'Cash cow' movie making - the way great movies die!

Unfortunately, the entire movie industry IS about money, and it has to be. It takes an incredible amount to make a movie, right?

In the end, all we can really hope for is that amongst the money-grabbing there's some respect for the product and fanbase.

@BM

lol I love the way you put it. But damn right you are!

Distribution costs killed the great classic movie. To make a movie does not cost anyway near what the costs of getting a distribution deal are. The movie industry is of course all about money, but small independent film makers who produce high quality, low budget films just cannot get a foot in the door through the extortionate costs of just getting the product to market.

Cash cow movie making certainly does not help, but does all that revenue go into getting smaller unknown film makers and performers off the ground? Movie making needs to be taken out of the hands of accountants, who imo are the ones dictation the artistic direction of creative fiscal management at the expense of creating future returns from future generations of talent.

There has been too much time and money spent by marketers thinking outside the box, instead of putting their efforts into what’s inside the box in the first place. It is impossible to polish a turd, and the most predominant sign of insanity is trying to constantly repeat the exercise by looking at new state of the art polishing technology.

The good news is that there is good more independent stuff out there but it is a bit tougher to find. Ex Machina comes to mind. Never would have heard of it unless someone mentioned it on the forum.

Hmmm...

With all this modern tech, there's got to be a way of putting something together that can give smaller films and filmmakers the exposure they need without massive costs or getting squelched by Big Studios...

Blackwinter-witch I think some independent movies do get more funding when they make the rounds at things like Sundance and such- as best as I can tell. Others may not have huge budgets but the funds are wisely used and the story is the main thing. This includes movies outside of sci fi too.

dk

I agree, and just to clarify my perspective I am looking at Independent Filmmaking as a Whole. There's some truly great works out there across various genres from Indie filmmakers and I won't deny that just because i'm a nerdgirl :D

I'm gonna give this some thought, Sundance is a 'starting point' for me...there's more that can be done, right?

BWW- I know stuff is out there! I have seen tons of indie mini movies- sci fi and horror that have good story, acting and production. They might only be 15 minutes long, but they pack a punch! For a very basic example, try youtube and look up a little horror short called Don't Move:

Here it is if interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9jd6lyGvMI

Blackwinter-witch This is not indie but short and to the point with only two characters and a complete story in less than ten minutes- just for you! Sometimes I think we think in terms of long movies and I support that- but sometimes minimal makes the best stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoQ6ZC8EUQ0

dk

EXCELLENT examples!! Also, really good short-story vids!! I particularly liked 'I, Newton', he makes a really memorable character no matter what it is. R.I.P. Ron Glass.

Blackwinter-witch Ron Glass was awesome. I loved him in Barney Miller. I thought you might like that one- a scientist/mathematics/professor type using logic and creativity against the Devil.

I would like to watch a feature length movie of short stories in this vein.

dk

I very much enjoyed that story, it was clever, well-written and great cast!!
I still can't believe Ron Glass is actually gone!

Agreed on the movie-length anthology idea!

Blackwinter-witch I am not a writer, but I wonder if it might be more challenging to write a story/film with a 15 minute time limit. It seems the writing would have to really have to focus on trimming fat and such and cutting to the chase while giving a complete story like I of Newton did.

On a cynical note- it might be best since we generally seem to have shorter attention spans these days.

Sequels, prequels, remakes, etc. are where the money is.  With movie theaters becoming less popular, studios are betting on a "sure thing".  But independent content is becoming more accessible and popular than ever.  So I don't think the state of the film industry has killed the classic movie... the classic movies just come from different sources.  As long as there are people who have a love for films as an art form, I think things will be fine.  

DirtWolf I have noticed a similar shift in the music industry except it happened sooner. Pop always seems to still do fine but other things like metal don't get the big label support like they used to. The audience s still there though.

For movies- I like a lot of the short indie stuff- they aren't beholded to a big company so they take chances. I can appreciate both sides though.

dk

I like how you think and maybe it will create a new genre of movie...a trend of basically 'Espresso Shot' movies: Short, but complete and Intense.
They'd be ideal for Indie filmmakers, and allow experimental steps to be taken, even by the big studios without fear of big financial loss.

@dk
Thrash metal was "edgy" back then, but it was revolutionary so it gained a huge fanbase.  Metal has divided into so many sub genres and some of them seem to be too obscure for mass appeal.  But although the fanbase is smaller, it is also loyal, and indie metal labels can still be quite lucrative.  Rise records for example.  And Alternative Press magazine promotes a lot of these bands and is a great example of how a subset of music can basically create its own ecosystem.  So if you're a "big" band in that scene, you're not necessarily big like an artist you hear on FM radio, but still big enough to have a lot of fans and make a living.  And then you have your exceptions like Lamb of God, who are freakishly popular.  I do love some metal but I've always been more into hardcore, which has never been really popular, besides bands like Black Flag back when hardcore became its own thing.  

Honestly it's hard to tell if a film is classic when you first see it. They're usually not considered classic until years later. There are times when you see an amazing movie and you know it's going to be one that people talk about years later, but that is rare.

Think about the sci fi films we consider classics. Those are once in a decade kind of films. And most of the old classics were pretty mainstream movies by mostly mainstream studios. Alien - Fox. 2001 a space odyssey - MGM. Blade Runner - Warner Bros... Now there are more studios getting a piece of the pie. There's just more content out there. And with bigger studios taking less risks, the market is saturated. So more movies in a saturated market means more bad movies, or at least more bland movies. So the classic film, a rare gem already, is becoming more rare. So in that sense, I do think you're less likely to have that experience at a movie theater, but that doesn't mean it's dead, just more rare.

And as I said before, that opens up the possibility of finding great films elsewhere. The films that have changed my life the most have been viewed on my TV at home. I didn't get to experience Alien or 2001 in a theater, but they still impacted me nonetheless. Is it that edge of your seat kind of feeling you get at a theater? Not really. But in a way it's more intimate. So yeah, I think a good film will impact you no matter how you view it. And I don't think there will ever be a shortage of talented people who want to tell a great story through film.