Alright, Family Feud time. Give me the top 3 reasons why the film industry is in shambles right now, because we all know it is. What would you come up with? One: rising costs. Sure, tickets and concessions are way too high; especially considering the product we’re being given. It’s becoming cheaper to go to a live musical production or a play than it is to venture to the multiplex, and it’s more fun. Two: celebrity. Movies are becoming more and more about who’s in the movie, and not so much “are they good actors?”, but more like “what’s going on in their personal life?” Celebrities with baggage are bringing down movies, and the rise of these miserable publications like “US Weekly” has become more influential in deciding who gets hired for a movie. Because, let’s face it, it’s difficult to delineate between the person you’re seeing on screen and the person you read about at the grocery store. Pretty soon their off-screen antics transfer into your mind’s idea of that actor and it carries over into the theater. I mean, how many big-budget or Oscar-bait films are being thrown at Lindsey Lohan? I bet none, because she drags that film down to her subterranean quarters situated somewhere in the underbelly of Hell. Best idea for these kinds of people: put them back in first grade and make them go through school Billy Madison-style. If they finish, they can resume making films. I’d give 2-to-1 she doesn’t get past 4th grade. Who am I kidding, I’d probably get 3-to-5 she can’t finish a Dr. Seuss book.
But, we all know what’s really wrong with the film industry: lack of creativity. Rehashed ideas, formulaic productions, remakes, and sequels galore. And why? Because Hollywood has gotten lazy and boring. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the Academy Award winners for Best Picture in the last 20 years: Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Dances With Wolves (1990), Silence of the Lambs (1991), Unforgiven (1992), Schindler’s List (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), Braveheart (1995), The English Patient (1996), Titanic (1997), Shakespeare In Love (1998), American Beauty (1999), Gladiator (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Chicago (2002), Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Crash (2005), The Departed (2006), No Country for Old Men (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
Not exactly an astounding list, is it? Glance over that list and tell me how many bona fide classics are in that mix. I can think of maybe three (Silence of the Lambs, Schindler’s List, American Beauty), excluding Lord of the Rings because that will be remembered as a whole and not by the pieces, and Titanic will only be remembered for it’s box office figures and a hit song. I might even throw Gladiator in there as well. And, sure, I understand a film doesn’t need an Academy Award in order to qualify as a classic (Forrest Gump beat Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption for Best Picture in 1994, which is, needless to say, unthinkable considering each film’s standing with the public 15 years later).
Now, where do movies come from? They start with an idea, an idea that becomes fleshed out over time. We have screenwriters to thank for that. The noble screenwriters never get their due respect, except within the industry. And that’s the problem. Everyone has to start somewhere, and in the movie business it’s no different. Movie execs start out as interns, directors start out as assistant cameramen, and writers start out as…..well, writers. It’s the lost art of the spec script (def: a screenplay written by someone outside the movie business). Studio executives don’t luck into good screenplays anymore, they’re handed a small stack by “readers”, who’s only job is to read screenplays and decide what’s good and what’s not. And who are these readers? Nobody. Imagine this: the Good Will Hunting screenplay bounced around every studio in Hollywood in the early 90’s without a single taker. Nobody liked it, not one studio reader. Kevin Smith, film director and good friend of Good Will Hunting co-writer Ben Affleck, physically hands the script to Harvey Weinstein at Miramax. Harvey loves it, they make it, and wouldn’t you know it, the script wins Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards that year. Which tells us one thing: not only was it a good script….it was the best fucking script of that entire year!!!!! It makes me want to run into walls head-first. As a matter of fact, I’ll be right back………Ok, all better. A script that goes on to win an Oscar was passed over by reader after reader, studio after studio, until someone with a fucking brain and a set of balls read it. I swear, if there’s ever a nuclear holocaust, Hollywood will survive, just like cockroaches.
And that brings us to the point: Hollywood has no balls. They’re so afraid of change they stick with the same formulas over and over again, treading the same waters and latching onto any trend they can. Now, the consumers are just as much to blame. The general public actually hands over money to watch this filth, so why would they stop making them? They have no incentive. When someone comes up with a truly original idea the public needs to respond and show they appreciate something more than Hollywood normally has to offer. Consider a film like Memento. It’s an independent film made on a modest budget of $5,000,000, and it goes on to earn just over $25,000,000 during its run in theaters. Now, take a look at the IMDB top 250 films based on user rating. It’s #26!!! The general public has rated this film #26 out of all movies, and it’s warranted. It’s one of the most truly ingenious films I’ve ever seen and it deserves its recognition. And, by the way, it was directed by a little known fella by the name of Christopher Nolan. That’s right, kids, the same guy that blew the world away with The Dark Knight directed a cult indie classic that is still only appreciated by devoted cinephiles. And why? Because it’s smart and original. Seemingly, only the independents have the guts to roll with a genre-bending idea like Memento. Present the public with the option, give them a taste of something original and see how it pans out.
But, where are all the original ideas? Not in Hollywood, we know that much. What Hollywood does have is polished writers, veterans who know how to write for the screen but have lost their creative edge. Screenwriters get multi-picture deals with studios the same way directors and actors do. They’re pushed to create in a certain time-frame, under studio guidelines. Can you think of anything more creatively stifling than that? They don’t have the chance to create something organically. Here’s an idea: Hey, Hollywood, you know all those piles of scripts, log-lines and synopsis’ you receive on a daily basis? Take a look at them!! Just because these writers aren’t “in the club” doesn’t mean they don’t have original ideas to offer. With the plethora of information on screenwriting and the availability to view produced scripts online, even the freelance writers can hone their craft. There’s talent amongst the public, but Hollywood is too caught up in its own ways to see it. What would be the harm in optioning a spec script with a fresh take on an old formula, and maybe cleaning up some of the rough points with one of your stock writers you have under contract? So, you get the best of both worlds: an outsider with a hunger and a taste for outside-the-box thinking and a savvy vet who polishes the stone for a small fee. It’s a win-win.
Hollywood, it’s time to look elsewhere. These writers are out there, waiting to be found. For the sake of the industry, give them a chance.
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