The Changing World of Movie Viewing Part II

In the first post on this I discussed how actors/actresses are judged by an audience and how a film critic’s views no longer represent the public as much as they do the marketing execs.  They don’t represent the academy, that’s for sure. I will not rehash that here.  I want to discuss another aspect that Hollywood seems to trip  itself over.

Many marketing execs claim that they make films to appeal to teens and ‘tweens because they think that the older audience tends to “stay home”.  The logic is nothing more than a smokescreen to justify how they tend to make a lot of crappy films now.  Why? Because they are marketing the same type of crap to home viewers.  With the exception of a few shows, like “Hardcore Pawn” people are getting really sick of “reality TV“.  The fact of the matter is that many of these shows highlight what is wrong with society rather than what is enjoyable about it.  Some even tend to glamorize behavior that society should never tolerate from anyone for that matter–especially the authorities…For example, take the latest case:  Honey Boo Boo…What parent in their right mind would jeopardize the health of their own child by pumping him/her full of energy drinks and let them gain so much weight just so they can act the way this kid does?  The fact of the matter there is that they feel sorry for the kid and want to kick the parents’ asses, and I think many watch just to see if CPS will knock on their door…

Now back to the point of this post.  IF these execs knew what they were doing, they would market real movies with logical plots and believable story lines AT LEAST to the home viewers since they tell the public that the older audience tends to “stay home”…The bottom line is: They want the kids because they think most have only a two second attention span. Not only is that an insult the entire audience as a whole, but they insulted the entire Academy of Motion pictures with that line of thinking.  Do they really think when deciding for the Oscars that that is the logic of the members of the academy?  Seriously? If so, they should all be fired and replaced.

It seems to me that it is the performers and a handful of  directors and producers who have the real audience and fans in mind.  Both the Academy and the audience want original ideas, innovation, characters that COULD exist, believable story lines and even a little old-fashioned romance from time to time–and even HUMOR–REAL HUMOR–not this crap that always goes back to sexual innuendo either.  The innuendo and such has its place but it should not be on Prime-Time TV. THAT should be reserved for when the kids are in bed.  There is nothing illogical or “archaic” about that.  It is those execs who promote the bull shit that have limited their own potential by buying into their own crappy perception of the world they live in.  IF that were not the case, they wouldn’t be advising stock holders and producers to put money into pictures and TV shows that are not worth a damn.

When shows like “Harry’s Law” and “Memphis Beat” get cancelled, something is definitely wrong.  A network with a wiser CEO should work to get those shows on it.  I’ve got $10 that says with the RIGHT marketing and the RIGHT time slot, those two shows would be runaway hits for investors.

It is also time to stop with the sequels, prequels and remakes (or as some now call them “reboots”) that tend to deviate from original classic shows. NOT one of these has succeeded on TV this year or at the box office.  The only movie doing well in that category this year is “The Expendables 2” because it is a continuation of an ORIGINAL IDEA!   Thank God for Sly Stallone and Dolph Lundgren.  At least those guys have some idea of what an audience really wants…The only other fairly recent film which did well was “Star Trek” (2009).  J. J. Abrams did that one right–regardless of what some think.  He captured the essence of the original characters using new actors and did not deviate from their traits in the least.  That is more than I can say for the  “Dark Shadows” movie that was released this year.  Every reason that movie flopped is in a book written by Tom Laughlin  which you can find here:

http://www.billyjack.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BK9S&Category_Code=BOOKS&Store_Code=BERSERK

And I still say that had the Dark Shadows Revival series went beyond 12 episodes, it would have lasted.  That was one remake that did stick to Dan Curtis’s vision of what he thought his own creation should be.  He always knew what his fans wanted, that’s for sure.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday, everyone! Until next time…

 

Movie Critics are a Waste of Time and Energy…

I have very little respect for most movie critics…Why?  Most of them can’t act themselves, so they resort to slashing other actors with a pen and call themselves “experts” in the entertainment field.  I feel that the critics in the UK are the epitome of what snobbery is. Case in point: “William and Kate”–the Lifetime movie that aired tonight.  Not ONE word was said about bad acting for the most part–but they did slam the filmmakers for casting an American as Kate–and for filming it in L. A. Can anyone say “regional bias” because that is exactly what their writing reflects.  One made up his mind that the hated the movie before he ever watched it–and admitted it in his own review.  Guess what!? All of them were from the U.K.!  These were probably the same type of reporters that trashed Sarah Ferguson and chased Diana into the tunnel in Paris.  Sorry, but they make themselves sound like that.

In my opinion, even a movie that gets panned has good points in it.  Is there any critic really going to argue with me over the fact that Ben Cross probably made Prince Charles look pretty damned good?  Hell, he should be knighted for having the cojones to take that part!   One reviewer even complained because Mr. Cross didn’t “look like” Prince Charles.  You know what?  That one is right! Cross looked a hell of a lot better!  The Prince should be flattered and honored.

I get so sick and tired of these social nematodes that disguise themselves as writers and then try to elevate their status by ranting and raving over a movie when the public doesn’t give a flying rat’s ass what they think.  Why do editors even pay them?  Want to save some money? Fire them all.  The same holds true for music critics.  I know this much, if I were an actor, I wouldn’t even read the damned reviews.  I would probably be of the opinion that as long as I have my fan base and I get paid, I would most likely not give two shits about what some critic thinks.

As for Mr. Cross, he does not short change his fans.  Period!  He has a worldwide fan base and there are many movie watchers who adore his work.  Instead of you critics bitching and moaning all the time–why don’t you look at what the ACTORS and ACTRESSES are doing right and put something positive in those articles?  They wouldn’t find their way into the bird cages (or the litter boxes) so quickly if you did.  Hopefully this will lead to a lot more work for Mr. Cross because he is an actor who has been largely ignored and immensely under-appreciated for at least 3 decades now.  Hollywood! What the hell is wrong with you?  There are not many actors of his caliber left.  I suggest you give him the chance that he so richly deserves. 

This man is definitely long overdue for a few kudos.  He does have range and that is a lot more than I can say for a lot of his younger counterparts at the moment.  I, for one, would love to see him paired up with Matthew McCaughnehey.  Mr. Cross is one actor I will pay for the ticket to go see–not the headliners.  You can bet on that.  He is the only reason I got out to see Star Trek when it came out.  I never was impressed with the shows “Heroes”, “Lost” or the like on TV so I would have never paid to see Zachary Quinto.  Sorry, but that’s the way it is.  Everyday people have different tastes and movie critics fail to see that on a grand scale.  Quinto was great in that movie, by the way.  However, one can rest assured that if Ben Cross was not in that movie, I would have waited for the dvd.  Producers and directors need to pay more attention to the everyday fans instead of these paid crybabies who have nothing better to do than to complain.  It really does get old.

Have a great week folks! I’ll get off of my soapbox now.

Hey Hollywood! Put this guy to work while you can. You don't realize it but his fan base is bigger than you think. He deserves recognition!