Hollywood - making a fortune by making trash films?
By fmuldowney
@fmuldowney (139)
Ireland
July 15, 2008 8:18am CST
I dont know about you, but it seems that to make a film today in Hollywood, you get popular stars first, then pick a famous backdrop, then get the best CGI experts you can, and there you have it..... oh yeah and make up a story as you go along (if its a sequel it is even easier! True or not true?
3 responses
@umart13 (841)
• Ireland
15 Jul 08
Hi Frank, Yes there are a lot of thrash films about and what I hate is how one studio makes a vampire movie because the other does, or one makes a film on Troy or Alexander The Great, because the other has made Gladiator. Just imagine all those film fans who went to see The Ring, thinking that it was to rival to Lord of The Rings - Whoops! Bet they got a shock!...:-)
Anyway Frank, as you well know, many great Actors have been appearing in this trash for years. What about Richard Burton? Apparently a mega-talent, but what had he to show for it... Nothing but Trash!It doesn't take CGI to make a bad movie. What about all those good films of the past, which had scenes ruined by terrible back-screen projection. One of the resons why John Ford's westerns (and later Sergio Leone's westerns) stood the test of time, was that they were shot outdoors and used the natural spectacular scenery of the Arizona desert. Even the wonderful scenery in Lord Of The Rings was provided by New Zealand.
I will finish be saying - Don't blame the CGI. It is great! How we use it -that is the problem.
Yours
UMart
1 person likes this
@fmuldowney (139)
• Ireland
15 Jul 08
I agree to a degree.;-)
Ehem if you look around the talents ones were in great films just never got noticed, Burton was in Night of the Igwana and Virginia Wolf. When it comes to CGI, you are correct about the abuse of it. Have you seen Indiana Jones 4 for example, it seems you don't have to go anywhere and do anything, just stand in front a screen and the computer experts will make a film for you, (actually to be honest, most of us can see CGI in action all the time, I still don't find it realistic. The Thing as the last film before computerised films, where all the gore moments had to be made, and mart it was so much better.
I am on a tangent!! Back to Hollywood trash, I still believe the films got worse when the Academy start giving more awards for trash films purely because the made money. I recently picked 10 best films I have seen in my life and my New york friend only new 2 of them, as the other 8 were either not made in Hollywood or never made much money. Wim Wenders is one of the best directors in the business and he is not even known, Paris Texas wasnt a box office hit, and Angels of Desire I dont thing was even shown in LA. So to me talent is no where the money isnt, French, German Scandinavian, Australian British films are considerable better, without the huge bugdets and without the wonder of CGI.
I said too much;-)
1 person likes this
@amitavroy (4819)
• India
15 Jul 08
i agree with you my friend. french, german and many other films are there with such serious topics. they give so much importance to the society and the problems. these movies give you a message and that is what is very important. i think you would be a very good person to talk about film. why dont you mail me at amitav_pixel@rediffmail.com
hope to see your mail my friend
@umart13 (841)
• Ireland
15 Jul 08
Hi Frank,
I have to disagree with you. The best British, French, Australian, Scandanavian and German talent is already in Hollywood as it has been for the last 70 years. Your point was about CGI and not about some nationalist attack on Hollywood.
Your other point on Richard Burton is also erroneous, as Burton was in his day destined to be a great star of the stage. The fact is that he left Britain too early and that he has not left us a legacy anywhere near Olivier, Gielgud, or Ralph Richardson.
But I repeat my original point, which you ignored. Hollywood has always made thrash and will continue to do so and CGI is better than backscreen projection anyday.
UMart
in Germany (where Cinema is not as good as you claim :-))
@fmuldowney (139)
• Ireland
15 Jul 08
You mean there is talent?
:-)
Ok stop Frank no time for sarcasm
@amitavroy (4819)
• India
15 Jul 08
to a certain extent I will definitely agree with you that the stories behind the Hollywood movies most of the time a not very tetchy or that much important. The main emphasis is given on the technology being used. And that is the reason why the stories are getting too much technology driven. Everywhere we can see a lot of action, a lot of CG party being used in the movie. Behind all these things I guess the main important part of the movie which is the acting is not given that much importance. We have never seen recent movie with a very good acting that was the case in the previous movies. Today an actor with a good by seven is much more famous than an actor with a very good acting scale but not that much visually attractive. I think every person industry will use the thing which they are good in. Like for example I'd been in India can tell you one thing that in every of movie the songs placed inside a movie which is not have any resemblance requirement as such but because there is a formal and that there should be songs in the movie the directors to it. But we still give emphasis on story more than technology because we don't have it. When we compare it with Hollywood when we definitely lack a lot in technology and so in Bollywood technology is not the primary weapon to use to get a good data movie. We are still relying on casting. A typical SRK movie will definitely hit the market and do wonders no matter what the story was. It will have a few good songs, to typical high pitching moments and that's it you get a good hit movie in Bollywood also so I'd think this is the same case everywhere in the case of the people are changing day by day.
@amitavroy (4819)
• India
15 Jul 08
well yes my friend, but when you mention about Amitabh then let me tell you he is like an asset to our industry now. there was a time when a hero in bollywood meant one is very good looking, body builder etc etc. but he showed that looking good is something else. he brought a real difference in acting. He made quite a few movies which you cannot say my masterpiece but definitely portrayed his immense quality in acting. There is a movie where he plays a drunken man. The name of the movie is sharabi. And let me tell you about the movie if you see the way he played the role of a drunken man you'd be literally amazed. I have seen good acting in previous Hollywood movies. Great actors and directors like Charlie Chaplin who is more known for his comedy. But most of the people never understood how serious is movies where. I consider him as one of the best actor. Not only did he made us laugh, but he made us laugh things which were not actually meant for laughing.
His movies were really something which portrayed the future at present. Few classics like the great dictator, the modern times are such movies which a person should never is in the really like movies
@umart13 (841)
• Ireland
15 Jul 08
Hi amitavroy. I am very glad that you brought Bollywood into the discussion as it's audiences are growing rapidly and there is an increasing interest in Bollywood films worldwide. Bollywood has something that Hollywood has lost - actually it has many things which Hollywood has lost. Technology is playing an increasing role there too. I saw a movie being made recently with Shakrukh Khan, where he was doing a dance scene. In actual fact he only had to do little parts of of the dance and the editors put the whole thing together to make it look like he's a good dancer.
Shakrukh Khan is also a good-looking actor, being the heartthrob of many women fans, similar to what you said above about the Hollywood actors. However, there is one thing that should not be underestimated and that is that he is a very very good actor. I discovered this when I watched Devdas (orginally to see Aishwarya Rai) and was amazed by his acting ability, especially when he grew older.
I am sure that CGI will play an increasing role in Bollywood too, but in my opinion the Bollywood producers have a better feel for what audiences want to see and will use it carefully.
All the best from Germany
UMart
PS. I've been an Amitabh Bachchan fan for years:-)
