Comments on: The End of Hollywood

By: jj smith

jj smith — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:42:07 +0000

Mr. Edelman, your webpage is too smart and interesting for me to believe that you believe that the audience is to blame. “pandering to audience expectations”? That’s the logic of Advertisment, giving the people what they want. But, of course, they don’t want it until you keep offering it to them, and more so when you throw a little blackmail into the mix. And that is what PC is all about, whether found in College text books or Hollywood movies.
In any event, the whole point is that, aside from High definition TV and DVD, Overpriced Directors, Hollywood regulation, and all the rest, so much of the content is simply too mean and unfair to, not just a particular demographic, but Hollywoods largest demographic.
Also, in terms of quality of content; I recently watched 3 movies from ‘79 and ‘80, Breaking Away, My Body Guard, and “A Little Romance”. Arguably 3 of the most endearing films ever made. But afterwards I felt so sad, because it became so obvious how far we’ve fallen. I don’t mean this as some nostalgic lament, but just as an example as to why people have lost their interest in what Hollywood is producing these days.

In February 26th, 2007 at 10:19 am you said,
“I’m betting that we’re going to get better movies in the long run, so I suppose that’s good.”

Of course, I certainly hope you turn out to be right.

By: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 06:02:19 +0000

Thanks, JJ. Now you’re getting in to questions about the quality of the content that Hollywood puts out, which opens a whole ‘nother six-pack of worms.

Honestly, I don’t see political correctness as any more drastic of a problem than any other in terms of what Hollywood is producing. It’s all a question of pandering to audience expectations.

By: jj smith

jj smith — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 05:39:23 +0000

Nice article. One BIG point you did not mention, though you touched on it briefly in the beginning (”I could predict about every award based on the politics “) is Political Correctness. It reached the Orwellian stage a long time ago and most people are sick of it. But of course PC is set up, not so that you won’t notice (that was the approach before), but so that you know you will be demonized if you say anything about it. In short it has alienated possibly its largest demographic, white males, particularly gentiles. What is the point of getting dressed to go out, pay a lot of money, and sit in a crowded theatre to have your way of life insulted by a bunch of spoiled brats; while at the same time receiving what amounts to a high-tech lecture from people who confuse their material success with being morally and intellectually superior to everyone else. I’d say that qualifies as a major factor in people losing interest.

By: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:13:16 +0000

Kendall: There is a screenplay version of Infoquake floating around out there, and although it’s been in front of a few big names, I’m not holding my breath. I can’t imagine anyone buying the film rights until the series is complete, and even then I wonder how you could possibly get the book onto the screen without adding some major Hollywood bullshit. But hey, I’m more than willing to give up creative control if they’ll just write me that check. Hell, they can cast Will Smith as Natch and do a Burger King tie-in promotion for all I care.

By: kendall

kendall — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 07:41:33 +0000

So David, who is working on the screenplay for Infoquake? I’m about 4/5 into your book right now and it would make a decent movie. Sure, there are a lot of opportunities for cool visuals. But it’s the characters who will make the story come alive on screen. Surely your agent must already be peppering you with offers to buy the rights. The trick in my experience is to find a producer/director who is passionate about making the story come alive on screen — and then turn your back and close your eyes and try like hell not to get involved. That’s not easy, giving up creative control, but dude you have two more books to finish and a movie will totally consume you if you’re not careful.

By: tommyspoon

tommyspoon — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:46:25 +0000

Speaking as an actor, and one who has had a teeny bit of exposure to the ‘biz, I can say that Dave is right on the money in terms of the road that Hollywood is heading down. But I think that the Oscars have a bit more then 15 years in them. (I’ll give them 25 if they keep doing what they’re doing now. Because it’s still a great show, and people love great shows.) One thing can save the Oscars in this country: shift the schedule. Have it begin at 4PM EST on a Sunday. Nobody will care about how long it is then!

The entertainment future isn’t the PC. It’s Tivo. It’s OnDemand. People are tired of having their entertainment dictated to them. They want what they want when they want it, not when some programming executive tells them they can have it. Look for more “Bubble”s in the future.

As an actor, the opportunities for work are only going to get better. True, the big stars may not pull down the big bucs, but there are all kinds of young talented people in this country that will work for next to nothing. And some of them might actually be good! The unions will have to change their ways because they will lose membership. I can tell you right now that you have more opportunites for work as a non-union performer in the Baltimore-Washington area then you do as a union actor. They may not pay as well, but they are greater in number.

By: goldengod » Goldengod Weekly Roundup: Sleepy Edition

goldengod » Goldengod Weekly Roundup: Sleepy Edition — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:20:55 +0000

[...] The End of Hollywood - David Louis Edelman looks at why the Hollywood movie industry is dying and what they can do to turn the whole thing around. [...]

By: Andrew Ferguson

Andrew Ferguson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:39:59 +0000

@David:

You’re completely right, it works amazingly for “American Idol” and “Dancing With the Stars”. I remember that originally caught me be complete surprise when it succeeded.

However it is a ‘contest’ format kind of show. Movies follow more of a story format. I guess the best I can say is that personally, I would be opposed to that level of interactivity in film.

I’m a bit of a hypocrite on that though, because I’m involved with a collaborative film project called A Swarm of Angels.

Yeah IMAX tech is insane right now. It’s mostly because filming has to be done on 70mm film instead of the standard 35mm. It’s very specialized equipment.

By: » Links for 27-02-2007 » Velcro City Tourist Board » Blog Archive

» Links for 27-02-2007 » Velcro City Tourist Board » Blog Archive — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:35:25 +0000

[...] - The End of Hollywood “They’re growing less and less relevant, and it’s only a matter of time before they [...]

By: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:52:16 +0000

Thanks for that, Andrew. You might be right re interactivity… don’t really know. But I thought, well, it works for “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars,” maybe someone can figure out a way to make it work for the cinema too. It wouldn’t lure me out to see “A Night at the Museum,” but then again, it might lure the kinds of people who watch “American Idol.”

As for IMAX, I suppose theoretically the prices would go down if there were more IMAX theaters around. I remember reading somewhere that the IMAX filmmaking process is prohibitively expensive right now — you have to use these massive, unwieldy cameras that can only film 30 seconds at a time, or something like that. But I have faith in the march of technology.