The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#1The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/14/14 at 10:15am
Why you won't be hearing from your favorite filmmakers in some time
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
#2The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/14/14 at 3:01pm
OK. First off, I read the title of this thread as The Death of Midget Cinema.
Secondly, I don't understand people like John Waters and David Lynch (maybe my two all time favorite directors) needing all that money to make their films. These guys started off making movies for 5 dollars and now that everyone and their Grandmother have access to an HD camera, why can't they go back to their roots, get their friends together and make a damn movie? It's not like either of these men doesn't have some money in the bank to finance something like that. I don't see any legitimate excuses here.
#2The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/14/14 at 4:52pm
There are some people who make things like that because they like to- look at Joss Whedon, who, despite being a major mover and shaker, still enjoys making no-budget movies with his friends.
There are others, though, who made things on the cheap out of necessity, not out of artistic ambition, and who can't really "go back" because the scope has changed for them. Sondheim certainly COULD write a song cycle for two singers and a bare stage for Off-Off-Broadway, it'd be easier to stage and recoup faster than working on a big new show that may never come to fruition like Bounce/Wise Guys/Road Show, but that type of thing may hold no appeal anymore.
#3The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/14/14 at 5:20pm
The big issue is that everyone has a huge HDTV screen in their home now. And the spectacle of the huge action/sci-fi/fantasy tentpoles is rewarded at the cinema.
The movies I enjoy the most, which are usually the talkier headier Oscar race fare, have three problems.
First, you don't lose a lot in the translation from cinema to home viewing, since it people talking on a screen, not battles and special effects, etc. And I have a big enough screen at home already to wait.
Second, they pretend they are like those bigger movies, with "limited" releases at the end of the year to qualify for Oscars, but then they disappear and may not open big until a month or so later, and then roll out VOD/DVD release in the summer, all while awards screeners of their movies flooded the Internet at the end of the previous year. So, by the time many of them hit theaters, the movie was already available to download for quite a while.
Third, the delayed global strategy, where a movie that was a hit in Australia, the UK, or some such last year is released in the US like a new entity when, again, you can download 1080p BluRay rips of it online from the original release.
So, the entire strategy of the smaller pictures is hurt by their Oscar goals, pirated copies, and a slower embrace of the same technology that is killing it. Very few do VOD same day as theaters, etc.
Whereas the big effects movies are almost never leaked online early, benefit from seeing it on a huge screen rather than waiting, and typically the good copies available for download are delayed much longer. So, if you really want to see it, going to the movie theater is your best option.
Updated On: 12/14/14 at 05:20 PM
#4The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/14/14 at 6:54pmJordan - I get what you're saying - but production values matter if you want your film to be taken remotely seriously - even for a Waters film in 2014. All those below-the-line costs quickly add up.
#5The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/15/14 at 11:18am
God that was a horribly depressing article. Especially since it named a lot of my favorite directors.
But at least we have more Twin Peaks to look forward too...I guess?
#6The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/15/14 at 12:50pm
"Jordan - I get what you're saying - but production values matter if you want your film to be taken remotely seriously - even for a Waters film in 2014. All those below-the-line costs quickly add up."
I don't buy it. For some directors, yes. But for those two - I don't believe it. INLAND EMPIRE looked like it was shot on a 2006 cell phone phone camera. And Waters' films are going to appeal to HIS audience and they're not going to care if it was filmed in 4K or on 8mm.
These directors are always saying the same thing to aspiring filmmakers - If you have a story to tell, tell it. Go out and make your movie. So why can't they follow their own advice? These guys have enough money to finance a modestly budgeted film if they want to. They also have more than enough money to finance a small little "indie" film by themselves, so what's stopping them? Are their stories just not that important for them to tell anymore?
#9The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/17/14 at 6:53pmWhile I don't recall any of us lauding his work, Tyler Perry is onto something. I wouldn't exactly call his movies tentpoles. However, he can make them on a $20M budget and according to boxofficemojo they're grossing over $55M on average. It seems that he's content being a niche player.
#FactsMatter...your feelings not so much.
#10The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/17/14 at 6:56pmThat "niche" is African-American audiences, who, you know, have very few alternatives if they want to see something written by, written for, about, starring, or directed by African-Americans.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#11The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/17/14 at 6:57pmUgh. Tyler Perry. No denying his enormous success and his understanding of his core demo, but I tend to agree with Spike Lee's assessment of his talent.
#12The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/17/14 at 7:00pmAfrican-Americans have Tyler Perry, us white folks have any number of low-brow guys who churn out crummy films with dubious social morals that rake in money.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
#13The Death of Mid-Budget Cinema
Posted: 12/17/14 at 7:08pm
** Post Removed **
I'm certain Tyler has fans of his work somewhere.
#FactsMatter...your feelings not so much.
Updated On: 12/17/14 at 07:08 PM
