Something is happening in Hollywood. Something
which isn’t new but is becoming more apparent with each passing year. Studios
are throwing vast sums of money at films in the hope that the sheer amount of
razzmatazz on screen, couple with stars and overblown effects will prize people
from their sofas and towards the cinema. The problem with this is that the
films are becoming ever more formulaic and uninspiring as studios attempt to
attract the maximum number of people to their films. It’s the same with most
art forms that the more broad you make your product, the less exciting and
unique it will be. Mumford and Sons
might outsell Goat but only one of
those bands sound like a Saturday night pub band that got too big for their
cowboy boots. When I think of the studios that are producing the type of big
budget, low risk films I’m discussing here, the one that springs to mind first
is Disney.
Disney obviously have a tradition
of making family movies and as such you aren’t expecting gore or thrilling
twists but they’ve managed to entertain generations of people simultaneously
for decades while maintaining their wholesome image. They also have a strong
tradition of borrowing stories from other sources but appear to be on a run at
the moment of producing the blandest of films which are amongst the most
expensive in history. Alice in Wonderland,
Oz the Great and Powerful, John Carter and now The Lone Ranger are all films which make use of established, much
loved characters in films which Disney have sucked all the life and fun out of.
The problem they’re really facing though is that they’re no longer guaranteed
$600 million if they plough $250 million into a movie and not only that, the
films themselves are dull and don’t even warrant a second viewing.
