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Counterpoint: it’s our culture that’s stuck. Hollywood DOES make tons of original films every year. Many of the large studios have specific subsidiaries just t

by dagmx 3y ago

Counterpoint: it’s our culture that’s stuck. Hollywood DOES make tons of original films every year. Many of the large studios have specific subsidiaries just to produce or distribute a wide range of originals. The issue is that known franchises will always be a relatively safe bet. Audiences don’t reward novelty, with the exception of the few breakthrough hits. Audiences generally want to spend their money and time on known entities. That people think Hollywood is “stuck remaking films” is testament to how little attention people pay to stuff outside the mainstream. This is why Marvel is so successful and why their strategy was brilliant. Early Marvel films were often stinkers like Thor/Thor2 but people keep going back for more because each new film cements them safely in people’s minds. People don’t generally care if the film will be great. They’ll happily go see mediocre films because they’re risk averse. I’ve worked for years in film. The most banal remakes always did way better in box offices than the really unique and critically acclaimed films. Hollywood is a reflection of audiences, and capitalism demands appealing to the majority

echelon 3y ago
> Hollywood is a reflection of audiences, and capitalism demands appealing to the majority 100% agree with your thesis. Appeal to the average consumer for soaking up maximum, predictable, risk-free money. > > Counterpoint: it’s our culture that’s stuck. Yeah, our culture isn't stuck. It's just average value of consumer tastes (as vetted by the market) that are. Look at TikTok and Twitter, "Harry Potter Balenciaga" [1] and all the other weird memes. How quickly things get riffed on and incorporated into our collective consciousness and vocabulary. Hollywood marketing can't keep up with the zeitgeist because it moves so fast. It's fickle, fleeting, risky, and unpredictable. Niche interests are super long tail anyway. A24 is doing a good job at picking off large sub populations of indie/art house filmgoers (not exactly niche), but ultimately it's going to take a dramatic reduction in cost structures to cater to the entirety of the human interest graph. I think we'll get there in the next 10-20 years. Generative AI and creative sandboxes like Unreal, Roblox, and VRChat will give creators the ability to make anything. We're not there yet, but we can start to see over the hill. [1] Granted, this is a riff on the non-A24 film, "Triangle of Sadness" (though A24 tried to win the bid to buy it themselves)

by dagmx 3y ago

echelon 3y ago

> Hollywood is a reflection of audiences, and capitalism demands appealing to the majority 100% agree with your thesis. Appeal to the average consumer for soaking up maximum, predictable, risk-free money. > > Counterpoint: it’s our culture that’s stuck. Yeah, our culture isn't stuck. It's just average value of consumer tastes (as vetted by the market) that are. Look at TikTok and Twitter, "Harry Potter Balenciaga" [1] and all the other weird memes. How quickly things get riffed on and incorporated into our collective consciousness and vocabulary. Hollywood marketing can't keep up with the zeitgeist because it moves so fast. It's fickle, fleeting, risky, and unpredictable. Niche interests are super long tail anyway. A24 is doing a good job at picking off large sub populations of indie/art house filmgoers (not exactly niche), but ultimately it's going to take a dramatic reduction in cost structures to cater to the entirety of the human interest graph. I think we'll get there in the next 10-20 years. Generative AI and creative sandboxes like Unreal, Roblox, and VRChat will give creators the ability to make anything. We're not there yet, but we can start to see over the hill. [1] Granted, this is a riff on the non-A24 film, "Triangle of Sadness" (though A24 tried to win the bid to buy it themselves)