Joe Brody
Well-known member
Moedred said:My concern isn't so much about quality as people's habits.
You are spot on there.
In the 90's I lived in Upper West Side of Manhattan within easy walking distance of at least 24 movie screens. Back then it wasn't like today with the majority of the screens showing the same 4 or 5 films at different times. Back then there were more mid-budget pictures and (slightly) more offerings than today. On any given weekend, my wife and I could pretty much be assured not just that there would be something new to see but that we would have to choose among the new releases.
Fast forward to 2017 and I live within easy driving distance of well over twenty four screens. There are fewer offerings to make us want to go to the theatre. What's also changed is the films are being streamed on a faster and faster cycle and I have a respectable home entertainment set up -- which means that if there is a picture I'm on the bubble about seeing, it is no loss to let it pass.
So back in the 90's, I would see films like The Founder or Manchester By The Sea in a theatre -- but now, there's no reason. My home viewing experience is good enough. I don't need a theatre. Today it is only event films like Dunkirk or a Marvel Flic or films where I like a little rowdy audience attitude/interaction that require a theatre.
So by going to fewer films in the theatre I know I'm contributing to the cycle -- of studios doubling down on fewer big bets. They have to chase their ROI after all. That doesn't scare me -- I think the big budget only model will mature and hold for some time (especially when I see Warner Bros. finally start to master the super hero flick with a film like Wonder Woman). Will the movie theatre chains go through another round of closures and bankruptcies? Yes (though fortunately, most/many screens in the U.S. are now foreign owned. Suckers!!!). Will small films still get made? Yes. Will the middle disappear? Maybe -- but a lot of that mid-range content will just end up being made by Netflix or some other streaming service, which is where I would have ended up watching it anyway. Long story short, a new equilibrium will be established without a major collapse.
Le Saboteur said:The Chinese build better sets on average, but have quite the ways to go with CGI. Once they get the handle on that and build upon their action movie foundations then Hollywood is going to face an ever harder slog.
I don't fear the Chinese because creatively they have constraints and guardrails that don't exist in the U.S. Spielberg (or Lucas?) like to sound all wise likening Super Hero Flics to Westerns. Westerns ruled for something like 70 years and super hero flicks have been pulling in the big dollars for something like 30 so far? I'm sure the super hero day will exhaust itself well short of 70 years but what I've found so impressive is the genre's ability to adapt itself. Look at Batman in the past thirty years -- from Burton's zaniness to Nolan's deft noir to Affleck's devolution. There is a range there that will continue. A property like Batman will wax and wane but it won't go away. I don't see that level of creative range coming out of China to compete with U.S. story tellers in our lifetimes.
Pale Horse said:Have you got around to Atomic Blonde yet?
Sadly no. My wife nixed it based on the reviews that were off to mixed but all stressed the physicality which my wife didn't want to see. Oh well, I'll catch on iTunes this Fall.