Blockbusters

Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general are rather lazy.  They spew out the same things over and over, so much so that any little variation from the norm attracts big attention.  But why do they do it?

Simple.  If it worked in the past it’ll work again.

Take the blockbuster film for example.  It’s meant to be a giant hit, brought about by high publicity and high costs, meaning big stars and elaborate sets.  This started in the 50’s, when the film industry suddenly found it was being challenged by television.  Only big spectacular productions could lure people out of their living rooms and into the theater.

Come the 1980’s, blockbusters were still big productions, complete with a larger advertising budget, huge opening weekend and franchise-friendly characters to increase revenue.  They were also typically action-adventure films and special effects-oriented.  Hmm, doesn’t seem like anything has changed does it?

Blame Superman.

Released in 1977 it pretty much set up the requirements for the  popcorn blockbuster. Special effects, action, and a large cast of relatively well known actors. It also made more money in non-U.S. box offices than it did here.  It essentially opened Hollywood’s eyes to the worldwide appeal of the superhero.

And since it worked once, what was to stop it from working a second time? Or a third?  Enter a long line of superhero movies that continue to persist even today.  They all hope to make money, and all follow the same recipe for instant blockbuster, but not all make it.

We all know about about Tim Burton’s Batman, but how many of you heard about the movie version of The Punisher (1989) or The Crow (1994)?  And we all can recall how great that 2003 version of the Hulk turned out.

And yet these movies continue to be made becuase when they do well, they do really well.  The turn around, if temporarily, of a stale box office in the mid 200o’s is credited to the release of the Fantastic Four in 2005 and X-Men 3 in 2006.

Anyone else getting tired of this formula?  I mean, it has produced some decent flicks, but I do like variety.  Apparently so does the Academy, since a superhero movie has never won Best Picture.  Times change and maybe the formula for making movies should reflect that.

And maybe we’ld get more variety of TV shows too. How many different crime solving shows are on the air now?  Never mind, I don’t want to know the exact number.

Your indie movie loving blogger,

Jenny