What if they gave a strike and nobody came?
Hollywood has been taking it on the chin this past ten years or so. According to Bloomberg (Article by Lucas Shaw, June 25, 2023) profits for the largest entertainer companies and studios are down 60% from 2013. COVID didn't help, and numerous other factors are also in play, particularly streaming services which apparently negatively impact residuals for both actors and writers.
But one recurring theme I saw as a result of clicking around blames the "contraction" on Hollywood's mindless adherence to formulae, i.e. "creative stagnation". One article described it thus: "... we're seeing studios pass over original ideas in favor of proven IP. That makes people a little exhausted at the same stuff coming out over and over again. In film and TV, this is happening with countless reboots and spinoffs.
Hollywood has been accused of lacking originality in recent years, with many films and TV shows being sequels, reboots, or adaptations. This has led to a perception of creative stagnation, which can lead to a decrease in audience interest and revenue." (no film school dot com / creative stagnation).
The term no brainer comes to mind. Now and again a sequel comes out that is the equal to, or even better than, the original (Godfather II and Top Gun - Maverick come to mind, among some others) but many if not most of them are garbage. Anybody see (and actually enjoy) "Noah", that cabalistic clunker with some kind of weird environmental twist starring Russel Crowe, Anthony Hopkins and several other well-known actors that basically, flopped? Not precisely a sequel but certainly a retelling. Rotten Tomatoes gave it just a hair over two stars and I think that was being overly generous. Or "Exodus: Gods and Kings": that purported retelling of Moses and The Ten Commandments that (except for Ghassan Massoud as the Grand Vizier) was basically unwatchable? As Kip Mooney of Central Track stated, in his review, "How so many talented people came together here and just so completely whiffed on one of the most incredible stories ever written is beyond me." Comparing it to the Charlton Heston version of 60 years ago is just not possible. Or the weary parade of movie after movie after movie that is nothing but CGI and formula storytelling, all blending together after a time so that after the first few, you can basically predict what is going to happen and when?
Instead of loudly demanding more and more money from fewer and fewer profits, this gaggle of self-absorbed egotists should be focusing on what they are doing wrong and doing all in their power to change it. It can be done well and profitably: recent productions by Angel Studios and other independent film-makers have proven that. But weary formulae and cockeyed avant-garde retellings have been more than proven to be NOT the way.
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