of 5 times I can tell you what is going to happen at any point in a given movie. All the stories have been told. Critics like to act like this or that is original, but it's really not and they know it. What makes a good movie is acting, immersiveness, humanity, and coherence.
  - KSteffensen 6y ago
    I would argue that there are new twists on the old stories. New settings, new ways of presenting the material, et.c The Matrix, Memento and Delicatessen come to mind as examples. And then there are examples of non-original stuff that is just beautifully executed like Die Hard, or Alien.

> Studios need to reach the widest audience possible to make the most money, so it's a safer bet. As opposed to... what time in the past where this was not true?

ikurei 6y ago

I'd guess this was always true, but to a lesser extent. Movies today are super expensive, and at least the movies discussed here are considered failures if they don't reach a huge ammount of people. The risk was still there before, but may be not to this extent.

fumar 6y ago
That is the game the studios have been playing. Larger investments, higher risk, but more calculated same-ness with high appeal to the 4 quadrants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-quadrant_movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-quadrant_movie Netflix has turned this model upside down and releases films on its platform that are designed to target specific audience groups.

JeremyNT 6y ago

It's now a "solved problem" though. We live in the endpoint where the formula to craft an optimally revenue generating movie is not only possible but expected, and studios are designed with that expectation as a baseline. There are certainly fewer happy accidents out there now.

stjohnswarts 6y ago
I would say it's been a solved problem for all movies. We all know what sells and have for 100 years. People claiming modern movies are all sequels, prequels, and unoriginal aren't really paying attention. We've been telling the same stories for the past 2000 years with the same archetypes, skeletal plots, and emotional presentations. 4 out of 5 times I can tell you what is going to happen at any point in a given movie. All the stories have been told. Critics like to act like this or that is original, but it's really not and they know it. What makes a good movie is acting, immersiveness, humanity, and coherence.
- KSteffensen 6y ago
  I would argue that there are new twists on the old stories. New settings, new ways of presenting the material, et.c The Matrix, Memento and Delicatessen come to mind as examples. And then there are examples of non-original stuff that is just beautifully executed like Die Hard, or Alien.