Talking about why modern storytelling Hollywood films aren’t good….
the issue of Star Wars goes beyond kathleen kennedy and is a plague on the entire movie industry. Marvel, for better or worse, are the only ones that got it right, once. I doubt the next phase will work as well, but who knows.
But studios drool over intellectual property, without wanting to re-invest into it.Alien is a fantastic example. Star Wars even better.
Studio execs sit on IP like it’s just shit lying around the office and say “use that”… “Do” a Die Hard, do a Superman, do a King Kong, and take the money that is left on the table by not using the IP we already own.
But they *DO NOT* workshop the devil out of that content, creating proper complex stories, and arcs, that last in a comprehensive way across movies and sub IP (ie other stories, other superheroes, other characters within the universe). So they want the money off the IP, but they won’t spend money on the IP to make it better because they think there’s already an inherent kinetic value to the IP that they can profit off of, so why reinvest more money in something that can already make money without it?
And that’s why we have the greatest technology of all time, and the most fan service loyal directors who are both competent and loving in their craft (like true fans of film), which both amount to Chris Farley taking a dump in a box and marking it guaranteed.
These people are so blinded by short term money hunger that they don’t realize the return on investment of another $100M into the multi-movie story arc at the front end of production would net them an extra $1Billion over a few films. If you could have wrestled Alien out of Scott’s hands, you would have a decade long mentality instead of a busted up 2 movie arc.
And then you have to go back to Kennedy, and compare to someone like Feige. Kennedy hired Johnson who made arguably one of the most “every frame is art” beautiful films, and it’s hollow and empty junk food you forget after two seconds because there’s literally no reason to care about it. It was truly glorious, and when I see stills, or this scene…. I’ve got chills running down my spine. https://youtu.be/Z2amzvpfA8U?t=58 <— that might be the most visually beautiful moment in the entire SW universe.
But none of it mattered because it wasn’t a story or narrative or fairytale because all it ever was was simply intellectual property.
Over at Marvel, Feige watched a Paintball episode of Community and had the vision to know “these guys will direct the largest grossing films in movie history”, and took some massive calculated risks that almost no studio would allow or consider. Simply, the formula is “Intellectual Property + make it pretty + decent actors = $$$$” and don’t mess with the formula. And frankly the studios have every right to worry about non IP projects because a few flops can seriously hurt a production house for a few years. It makes it so the IP funds the smaller art, and they’re so risk averse they’re not doing nearly as much of the art, and too frightened about their bottom line in regards to spending dough on IP, or possibly mucking it up.
Hence IP destroys anything we loved, but we’ll still suck it all up because we’re a culture of vacuous Hoovers suctioning up anything that might give us a fleeting sense of joy. I am so angry about this. LOL
