4 ms·

There Was No Sorcerer: Box Office Poison, Hollywood's Story in Century of Flops

13 points by crescit_eundo 2y ago

Animats 2y ago
A new low in web sites - a forced sign-up popup. Hint: Open the inspector in Firefox on the popup, find the beginning of the popup HTML, and select "Delete Node". Then you can finish the article. Hint: Don't bother. It's not very good.
- captn3m0 2y ago
  Tapping outside the box worked for me on iOS/Firefox.
- throwaway81523 2y ago
  Thanks for the warning, I didn't bother reading. I've noticed that Hollywood says nobody can predict success or failure of a movie. At the same time, some movie scripts have been published or leaked, and reading them at least to me isn't that different from seeing the movie. That suggests a bloody obvious diagnostic, at least for mass market or action hero type movies: before deciding to start actual filming, show the script to some 14 year olds and get their reactions. Hollywood is just stupid for throwing crap at the wall without any testing like that.
  - triceratops 2y ago
    If reading scripts was the secret sauce someone would've cracked it by now. More likely there's a dynamic where one or two misguided people in positions of power at the studio really like the script, and no one else can tell them no. The obvious solution to that is some kind of script approval committee. The obvious downside to that solution is risk aversion and bland, samey output.
    - Cpoll 2y ago
      > The obvious downside to that solution is risk aversion and bland, samey output. Isn't this what we're seeing out of a lot of studios, who nevertheless have bland, samey flops?
    - Animats 2y ago
      The way it actually works is funny. New scripts are traditionally summarized into a standard two-page format. Summarizing is a low-end outsourced job. An actress/model/waitress friend used to do that for extra cash. Those two page summaries are what gets looked at before rejection, unless you're an established Hollywood figure with a hit or two. > The obvious downside to that solution is risk aversion and bland, samey output. Yes. Hence the Marvel Overexpanded Universe and the Disney Princess Army.
kiernanmcgowan 2y ago
Sorcerer is an incredible film that very few know about for a handful of reasons as discussed in the article. Beautiful cinematography, excellent soundtrack, suspenseful premise. You will never forget the bridge scene. Highly highly recommend
- aaron695 2y ago
  Ditto above. I thought is would be one of those hard movies, made for critics and dated in the 2020's, but no it was a solid and great watch. Le salaire de la peur ("The Wages of Fear") is B&W and (1953), it can be done later. It is the original and 'better' but foreign films often get a ratings bump. Both are outstanding (S: 7.7 vs WoF: 8.1 IMDB)

13 points by crescit_eundo 2y ago

A new low in web sites - a forced sign-up popup. Hint: Open the inspector in Firefox on the popup, find the beginning of the popup HTML, and select "Delete Node". Then you can finish the article. Hint: Don't bother. It's not very good.

captn3m0 2y ago
Tapping outside the box worked for me on iOS/Firefox.
throwaway81523 2y ago
Thanks for the warning, I didn't bother reading. I've noticed that Hollywood says nobody can predict success or failure of a movie. At the same time, some movie scripts have been published or leaked, and reading them at least to me isn't that different from seeing the movie. That suggests a bloody obvious diagnostic, at least for mass market or action hero type movies: before deciding to start actual filming, show the script to some 14 year olds and get their reactions. Hollywood is just stupid for throwing crap at the wall without any testing like that.
- triceratops 2y ago
  If reading scripts was the secret sauce someone would've cracked it by now. More likely there's a dynamic where one or two misguided people in positions of power at the studio really like the script, and no one else can tell them no. The obvious solution to that is some kind of script approval committee. The obvious downside to that solution is risk aversion and bland, samey output.
  - Cpoll 2y ago
    > The obvious downside to that solution is risk aversion and bland, samey output. Isn't this what we're seeing out of a lot of studios, who nevertheless have bland, samey flops?
  - Animats 2y ago
    The way it actually works is funny. New scripts are traditionally summarized into a standard two-page format. Summarizing is a low-end outsourced job. An actress/model/waitress friend used to do that for extra cash. Those two page summaries are what gets looked at before rejection, unless you're an established Hollywood figure with a hit or two. > The obvious downside to that solution is risk aversion and bland, samey output. Yes. Hence the Marvel Overexpanded Universe and the Disney Princess Army.

kiernanmcgowan 2y ago

Sorcerer is an incredible film that very few know about for a handful of reasons as discussed in the article. Beautiful cinematography, excellent soundtrack, suspenseful premise. You will never forget the bridge scene. Highly highly recommend

aaron695 2y ago
Ditto above. I thought is would be one of those hard movies, made for critics and dated in the 2020's, but no it was a solid and great watch. Le salaire de la peur ("The Wages of Fear") is B&W and (1953), it can be done later. It is the original and 'better' but foreign films often get a ratings bump. Both are outstanding (S: 7.7 vs WoF: 8.1 IMDB)