As Hollywood watches, the superhero movies at the box office are struggling to make as much as they did before. I wanted to turn back the clock to an older interview that I think perfectly summarizes where we are today. Director James Gray, the guy behind such movies as Ad Astra, Two Lovers, and We Own the Night, gave an interesting interview right around the time his movie Armageddon Time came out about the current state of Hollywood. He delivered a stark diagnosis of the film industry and argued that for cinema to survive and thrive, major studios must do something that would make any MBA graduate shudder: they must be willing to lose money.Let's dive in. Director James Gray on Hollywood's Superhero Issues I was able to find this conversation on YouTube, so I wanted to show it in full here. At the start of it, Gray asserts that Hollywood has made a "critical mistake" by reducing filmmaking to a simple balance sheet equation. "This film did not make a ton of money, thus we don't make that film," he explained. "This film will make a ton of money, thus we make that one." While this seems like common sense, Gray posits that this singular focus is precisely what's killing the art form's relevance.It's pulling apart art and commerce in favor of just commerce, and we're left with soulless movies and TV shows. The focus then on superheroes or tentpoles above all else leads to a monoculture. The diversity of...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Monday, 4 August