Comments on: The End of Hollywood

By: cpascal

cpascal — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:51:04 +0000

I think that the “end” of Hollywood will be the best thing in the end, as it will mean more worldviews will be represented in entertainment. Most Hollywood movies present views which are offensive to millions of people. It wouldn’t be so bad if they produced a body of films which fairly represented the variety of viewpoints in society, but just about every film is told through a very far-left lens, and conservatives are portrayed as either stupid or immoral, especially Christians of any denomination. That was a good comparison with the end of Detroit’s auto industry. Time was when imagining Detroit without the auto business would have been hard, just like it’s currently hard for most people to imagine Hollywood without the movie industry. It makes me wonder if Los Angeles will fall as Detroit has when the movie industry falls.

By: Michael E. Barrett

Michael E. Barrett — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:09:21 +0000

It is sad to hear that a multi trillion dollar world industry, will eventually be put to rest. As a child I had millions of ideas that I would’ve loved to see become movies, and now that I think about it, when I narrow down my favorite ideas, I realized about half of them have been made into movies, just in a different way. Now I could be wrong about them being completely put to rest because as technology grows, we will and as we grow, our ideas will to. Ask yourself how did acting,story telling etc. begin? Imagination we have imagination and no matter how much we will try to bring our imaginations to life, we will never be able to truly replicate what we see behind our eyes lids and in our dreams. I loved turning the TV to see the preview of independence day but now I thinking about the the same things Edelman is thinking. I hope I live to see the next step of entertainment other than music.

By: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:16:34 +0000

reazon uk: I respectfully submit that you’re smoking crack. Artistic expression and creativity has never been more prevalent or active than it is today. You just don’t see it in the major corporate media. Don’t look to the record labels, Hollywood studios and (soon) conglomerate publishers for cutting edge creativity. Look to YouTube, MySpace and the blogosphere.

We’re not living in 1984, you’re just tuning in to the Big Brother channel.

By: reazon uk

reazon uk — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:15:35 +0000

ok this might sound “wacky ” or whatever but this is my vision of the future.The human race is getting increasingly dumb and so politically unaware of many things like civil liberties for a start.Today there is a huge increase in remakes of either old movies or comic books/video games.The standards of cartoons and comic books has depleted most people seem to agree on this and this is down to one thing: creativity and imagination and it is severley lacking in the modern age as stress levels for kids and adults increases and having too much time on your hands is seen as lazy.Where are all the good ideas going to come from?? i see a future where television shows constant re runs and repeats of old movies 24/7 to remind us of the good old days and “golden eras” etc; kind of like what will smith had to resort to in I AM LEGEND.The only thing current will be the news which will be probally more depressing then it is now ,the terrorist criteria expanded along with even more draconian forms of political correctness.Thanks to shows like x factor and britains/americas got talent the music industry will also suffer.You can see it already as upcoming artists look to label execs on what to sing,how to dress,who to work with etc .Instead of the labels being an outlet for the artists expression,the artist becomes the outlet for the corporate expression:eg; materlialism.21st century hiphop is the most obvious example of this.
Till one day we have the extreme 1984 orwellian society,look at the generations coming through ,trust me we are collectivelly divided and dumb enough to let it happen!

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.