![]()
"HOLLYWOOD GARBAGE AND HOW TO SMELL IT" by DENNIS NYBACK The continuing waste of Newspaper space in the Arts and Entertainment pages on Hollywood movies mystifies and appalls me. Please be advised that I use the term Hollywood very loosely and intend it to cover 90% of current films. For roughly twenty years, the films being churned out have had nothing to do with art and everything to do with money. If these films should be reported on at all it should be in the financial section. The Arts & Entertainment pages should report on just that: films that qualify. How is that we've arrived at this
desperate place? In the late Seventies,
the big motion picture producers hit
on a formula for money-making movies
and have stuck to it. In contrast, Robert Browning once said "A man's reach should exceed his grasp". That statement is the antithesis of Hollywood today. They realize that art is not created by playing it safe but instead of reaching further, they grasp the easily attainable. Over and over and over. The critics have apparently failed to notice this and continue to take part in this colossal fraud by writing about the same old shit. The steady growth of the pure Garbage spewed out every year results in a massive waste of newspaper ink and pulp. The modern market of exponenentially increasing multiplexes, short theatrical runs, unlimited TV channels, and video outlets, effectively monopolizes the limited available newspaper space. As a result, films made by people whose vision goes beyond profit are lost in the flood of celluloid sewage with its mega ad camapigns. This tacit conspiracy between film producers and newspapers almost guarantees that films made for profit will succeed and films made for art will fail. The first part of the formula for box-office success that I mentioned earlier is an overriding philosophy. The most important thing is to strive for mediocrity. The mediocre film doesn't need to generate huge box office in the theatres. It may take a while but product placement alone offsets much of the cost. After the US theatrical run comes the Overseas markets, TV, and Video. The only way to screw this up is to try and make a better film. A film that challenges an audience, that is thought-provoking and something more than chewing gum for the eyes is the only one that can fail. The second part of the standard formula emphasizes style over substance and includes the followng dictates:
The producers have realized this but the critics still haven't caught on. Many critics are now simply "Quote Whores". They will try to include one catchy line in every review they write in the hope that it will be used and credited to them in the advertisements. As long as they get their name in the ads, their career is a success. No matter how lousy a film is, it can always find a half dozen critics who will say it's great in some quotable way. In today's New York Times, Siskel and Ebert give "two thumbs up" to seven crummy movies. They also trot out the tried and true "A great date film" for an eighth. Paul Wunder is quoted as saying THE LOST WORLD is "The entertainment event of the decade". Maria Sales says CONAIR is "The Roller-coaster ride of your life". Joel Siegal says SPEED 2 is "A great summer film". Janet Maslin says BREAKDOWN "Packs a punch". It goes on and on. Silly overstatement, mindless hyperbole, trite cliches and out and out lies. To help people to just say no to Hollywood Garbage, I offer the following ten suggestions:
That's enough for now. See you at the Movies!
|