Your Excellency, content is important. I'm like Schlicter, don't know what's there. But I watched Foul Play on TCM last night and Goldie Hawn went to the movies and tickets were $2.50. In High school at the time and I can remember taking my sweetheart to the movies, gassing up the old Cutlass and getting popcorn for $20 (in Westwood when it was cool) We used to be able to go to the movies simply to get out out the heat here in the Valley. No more. Over $50 to go to a bad movie! And we're like you. Love movies. Rare we ever walked out. So a return to the days of the depression when everyday people could escape their dreary lives for a quarter could go a long way to get people in the seats.
Speaking of seats. I don't need a Lazy boy and room service. Simply, "The Apartment," "Sabrina", "The Cowboys", or "Foul Play."
Some good stuff here. And, I have seen some of the original movies you listed, but only on download. Ever since Covid I'm just out the habit of going to the theatre. But I have gone a few time in the last quarter. Also, The Fall Guy was an 80's show, 1981-1986, not a 70's show.
I'm actually more in the mood lately. I think I'm ready to be a regular movie goer again, if Hollywood would just put out some more movies worth seeing. And, one problem is that Hollywood has killed its midlist. What happened to the 30 million dollar comedies and character driven movies that we used to get? Now it seems we only get the big tent poll blockbusters. I get that it is a matter of rising costs and declining viewership, but Hollywood is going to have to start risking stuff again. We need more movies to go to the theatres before they hit Netflix.
Totally agree, Hollywood is paralyzed. I think I mentioned the snarky comment I got about my "faith-based" story that was a retelling of Dr. Faustus story! And don't the studios send out memos about what kind of stories they are looking for? Can't remember what they call them.
Those few executives you talked to are the first signs of breaking out of a failed biz model tho. They want to make great movies and a living too. And even I, movie lover, mistrust Hollywood movies so deeply I don't even go. I assume they will all be woke, with stupid violence and kinky sex thrown in.
You know who saved us last year? Japan. Godzilla Minus One and Shogun, beautiful gripping classical cinema.
Yeah and I have a lot more stories like that... those stories were just the ones that happened over the last two weeks. The problem is that the executive ranks have to reasert control over the creatives, who have been running amok for 8 years,
Will do, George. Love the movies - go to the theater every Tuesday night with my husband and BFF. We try to see the independent movies (they aren't always around long enough). Obviously a few bad apples don't contaminate a whole story-telling industry! It's silly of people not to see that. Have faith. We love the movies and never fail to go to the theater on Tuesdays unless there truly is nothing (in our opinion) worth seeing.
Thank you for this article and frankly all of your work here, GMFW.
Whomever the studio executives are seeking to find content may wish to find conservative friends and follow them on Goodreads to discover inspirational material. Another good source of inspiration for films could be places like the Ace of Spades HQ Sunday Morning Book Thread. If the studios figure out what we're reading, there's a good chance some of it will be adaptable to film.
However, please encourage the studio execs to not bother if they're going to pick up stories that we love and "Adapt" them by converting the characters, dialog, and plot "For 'modern audiences'," to continue using current-day parlance.
The studios are going to have to work VERY hard to convince me that my dollars are better spent on their brand of visual entertainment than on books, games, or the myriad online learning platforms available.
I stumbled on to your substack and have enjoyed reading it.
The problemI see is that for mellennia "entertainers" existed at the margins of society/culture, and were perhaps shunned socially, but rewarded in other ways (financially usually) when they pleased enough people.
Then movies were invented. This got people hered into theaters where everyone saw exactly the same performance. Again, the ones that pleased the most audience were rewarded, but most of the money went to the "organizations" that made the movies, not to the performers.
Then some actors amd actresses became well-known enough that they were considered "stars" and audience would come to see pretty much anything they appeared in. But "entertainers" mostly still came from the edges of society, so the organizations (Studios) went to great lengths to make them seem "normal but gifted" and with a wealthier but not weirder lifestyle than their "fans".
That eventually morthed into a giant blob called "the Entertainment Industry" but the blob had lost control (due to technological advances) of presenting the performers.
Anyway, today "The Biz" has all the bad parts of previous incarnations and few of the good parts, and the Blob is now in trouble.
If the Blob wants to get the movie part of the industry to return to its former place it will have to have to take control from those 'players' who are on the edges of society and remake the industry so that it is much more attractive to the "normies". Good luck in that attempt.
Thanks Jorg, it's been great having you here. Always enjoy seeing you check in. The creatives are definitely a problem because they are the most radically progressive people in town and they are determined to use their "art" to speak truth to power... or whatever. I actually wrote about the problem learlier this year in a piece I called "Hollywood's Coffin Corner." https://thecontinentalcongress.substack.com/p/hollywoods-coffin-corner
I suspect true creative types (and I'm certainly not one) will probably always be "testing the boundaries." But that is not a sustainable kind of business.
A large sustainable business like the movie business (from say the 1920s to thw qlmost 2020s) that attracts lots of ordinary customers and their money also provides some 'excess' to allow the margins to be explored. But you mustn't let those "explorers" run the business any more than you should let the bean counters.
Testing the boundaries is a great way to find new good stuff, but I doubt if it even follows Sturgeon's Law (90% of everything is crap). It's closer to 98% crap I think, so don't put 50% of your resources into something that 98% likely to be utter crap.
Anyway, as much as I may personally hate it (I'm a deviant in my own way), in the entertainment business in general you simply must avoid letting the "creatives" wildly spend your resources.
I hope the movie business has learned this, but I'm not sanguine.
Yeah creatives are indispensable (obviously) but they need guardrails. This is one of the reasons Studios are so reluctant to give directors “Final Cut.”
Excellent essay as usual, MFW. As a Category 2 person I will say that the problem isn't necessarily original versus IP content as it is writing. Movies aren't special anymore because they are not particularly well written. They may be quirky and have interesting characters or may have unique premises and unexpected twists. But they aren't particularly well written stories. I want to see stories with memorable characters animated by excellent writing and brought to life by excellent directors. That doesn't happen anymore. None of the original movies on your list were particularly attractive, although some might have been fine, none were a Fight Club. As for the reboots or sequels, none were a Wrath of Khan.
You really can't blame the audience for bland writing and uninspired direction. I think the problem is
Category 1: Writers pull their creative punches because they are afraid of the environment in which they are making movies and therefore don't produce anything outside of what's expected.
Category 2: Kids these days.
UPDATE: I'll just add that you should pick your hill. I'm not going to see Gladiator 2 because Ridley Scott has failed me for the last time. I loved The Duellists, so I've been with Ridley for a long time. I thought Alien was better than Aliens. He was right about his theatrical cut of Bladerunner. But Prometheus and Alien: Covenant undermined his own brilliant creation. Napoleon was a laughable abomination. Why should I trust him not to ruin the perfection that was Gladiator?
By the way, I saw all of these in the theater, except for the Duellists. That was on the 4:30 movie after school ;)
George, I agree, my wife and I are retired, both in our early 70s, we love the movie experience. Here are the movies we've seen, all at big screen theaters, afternoon matinees; Here (got a bum rap in our view), Twisters, Fly Me to the Moon, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 (what was Kevin thinking), IF (great!) The Fall Guy (fun), The Minestry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Wicked Little Letters, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Argylle, Anyone But You. That was just this year. Pevious years Tops Gun, Elvis, Mission Impossible, Ticket to Paradise, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, on and on. My point is all anyone has to do to get butts in seats in the theaters is like you said is come up with some decent stories. It's not that freaking hard!
I haven't gone to the movies in years, and my phone number starts with 310. If I ever see another Hollywood-made motion picture it will be because someone I trust highly recommends it. Frankly, I don't want to support leftists, and would prefer to see them bankrupt. Perhaps someone should tell them to shut up.
That's a good idea, and one of the things I realized writing this is that I have a responsibility too. If I'm going to ask you guys to go see the movies, I should spend some time telling you what's out there and worth your time.
Agreed. My bride and I stopped going after Star Wars and MCU were ruined. We didn't even know about any of those films you listed from this past summer. We will definitely give Gladiator 2 a look.
I'm glad you brought that up... marketing has really fallen down n the job over the last few years. The studio marketing departments have done a terrible job of letting the audience know what's out there. I think they are struggling to figure out how to reach moviegoers in this weird new digital world we live in and haven't been able to figure out how to do it effectively.
I would also recommend RED ONE... I haven't seen it and can't vouch for its quality but it's the kind of big silly fun studio action-comedy we used to get in theaters all the time.
Your Excellency, content is important. I'm like Schlicter, don't know what's there. But I watched Foul Play on TCM last night and Goldie Hawn went to the movies and tickets were $2.50. In High school at the time and I can remember taking my sweetheart to the movies, gassing up the old Cutlass and getting popcorn for $20 (in Westwood when it was cool) We used to be able to go to the movies simply to get out out the heat here in the Valley. No more. Over $50 to go to a bad movie! And we're like you. Love movies. Rare we ever walked out. So a return to the days of the depression when everyday people could escape their dreary lives for a quarter could go a long way to get people in the seats.
Speaking of seats. I don't need a Lazy boy and room service. Simply, "The Apartment," "Sabrina", "The Cowboys", or "Foul Play."
Sorry. You hit a nerve. Thanks.
Some good stuff here. And, I have seen some of the original movies you listed, but only on download. Ever since Covid I'm just out the habit of going to the theatre. But I have gone a few time in the last quarter. Also, The Fall Guy was an 80's show, 1981-1986, not a 70's show.
Right, my mistake. Will fix, thanks. Appreciate the kind words… maybe we can fix Hollywood enough to get you back in the theater.
I'm actually more in the mood lately. I think I'm ready to be a regular movie goer again, if Hollywood would just put out some more movies worth seeing. And, one problem is that Hollywood has killed its midlist. What happened to the 30 million dollar comedies and character driven movies that we used to get? Now it seems we only get the big tent poll blockbusters. I get that it is a matter of rising costs and declining viewership, but Hollywood is going to have to start risking stuff again. We need more movies to go to the theatres before they hit Netflix.
Totally agree, Hollywood is paralyzed. I think I mentioned the snarky comment I got about my "faith-based" story that was a retelling of Dr. Faustus story! And don't the studios send out memos about what kind of stories they are looking for? Can't remember what they call them.
Those few executives you talked to are the first signs of breaking out of a failed biz model tho. They want to make great movies and a living too. And even I, movie lover, mistrust Hollywood movies so deeply I don't even go. I assume they will all be woke, with stupid violence and kinky sex thrown in.
You know who saved us last year? Japan. Godzilla Minus One and Shogun, beautiful gripping classical cinema.
Yeah and I have a lot more stories like that... those stories were just the ones that happened over the last two weeks. The problem is that the executive ranks have to reasert control over the creatives, who have been running amok for 8 years,
Will do, George. Love the movies - go to the theater every Tuesday night with my husband and BFF. We try to see the independent movies (they aren't always around long enough). Obviously a few bad apples don't contaminate a whole story-telling industry! It's silly of people not to see that. Have faith. We love the movies and never fail to go to the theater on Tuesdays unless there truly is nothing (in our opinion) worth seeing.
Thanks Betsy! Appreciate you!
GMFW
Movies I think are nearly perfect include Casablanca, The Godfather (I & II) and Captain America. Make me some of these, please and thank you…
on it!
Thank you for this article and frankly all of your work here, GMFW.
Whomever the studio executives are seeking to find content may wish to find conservative friends and follow them on Goodreads to discover inspirational material. Another good source of inspiration for films could be places like the Ace of Spades HQ Sunday Morning Book Thread. If the studios figure out what we're reading, there's a good chance some of it will be adaptable to film.
However, please encourage the studio execs to not bother if they're going to pick up stories that we love and "Adapt" them by converting the characters, dialog, and plot "For 'modern audiences'," to continue using current-day parlance.
The studios are going to have to work VERY hard to convince me that my dollars are better spent on their brand of visual entertainment than on books, games, or the myriad online learning platforms available.
I hope they will make the attempt.
Thanks! That's a good idea. I'm going to pay closer attention to that feature over at Ace's blog.
Also, I really appreciate the kind words... you never really know if people are digging what you're doing.
I stumbled on to your substack and have enjoyed reading it.
The problemI see is that for mellennia "entertainers" existed at the margins of society/culture, and were perhaps shunned socially, but rewarded in other ways (financially usually) when they pleased enough people.
Then movies were invented. This got people hered into theaters where everyone saw exactly the same performance. Again, the ones that pleased the most audience were rewarded, but most of the money went to the "organizations" that made the movies, not to the performers.
Then some actors amd actresses became well-known enough that they were considered "stars" and audience would come to see pretty much anything they appeared in. But "entertainers" mostly still came from the edges of society, so the organizations (Studios) went to great lengths to make them seem "normal but gifted" and with a wealthier but not weirder lifestyle than their "fans".
That eventually morthed into a giant blob called "the Entertainment Industry" but the blob had lost control (due to technological advances) of presenting the performers.
Anyway, today "The Biz" has all the bad parts of previous incarnations and few of the good parts, and the Blob is now in trouble.
If the Blob wants to get the movie part of the industry to return to its former place it will have to have to take control from those 'players' who are on the edges of society and remake the industry so that it is much more attractive to the "normies". Good luck in that attempt.
Thanks Jorg, it's been great having you here. Always enjoy seeing you check in. The creatives are definitely a problem because they are the most radically progressive people in town and they are determined to use their "art" to speak truth to power... or whatever. I actually wrote about the problem learlier this year in a piece I called "Hollywood's Coffin Corner." https://thecontinentalcongress.substack.com/p/hollywoods-coffin-corner
I suspect true creative types (and I'm certainly not one) will probably always be "testing the boundaries." But that is not a sustainable kind of business.
A large sustainable business like the movie business (from say the 1920s to thw qlmost 2020s) that attracts lots of ordinary customers and their money also provides some 'excess' to allow the margins to be explored. But you mustn't let those "explorers" run the business any more than you should let the bean counters.
Testing the boundaries is a great way to find new good stuff, but I doubt if it even follows Sturgeon's Law (90% of everything is crap). It's closer to 98% crap I think, so don't put 50% of your resources into something that 98% likely to be utter crap.
Anyway, as much as I may personally hate it (I'm a deviant in my own way), in the entertainment business in general you simply must avoid letting the "creatives" wildly spend your resources.
I hope the movie business has learned this, but I'm not sanguine.
Yeah creatives are indispensable (obviously) but they need guardrails. This is one of the reasons Studios are so reluctant to give directors “Final Cut.”
Excellent essay as usual, MFW. As a Category 2 person I will say that the problem isn't necessarily original versus IP content as it is writing. Movies aren't special anymore because they are not particularly well written. They may be quirky and have interesting characters or may have unique premises and unexpected twists. But they aren't particularly well written stories. I want to see stories with memorable characters animated by excellent writing and brought to life by excellent directors. That doesn't happen anymore. None of the original movies on your list were particularly attractive, although some might have been fine, none were a Fight Club. As for the reboots or sequels, none were a Wrath of Khan.
You really can't blame the audience for bland writing and uninspired direction. I think the problem is
Category 1: Writers pull their creative punches because they are afraid of the environment in which they are making movies and therefore don't produce anything outside of what's expected.
Category 2: Kids these days.
UPDATE: I'll just add that you should pick your hill. I'm not going to see Gladiator 2 because Ridley Scott has failed me for the last time. I loved The Duellists, so I've been with Ridley for a long time. I thought Alien was better than Aliens. He was right about his theatrical cut of Bladerunner. But Prometheus and Alien: Covenant undermined his own brilliant creation. Napoleon was a laughable abomination. Why should I trust him not to ruin the perfection that was Gladiator?
By the way, I saw all of these in the theater, except for the Duellists. That was on the 4:30 movie after school ;)
George, I agree, my wife and I are retired, both in our early 70s, we love the movie experience. Here are the movies we've seen, all at big screen theaters, afternoon matinees; Here (got a bum rap in our view), Twisters, Fly Me to the Moon, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 (what was Kevin thinking), IF (great!) The Fall Guy (fun), The Minestry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Wicked Little Letters, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Argylle, Anyone But You. That was just this year. Pevious years Tops Gun, Elvis, Mission Impossible, Ticket to Paradise, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, on and on. My point is all anyone has to do to get butts in seats in the theaters is like you said is come up with some decent stories. It's not that freaking hard!
Wow, Dan, that's awesome... you guys are definitely not the problem!
Thanks for reading and commenting... I love interacting with y'all.
I haven't gone to the movies in years, and my phone number starts with 310. If I ever see another Hollywood-made motion picture it will be because someone I trust highly recommends it. Frankly, I don't want to support leftists, and would prefer to see them bankrupt. Perhaps someone should tell them to shut up.
Well… assuming you are not permanently lost to category 1, I hope you’ll think of me as a trusted source.
You should post a thumbnail post of new movies you recommend.
That's a good idea, and one of the things I realized writing this is that I have a responsibility too. If I'm going to ask you guys to go see the movies, I should spend some time telling you what's out there and worth your time.
Agreed. My bride and I stopped going after Star Wars and MCU were ruined. We didn't even know about any of those films you listed from this past summer. We will definitely give Gladiator 2 a look.
I'm glad you brought that up... marketing has really fallen down n the job over the last few years. The studio marketing departments have done a terrible job of letting the audience know what's out there. I think they are struggling to figure out how to reach moviegoers in this weird new digital world we live in and haven't been able to figure out how to do it effectively.
I would also recommend RED ONE... I haven't seen it and can't vouch for its quality but it's the kind of big silly fun studio action-comedy we used to get in theaters all the time.