Has Hollywood become too Dependent On Blockbuster films?

[Foxbat]

I perceive 4 types of hero characters in literature, generally speaking.

One is the Beowulf--the strong brave warrior who takes on the challenge to deal with a problem. Gilgamesh is an oriental equivalent but the moral of the story in his case is about the dangers of excessive passion. I don't think Beowulf is meant to be a moral warning or critical character.

Odysseus is another--he is the strong but not exceptionally strong mortal who uses his brains and invention to overcome problems. Batman is something of an Odysseus type. While Achilles the greatest Greek warrior, he was excessive in passion so not as exemplary a character as Odysseus.

Then there's David--the youth or physically weak character who triumphs through technology and magic (the favor of God).

Aladdin is a related type-the youth who uses technology-magic to achieve success.

There are an awful lot of Davids and Aladdins in current genre movies, and very few Beowulf or Odysseus types. More often than not, the Beowulf is equated with Goliath as dumb or a bad guy or turned into parody (Fat Thor). If it is a character with physical strength like Captain America, it is through technology, not natural ability that he gets his power. He started out scrawny (the David/Aladdin). Same with Spider-man, the Hulk...

I suspect Hollywood is stuck with superheroes for the time being. I don't think they can lose enough money at the box office to make a change because they are so ideologically influenced. Bob Iger's reported response to Scorsese and Coppola indicates this-accusing them of racism. He could have talked about box office or alleged popularity or tried to be polite, but he chose social political confrontation. It explains a lot of Disney decisions but also suggests they are not worried about money or audience apathy.

I once read (although can't recall where) that the rise in superhero popularity in the USA (first in comics and now in cinema) was because, being a relatively young country, they had no myths and legends of their own (although I'm sure native Americans would strongly disagree). The superheroes, the author went on to explain, were essentially historical surrogates. I don't know how true this is but they could line up as surrogate Beowulf's etc.

 

[Vladd67]

It is different today. Kids have access to, and therefore are influenced by, all kinds of world-wide culture such as Pokémon, Animé, Manga, but also weird European stuff like Moomins, Barbar the elephant, and Pingu.

I remember the Moomins and Barbar being on in the 70s in the UK.

 

[Foxbat]

You don't get any wierder (or scarier if you're a kid) in the 70s than the Singing Ringing Tree. It had such an effect on me as a child that I bought it later in life on DVD. It was interesting to watch it again as an adult and, yes, it still looks sinister.

 

[BAYLOR]

You don't get any wierder (or scarier if you're a kid) in the 70s than the Singing Ringing Tree. It had such an effect on me as a child that I bought it later in life on DVD. It was interesting to watch it again as an adult and, yes, it still looks sinister.

I had no idea this film even existed . I just watched about a few minutes of this film . Bizarre stuff.

 

[Toby Frost]

Here's an article on it: Return of the teatime terror

Bringing us back to superheroes, it's interesting that the article stresses that stories are increasingly being told in one way in the digital age: that there's effectively one shared pool of things you might make a film about. I would guess that we'll see some Chinese superheroes soon, to cater for that large market.

 

[Vladd67]

Here's an article on it: Return of the teatime terror

Bringing us back to superheroes, it's interesting that the article stresses that stories are increasingly being told in one way in the digital age: that there's effectively one shared pool of things you might make a film about. I would guess that we'll see some Chinese superheroes soon, to cater for that large market.

A reboot of this character?

Black Mask

internationalhero.co.uk

Maybe Jet Li could be persuaded to return to the role?

 

[KGeo777]

I once read (although can't recall where) that the rise in superhero popularity in the USA (first in comics and now in cinema) was because, being a relatively young country, they had no myths and legends of their own (although I'm sure native Americans would strongly disagree). The superheroes, the author went on to explain, were essentially historical surrogates. I don't know how true this is but they could line up as surrogate Beowulf's etc.

There were folk legends like Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed etc.
The most popular superhero of the 40s was said to be Captain Marvel--interestingly while he is also a magical character, the basic idea is that Billy Batson has natural qualities that makes him worthy of the power that comes from mythological figures so he isn't a scientific accident or an alien and ties in closer to traditional myth characters than Superman the alien or Captain America the scientific experiment.

 

[WaylanderToo]

I've stopped watch superhero films in the cinema. They have all been relegated to streaming service only. The last few I watched left me feeling like I'd wasted my time.

truth be told I like superhero films (it doesn't hurt that I've got an 'unlimited' cinema card!), weirdly I really don't like superhero comics - I'm far happier reading the European stuff (like Arctica, Barracuda, Soda Soda (comics) - Wikipedia and Wunderwaffen of the SS).

 

[BAYLOR]

There were folk legends like Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed etc.
The most popular superhero of the 40s was said to be Captain Marvel--interestingly while he is also a magical character, the basic idea is that Billy Batson has natural qualities that makes him worthy of the power that comes from mythological figures so he isn't a scientific accident or an alien and ties in closer to traditional myth characters than Superman the alien or Captain America the scientific experiment.

You might want to check out the 1995 movie Tall Tales.

 

[BAYLOR]

The latest Terminator film is number 1 at the box office .

 

[Anthoney]

And yet it opened way under the predictions. Less than T2 opened with in 1991. It will never make back what it cost.

 

[Vince W]

Not surprising after the quality of the last three Terminator films.

 

[Rodders]

Hollywood is obsessed with Franchises and branding and it's hurting the movie industry IMO.

 

[BAYLOR]

And yet it opened way under the predictions. Less than T2 opened with in 1991. It will never make back what it cost.

It won't and this will likely be the Swann song for this Franchise.

 

[BAYLOR]

Not surprising after the quality of the last three Terminator films.

Terminator Rise of the Machines and the concept of how Skynet brought down the world started undercutting the franchise .

 

[BAYLOR]

Hollywood is obsessed with Franchises and branding and it's hurting the movie industry IMO.

They're afraid to takes chance on new things . They live by the Moto" Play it safe " . Eventually , it will help cause be the demise of Hollywood as a major producer.

 

[CupofJoe]

They're afraid to takes chance on new things . They live by the Moto" Play it safe " . Eventually , it will help cause be the demise of Hollywood as a major producer.

For good or for ill, this has been prophesied since the 1940s. Hollywood has always found a way to reinvent itself and survive.
I think there will be more homogenisation between streaming and theatre releases especially when/if Disney+ takes off.
Maybe Netflix will buy Paramount [or whatever studios are left]. I'm just worried that this will kill off discs or one off downloads as I'm not about to take out 4+ subscriptions on the chance there might be something I want to watch on [BritBox, NetFlix, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, BFI streaming etc].
I do think we have reached and passed the point where the film is merely the marketing point for the other revenue streams. Disney make far more money from the parks than they do the films. but they need the films to create new content [and sometime the other way around - Pirates of the Caribbean] for the parks. Think of the money made from Star Wars Merch. Last figures I saw, the merch was worth twice the film revenue and probably more reliable cash flow too.
It is the same with cars. Most mass car companies make more profit from selling you the financing for the car than they would do if you paid for the car in cash. They need you to take out the loan to make the product viable.

 

[BAYLOR]

For good or for ill, this has been prophesied since the 1940s. Hollywood has always found a way to reinvent itself and survive.
I think there will be more homogenisation between streaming and theatre releases especially when/if Disney+ takes off.
Maybe Netflix will buy Paramount [or whatever studios are left]. I'm just worried that this will kill off discs or one off downloads as I'm not about to take out 4+ subscriptions on the chance there might be something I want to watch on [BritBox, NetFlix, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, BFI streaming etc].

I don't subscribe to any of the pay services . It's just not really worth it and I don't care much for their offerings. Increasingly, Ive been doing more reading of books less watching of Television and movies. Ive reduced my regular television viewing quite a bit as well. Ive all but stopped going to the movies.

 

[Vince W]

I haven't been to the cinema in nearly two years. There hasn't been anything good enough to lure me back as yet. I have a feeling the new Dune film may be the last one if it isn't as good as it needs to be.

 

[BAYLOR]

I haven't been to the cinema in nearly two years. There hasn't been anything good enough to lure me back as yet. I have a feeling the new Dune film may be the last one if it isn't as good as it needs to be.

I would so like to see Dune be a successful film.