I just read an article today about how the raunchy R rated comedy is dead. Movies like Baywatch, Snatch, Rough Night and The House have all flopped this year. Except, quite frankly they did about what one woudl expect a summer comedy to do. Huge comedy hits are rare..not the norm. This doesn't mean we shouldn't be making them. They have an audience, just like sci-fi action films have an audience and horror movies and yes, super hero films.
Back in 1984 a pop culture comedy was made.. Nerds. This film spawned FOUR sequels and a bunch of straight to VHS B titles that attempted to cash in on the nerd gimmick. It was made for 8 million dollars and in total only grossed 60 million. A film like that wouldn't even get made today, and if it did..it most certainly wouldn't get a sequel.
It's easy to say..well films like these are being taken over by Netflix or by indi film makers getting their films on one of the many streaming formats..except, that isn't happening at all. Go over to Netflix, Hulu or Amazon and try to find something to watch. The actual films available are high on film quality..low on writing quality. These films by no means have the quality of even second rate straight to VHS films of days gone by.
I grew up during the 80s and 90s..and my father owned a little small town video store. I saw an insane amount of movies. Every weekend me and a few friends would settle in with some pizza and the VHS in my room. The direct to VHS finds, the late summer releases no one went to see. The films big stars and newbie directors cut their teeth on before they went on to bigger things...those movies aren't made anymore. Yes, TV has changed and we have bigger and more expansive television choices..but tell me, on any given night are you really having to choose between shows you watch, or is it pretty much the same standard couple of shows worth watching it's always been? Netflix?? I literally just spent an afternoon watching films with great cinematography..and god awful writing. Sure they have a few good series, but a series isn't a movie.These days I'm lucky to find a new film worth watching every month, forget every weekend.
Unfortunately, those non-blockbuster but still pretty good movies just aren't being made that much anymore. Why? ..because with he except of horror, everything is given some huge budget, at least one "star" and sent off with the expectation that it's gonna make about 100 million dollars. Inevitably every year some article comes out about the "break through" horror hit. This year it was Get Out. Get out was made for 4 million bucks and so far has made 251 million dollars. Even if it had only made 50 million though, it would have been a hit! For some reason these days, only horror films are allowed to reach a target audience and even..occasionally...flop.
Instead all of the movies at the box office are aimed at making sure studios get not just a return on investment but a mega return. The theater is just super hero film after rebooted super hero film. Gone are the iconic films that made the 80s great. I sincerely wonder what kids today are going to look back on with nostalgia. The idea that only blockbusters are economically worth making is insane. My dad once told me, he would rather have five business making 1000 than one business he had to count on to make 5,000. In movie making terms, this should be easy to understand...apparently it isn't. Francis Ford Coppola made four of the most iconic films in film history, but he can’t get a movie produced anymore. He recently stated “You try to go to a producer today and say you want to make a film that hasn’t been made before; they will throw you out because they want the same film that works, that makes money,”
The fact is, films these days have to be able to cross multiple formats. Studios wont even consider making a movie unless tt has a theme park ride, and several young adult novels, a Broadway play, three sequels, two reboots..with their own sequels, and a possible tie in Netflix series already in the works. Remember what I said a while back about having several business making 1000 bucks instead of betting it all on one business making 5000. Right now the diversity in films just isnt there, and like any business..diversity is key. Eventually the huge blockbuster model is going to fall and fall hard..and when it does, I hope there will be a bunch of risk taking film makers ready to make me laugh, cry, and scream in fear. With out risk taking the majority of the iconic 80s movies we all love would have never happened.
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