My High Horse
During my lunch today, I was talking back on Ain't it Cool News about my love of J.J. Abrams and my excitement for the upcoming Star Trek movie, and a rant on the glut of adaptations in genre cinema, and the lack of original content, boiled up in my throat and splattered forth. Because these kinds of diatribes are why I post this blog to begin with, I'll repost it here:
All I wish...
...is that the studios would grow a pair when it comes to original genre content, and bankroll some non-adaptations. Industries like film aren't about mitigating or nullifying risk, they're about taking the right risks. I'll keep ponying up for stuff like Chronicles of Riddick, Sky Captain, and flawed-but-great movies like Sunshine, just to see you guys trying new things. Franchises like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and the Matrix don't make themselves, gang. As someone coming up through the world of independent film, I can tell you that the more conservative and manufacture-minded you become with the creation of media, culture, and story, the more star systems will slip through your fingers...
Fer crying out loud...
...so much of the stuff folks are adapting today was inspired, spurred into success, or at least helped along by Indiana and Star Wars, the creative genepool is recycling itself into clone-like homogeny. Believe me guys, I'm working every day to put my money where my mouth is - I'm writing up a storm, and am working in film finance towards the point when I can start producing and directing with the right kind of autonomy. I should be grateful, right? Doesn't this all mean more marketshare for someone with an original vision? At the same time, I love movies. I love going to movies. I love being inspired. I love discovering the things that come from within the folks who work in this industry. I loved Iron Man as much as the next guy. Loved it. At the same time, film can do so much more than bring the ideas of other media to life. It's true - many of the greatest films of all time were literary adaptations, and when Hollywood strays from that model, it tends to bein the name of populist entertainment. Now, it's time for our industry to grow up, learn what worked in those adaptations - from 2001 to No Country for Old Men - and use the conventions and techniques we've picked up to tell stories that are uniquely cinematic. Especially with streams of financing capital outside the business drying up, it's time for us to rely on the things we do best, and to be more selective in our productions. Now is the time for Hollywood to finally come into it's own, creatively.
Truly, anonymity is the enemy of good writing. If I had posted that here before posting it on AICN, I probably would have taken the time to find a more sophisticated, just as colorful way to express myself. Because nobody knew my name, I went straight for the cojones analogies. Integrity demands that I fess up, and my sloppiness certainly serves as an interesting sidenote in a conversation about the evolution of media.
All I wish...
...is that the studios would grow a pair when it comes to original genre content, and bankroll some non-adaptations. Industries like film aren't about mitigating or nullifying risk, they're about taking the right risks. I'll keep ponying up for stuff like Chronicles of Riddick, Sky Captain, and flawed-but-great movies like Sunshine, just to see you guys trying new things. Franchises like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and the Matrix don't make themselves, gang. As someone coming up through the world of independent film, I can tell you that the more conservative and manufacture-minded you become with the creation of media, culture, and story, the more star systems will slip through your fingers...
Fer crying out loud...
...so much of the stuff folks are adapting today was inspired, spurred into success, or at least helped along by Indiana and Star Wars, the creative genepool is recycling itself into clone-like homogeny. Believe me guys, I'm working every day to put my money where my mouth is - I'm writing up a storm, and am working in film finance towards the point when I can start producing and directing with the right kind of autonomy. I should be grateful, right? Doesn't this all mean more marketshare for someone with an original vision? At the same time, I love movies. I love going to movies. I love being inspired. I love discovering the things that come from within the folks who work in this industry. I loved Iron Man as much as the next guy. Loved it. At the same time, film can do so much more than bring the ideas of other media to life. It's true - many of the greatest films of all time were literary adaptations, and when Hollywood strays from that model, it tends to bein the name of populist entertainment. Now, it's time for our industry to grow up, learn what worked in those adaptations - from 2001 to No Country for Old Men - and use the conventions and techniques we've picked up to tell stories that are uniquely cinematic. Especially with streams of financing capital outside the business drying up, it's time for us to rely on the things we do best, and to be more selective in our productions. Now is the time for Hollywood to finally come into it's own, creatively.
Truly, anonymity is the enemy of good writing. If I had posted that here before posting it on AICN, I probably would have taken the time to find a more sophisticated, just as colorful way to express myself. Because nobody knew my name, I went straight for the cojones analogies. Integrity demands that I fess up, and my sloppiness certainly serves as an interesting sidenote in a conversation about the evolution of media.
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