With MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING (Part 1) looking like the box office success this summer, followed by the mega-bucks Oppenheimer and Barbie, it looks like we are seeing a disastrous summer box office for independent film.. Is this the warning signal of the Death 0f Hollywood?
Where did it go wrong? The answer is pretty simple.
Hollywood writer Aresh Amel writes how that major flaw in the movie system and how the death of Hollywood is imminent because:
- risk aversion to original ideas or IP,
- rampant corporatization of movie studios as off-shoots of media monoliths,
- the reduction of the role of the creative movie executive to corporate brand manager,
- and the need to go bigger to please Wall Street.
“One of the warning symptoms of the death of Hollywood is when you see tired sequels of sequels of sequels with ageing stars, and tired formats is a result of a constant chase for growth and size. It’s how we ended up with $300m budgets and stale IP. No other business survives this level of negligence in R&D, Hollywood is no exception.”
Hollywood fears the new
“With the need to grow, comes big budgets and fear of the new. We have no younger generation of bankable movie stars because we haven’t invested in the type of theatrical movies that typically built them; because studios abandoned lower budget original (or fresh IP) genre movies.
The common Hollywood refrain that people won’t go to smaller movies because of streaming is a cop-out, a lie. It’s based on pure fear because it would involve a level of risk and creativity at studios that has long been wrung out of its ranks by Wall Street and upper management.
I’ve seen great — incredible — creative execs struggle, I’ve seen some of the best laid off, and the best of those who remain handcuffed to the same overblown, overpriced, and tired formats.”
The remake cupboard is empty
“Everywhere, the larder of creative properties have been exhausted. With that comes Indy 5, Fast 10, MI 7 etc parts 1 2 3 and onwards. Yet once upon a time there was a Mission 1, Fast 1, Raiders etc — all made for budgets well below $100mil starring young movie stars.
And that truly is the underlying malaise, part of the new phenomenon of America’s leaders ageing out. Hollywood is no exception. We are in a death spiral. We have to win young audiences back. The only way out is to go back to the creativity and first principles.
We need to get back into the kitchen, and kickstart our R&D again. Drop budgets, take risks on new stars, build new directors, original projects, make 6 at $50mil, or 3 at $100mil if you must, or even 100 at $300k – instead of 1 at $300mil.”
Why we ‘Raindance’
Let’s celebrate the new. The independent filmmakers who take risks.
This is what I have been trying to do for 3+ decades with Raindance Film festival and the British Independent Film Awards. I thought back in the 90’s that this alarming trend could be halted or even reversed by celebrating newcomers working on a fraction of the then-industry budgets.
Micro budget or low budget filmmaking won’t support Wall Street. But it will support a new cycle of growth. Maybe the film industry ends up becoming competitive again and getting that 16-34 crowd back in the theaters. And if anyone says it can’t be done, it’s simply because they’re afraid of doing the creative work. Or afraid of taking the risk.
Money won’t fix this problem. A Masters of Business won’t fix it either. Nor will a raft of government creative policies. Only creative risk will. But who’s to blame? The same people who got us into the mess of a double actors and writers strike are the same ones responsible for the dire state of Hollywood movies — Wall Street.
And who is best able to survive the death of Hollywood? It’s those accustomed to risk, used to modest budgets. I refer to, of course, independent filmmakers.
Reference
https://twitter.com/arashamel/status/1679977696498192387
Resources
Independent Film classes
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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