I've always thought underlying issue of the strike was the TV/Movie world was changing and nobody is quite sure what it is going to look like in 5 years let alone 10. Hell streaming is different today that it was 2 or 3 years ago. It is hard to make a fair deal (and everybody's idea of fair is different) when nobody knows what the future is going to be.
We know enough now to conclude that the streaming model is a bad economic model. If the streamers were to give up their data, most people are coming around to the view that the data would show there isn't that much money to spread around.
And if you really want to be depressed, sometime in the future, maybe in as little as 20 years, you will be able to ask AI to see a movie in the style of Casablanca only set in the 1980s with a Harrison Ford like character in the lead. And the AI will come up with a movie based off of that. The AI will generate the entire movie, including actors. It won't be art, but it will be passable entertainment.
Yeah I think that's possible, but as I argued in the piece I still think this leaves a wide lane for really good, hand-crafted movies that would play only in theaters and which people would go see for the communal experience. What I didn't get into in the piece is that no matter what happens with the strike, the business is headed for huge job losses in the writer sector. Huge... but the creamof the crop, the William Goldmans, will stick and thrive.
going to post this and then subscribe. As I promised, just late. Been busy.
Movies are the hardest of all art forms because of the complexity. For a movie to be great everything, and I do mean everything has to work just so. Script, cast, director, editing (especially the editing) filming, sound, the hundred of people whose name you don't recognize as the credits zoom by at warp speed. If one of those things is not so good you can still have a good movie, but not a great one. If several are off the movie can be enjoyable to watch but not great or maybe not even so good.
The writing is a part but no more so then the others. It's the starting. The foundation or the hole that the foundation is poured into, but that's it.
The trouble with the writing is it's all the same. Take Superman which you brought up. Superman has been around since the 1930's and has a entire slew of villains. A cast of 100's. But in a Superman movie, what you do you get. Lex Luthor,, and in the reboot, Lex Luthor, and in the reboot of the reboot, Lex Luthor. Probably in the boot of the next reboot of the previous reboots., Lex Luthor. In the JLA movie they had someone else, not great movie but at least it had that. Substitute Batman and The Joker and same thing.
The reason AI looks good to the studios is it's just what they are getting now from the writers. Second verse, same as the first!
Usually the only thing different. in the James Bond movies is the Bonds. haven't I've seen this movie before? Probably yes. You kind of expected that in Westerns. Till it changed.
There are a lot of stories out there that would make ( I think) good movies. Commercially viable?? Another story.. But what do we get from the studios. Mostly woke nonsense that no one goes to see. Hello Disney, hello, hello Warners, hello! It's a rare movie that actually makes any money and it seems that both the studios and the writers don't want to write the ones that do.
The movies that you mentioned are the great ones. But when I look around at what the studios are producing. I'd go with AI
I think these are all great thoughts. A big problem is that Hollywood has changed its focus to home runs… they no longer try for the singles and doubles that used to create a lot of these great movies. I’m
Working on an essay about this problem right now, as it happens. Thanks again for your support.
Yeah that's another problem... 20 years ago, there were all kinds of blockbusters... now there tends to be only one kind and we make it and make it and make tit until people get tired of it and then we switch to one entirely different thing.
True but it was sort of common in the past too. Look at Westerns, both movies and TV. Back in the 50's and early 60's you couldn't avoid them. Ditto Private Eye shows. See many of them on TV lately? TV went from Country Comedy (Beverly Hillbillies, etc) to urban comedy almost overnight. You would think with all the channels available today as opposed to when there was only three (more or less) you would have a greater verity. Wrong. Why? Beats me. More tickled public? Less risk taking by the studios? Expense of making pilots\shows? Group think? You figure it out the studios will beat a path to your door.
This is something I'm going top talk about in one of my future essays. The argument they give you now is we can't make "that" kind of movie because people already get those stories on TV for free... but that has been true since TV began, why is it suddenly a problem now?
Excellent observation. Those shows aren't on TV anymore. They made Western movies and Western TV shows. You can call Yellowstone a Western but it really isn't. They do still make them but they are hit and miss, sometimes OK, sometimes not. I think a lot are Direct to Video (DVD). Can't remember the last PI TV show. Simon & Simon? They make cop\buddy movies and those are all over TV. One thing I don't understand is why they didn't make more Easy Rawlins movies. Or why they didn't make any movies of Sue Grafton's mystery series. Seem to be perfect for this era of inclusion far more than what they have been making.
There are great Black characters (and real people) in the west. Look up Stagecoach Mary or Deadwood Dick in the Wiki. In my not so humble opinion they'd be great movies.
I like comics and Superhero movies\TV shows but most of those on TV and now in the movies have gotten really bad. CW basically cancelled all of theirs. Long overdue. The good ones (Again in my not so humble opinion-see above) like Titans. Doom Patrol, Star Girl, just seem to be of a higher quality and you can see it, almost feel it. Don't know why. Writing, production values? A friend who is sort of tangental to the business told me that the early Marvel and to a lesser extent DC movies were made by people who liked the comics, the characters and the stories and who understood them. Then it just became about the money (not that there is anything wrong with that. It's always about the money after all). But it shows eventually. Again in my not so humble opinion.
Interesting that you mention making a Superman movie script via AI. I think a lot of the fuss around Man of Steel was that it had elements to deconstruct and play >against< the tropes that the comics and past movies had introduced.
If a writer got an AI treatment using the tropes and then produced the script for Man of Steel, I wonder if it would have been green lit? Or would it have been canned due to the studio not wanting to pay him for an original?
Good question... no way to know, but part of the reason the WGA is striking is to make sure the studios can't shitcan human generated scripts in the future in order to save money by "hiring" robots.
I've always thought underlying issue of the strike was the TV/Movie world was changing and nobody is quite sure what it is going to look like in 5 years let alone 10. Hell streaming is different today that it was 2 or 3 years ago. It is hard to make a fair deal (and everybody's idea of fair is different) when nobody knows what the future is going to be.
We know enough now to conclude that the streaming model is a bad economic model. If the streamers were to give up their data, most people are coming around to the view that the data would show there isn't that much money to spread around.
And if you really want to be depressed, sometime in the future, maybe in as little as 20 years, you will be able to ask AI to see a movie in the style of Casablanca only set in the 1980s with a Harrison Ford like character in the lead. And the AI will come up with a movie based off of that. The AI will generate the entire movie, including actors. It won't be art, but it will be passable entertainment.
Yeah I think that's possible, but as I argued in the piece I still think this leaves a wide lane for really good, hand-crafted movies that would play only in theaters and which people would go see for the communal experience. What I didn't get into in the piece is that no matter what happens with the strike, the business is headed for huge job losses in the writer sector. Huge... but the creamof the crop, the William Goldmans, will stick and thrive.
going to post this and then subscribe. As I promised, just late. Been busy.
Movies are the hardest of all art forms because of the complexity. For a movie to be great everything, and I do mean everything has to work just so. Script, cast, director, editing (especially the editing) filming, sound, the hundred of people whose name you don't recognize as the credits zoom by at warp speed. If one of those things is not so good you can still have a good movie, but not a great one. If several are off the movie can be enjoyable to watch but not great or maybe not even so good.
The writing is a part but no more so then the others. It's the starting. The foundation or the hole that the foundation is poured into, but that's it.
The trouble with the writing is it's all the same. Take Superman which you brought up. Superman has been around since the 1930's and has a entire slew of villains. A cast of 100's. But in a Superman movie, what you do you get. Lex Luthor,, and in the reboot, Lex Luthor, and in the reboot of the reboot, Lex Luthor. Probably in the boot of the next reboot of the previous reboots., Lex Luthor. In the JLA movie they had someone else, not great movie but at least it had that. Substitute Batman and The Joker and same thing.
The reason AI looks good to the studios is it's just what they are getting now from the writers. Second verse, same as the first!
Usually the only thing different. in the James Bond movies is the Bonds. haven't I've seen this movie before? Probably yes. You kind of expected that in Westerns. Till it changed.
There are a lot of stories out there that would make ( I think) good movies. Commercially viable?? Another story.. But what do we get from the studios. Mostly woke nonsense that no one goes to see. Hello Disney, hello, hello Warners, hello! It's a rare movie that actually makes any money and it seems that both the studios and the writers don't want to write the ones that do.
The movies that you mentioned are the great ones. But when I look around at what the studios are producing. I'd go with AI
I think these are all great thoughts. A big problem is that Hollywood has changed its focus to home runs… they no longer try for the singles and doubles that used to create a lot of these great movies. I’m
Working on an essay about this problem right now, as it happens. Thanks again for your support.
Agree. It's all Tent Poles, but for a small tent and not much actually inside the tent.
Yeah that's another problem... 20 years ago, there were all kinds of blockbusters... now there tends to be only one kind and we make it and make it and make tit until people get tired of it and then we switch to one entirely different thing.
True but it was sort of common in the past too. Look at Westerns, both movies and TV. Back in the 50's and early 60's you couldn't avoid them. Ditto Private Eye shows. See many of them on TV lately? TV went from Country Comedy (Beverly Hillbillies, etc) to urban comedy almost overnight. You would think with all the channels available today as opposed to when there was only three (more or less) you would have a greater verity. Wrong. Why? Beats me. More tickled public? Less risk taking by the studios? Expense of making pilots\shows? Group think? You figure it out the studios will beat a path to your door.
This is something I'm going top talk about in one of my future essays. The argument they give you now is we can't make "that" kind of movie because people already get those stories on TV for free... but that has been true since TV began, why is it suddenly a problem now?
Excellent observation. Those shows aren't on TV anymore. They made Western movies and Western TV shows. You can call Yellowstone a Western but it really isn't. They do still make them but they are hit and miss, sometimes OK, sometimes not. I think a lot are Direct to Video (DVD). Can't remember the last PI TV show. Simon & Simon? They make cop\buddy movies and those are all over TV. One thing I don't understand is why they didn't make more Easy Rawlins movies. Or why they didn't make any movies of Sue Grafton's mystery series. Seem to be perfect for this era of inclusion far more than what they have been making.
There are great Black characters (and real people) in the west. Look up Stagecoach Mary or Deadwood Dick in the Wiki. In my not so humble opinion they'd be great movies.
I like comics and Superhero movies\TV shows but most of those on TV and now in the movies have gotten really bad. CW basically cancelled all of theirs. Long overdue. The good ones (Again in my not so humble opinion-see above) like Titans. Doom Patrol, Star Girl, just seem to be of a higher quality and you can see it, almost feel it. Don't know why. Writing, production values? A friend who is sort of tangental to the business told me that the early Marvel and to a lesser extent DC movies were made by people who liked the comics, the characters and the stories and who understood them. Then it just became about the money (not that there is anything wrong with that. It's always about the money after all). But it shows eventually. Again in my not so humble opinion.
Interesting that you mention making a Superman movie script via AI. I think a lot of the fuss around Man of Steel was that it had elements to deconstruct and play >against< the tropes that the comics and past movies had introduced.
If a writer got an AI treatment using the tropes and then produced the script for Man of Steel, I wonder if it would have been green lit? Or would it have been canned due to the studio not wanting to pay him for an original?
Good question... no way to know, but part of the reason the WGA is striking is to make sure the studios can't shitcan human generated scripts in the future in order to save money by "hiring" robots.