comment #1

Larry says ...

For all its lack of originality, I'll take Hollywood movies over any other country's.

comment #2

Pablo R. says ...

It would be nice at least to be able to see a host of contemporary films from other countries before having to make the choice.

In fact, most of the really interesting work these days is not American.

comment #3

guy steele says ...

One can understand why the big Hollywood studios decry originality. they want the safest bet on their investment. Leave small movies $10 million and under to the original thought. It seems funny me that alot of the time a brillant young outta nowhere filmmaker creates one or two original engrossing film and is picked by Hollywood as the next great director only to have him/her helm a safe piece of marketable tripe.
I for one have always wondered why the Broccoli family has never hired a daring original-vision director for Bond. I know they like to play it safe and they are making money... but think of the Bond film directed by QT or Cameron even Mann.
Now what should really peeve us is when a director like Gore Verbiski get's to make his own sequel to a fresh and original Pirate film and gives us nothing new but stale storylines you gotta wonder... why don't the studios risk a little more time to mature a script. Look at Hill's Another 48hrs. or Alien 3 & 4 and they even had good fresh original directors but no stories that drove that franchise forward. When Hollywood does get it right accolades and money follows like Godfather II and Aliens. THey are perfect followups that continue the story instead of retreading.
If I have mispelled anyone's name I am sorry.

comment #4

Mike Gebert says ...

Well, for all the bashing of Pirates (I was bored with the first one before it was over, can't imagine watching two more) I just saw Miami Vice and was very disappointed with that as well. Basically a lifestyle catalog for drug dealers-- you'll want this watch, this phone, these clothes, this shower, this boat, this disco... and now our mannequins will model them for you. A certain amount of visual style, but much of it was just murky (the final shoot-out was so hard to see anybody or anything it was practically radio-- compare that with the stunning one in Heat, in which you know exactly what's going on and who's at risk where). It was like Gore Verbinski's idea of a Michael Mann movie, it had the look but there was no soul there. Part of the problem-- versus, say, Scarface or Goodfellas-- was that it had no outside perspective; it totally bought into the flashy drug dealer stuff, the tough guy talk (much of which was way overwritten), no satirical or ironic eye on it.

Hard to believe this was the same director who so brilliantly made Tom Noonan comically pathetic and yet ultra-badass-scary in his serial killer gear in Manhunter. But I guess one of the things you do when you spend $150 million on a movie is make sure no one in the audience thinks the filmmakers might be making fun of their pimp taste.

comment #5

Anonymous says ...

Embrace technology, establish an independent artist repertoire and make films away from Hollywood.
Distribute digitally to theaters then through Amazon, netflix, and iTunes. Take no inventory risk.
Make an entertaining experience then get the word out through sites like these.
The system is fucked and will continue to be fucked because the artists have been polluted with entitlement and greed.
Terry Gilliam could have made Quixote for a third of the money he raised if he would start realizing that movies arent about the tools. It isnt about the "film stock".
Its about the ideas, their design and the relevance of the final assmebled expression.

comment #6

Anonymous says ...

I must correct myself. It is the acencies that create such high costs by insisting that their clients are entitled to ridiculous upfront money. The executives breed ill will by demanding lower costs then soaking up all gross proceeds.
Eliminate the blood sucking agencies and executives.

comment #7

Anonymous says ...

I must correct myself.
It is the agencies that instill the entitlement and greed in their clients, as it is in their interest to do so.
Executives dont help in demanding lower costs while paying themselves big bucks and hiding gross profits. So agents must demand those points up front.
The blood sucking agents, talentless executives, and useless layers of middle management must be eliminated.

comment #8

Anonymous says ...

sorry for the double post....my first message must have been delayed so I recomposed it.

comment #9

Daniel Zelter says ...

Pablo: Hollywood films are no longer American, either. Nowadays, they're shot in Australia, Eastern Europe and the U.K.

guy: Bond directed by Cameron would be the same generic tripe from True Lies. And Quentin doesn't have the class to do a good Bond movie. As for Mann, well, the complaints against Vice speak for themselves.

"Terry Gilliam could have made Quixote for a third of the money he raised if he would start realizing that movies arent about the tools. It isnt about the "film stock"."

It's not like Gilliam had much of a choice. He probably couldn't get any distribution if he didn't have big companies funding it.

comment #10

jbelkin says ...

a lot of it is elitist crap - is there ANYWHERE in the world the movie (Pirates) is NOT a hit? if "we" were really making movies that people thought was un-worthy of their time, they wouldn't go ... Is Pirates great? No, but is it entertaining enough and apparently a lot of other people agree. I'm not saying popularity is the only measure of whether it's good or not, but it is elitist and egoist to go around thinking if you don't like something and others do, we're all morons ... or that they are right.

comment #11

Anonymous says ...

Its not about being anti-Pirates.
There are alot of interesting stories that arent "Pirates" or "War of the Worlds" but deserve to be made and find an audience.
It is not Hollywoods responsibility to make them though.
While some independent films may be "elitist crap" they all arent. Swingers, Primer, Donnie Darko, Trainspotting, and Memento are, in my opinion, great independent entertainments.
Studios didnt want to make The Graduate so the producers went to B independent proucer Joseph Levine to get it made. Now its a classic.