Does anyone even go to the movies anymore?
In This Week's Edition: a light week in "big" new releases, but still plenty to consider
THE QUOTE 🎬 💬
“I am Ergo the magnificent. Short in stature, tall in power, narrow of purpose and wide of vision. And I do not travel with peasants and beggars.
Goodbye!”
hint: the one word title sounds like a joke character from a Taika Waititi movie
THINK THOUGHTS 💭
As is typical when things don’t go well at the ol’ office of the box, there’s a lot of words being put together to discuss the “state of cinema”, e.g. Box Office Meltdown: ‘Furiosa’ Edges Past ‘Garfield’ to Win Memorial Day With Worst No. 1 Opening in Three Decades.
It’d be funny if it wasn’t so frustrating that the same conjecture and speculation runs rampant every time. In certain circles theorizing on why a movie didn’t “work” or whether people will stop going to the movies all together is America’s national pastime. It’s an unknowable and yet people love telling everyone why they know a movie didn’t perform or what the theatrical landscape will be in 10 years.
Convenient timing then that the co-head of the “cinema killer” (aka Netflix), Ted Sarandos, saw his interview with The New York Times published over the weekend.
I’ve heard Sarandos speak in person twice and read plenty of his quotes over the years. I’ve often felt that he’s a bit of an anomaly when it comes to these types of Hollywood conversations (though the talk wasn’t predicated on aforementioned state, it was “lucky” timing). First, he’s usually pretty forthcoming, in part because he’s both quite strong on the way Netflix approaches things, but at the same time is open about what he / Netflix don’t know and that their approach may in fact be wrong. In other words, they make bets, act on them, and if they turn out to be incorrect, they adjust. Their playbook has actually been very open over the years.
Feel free to read the article in its entirety, but I pulled out what I thought were a few interesting snippets.
On whether Barbie and Oppenheimer would have been just as successful on Netflix and the fact his 28 year old son recently watched Lawrence of Arabia (a nearly four hour movie mind you), on his phone.
“They definitely would have enjoyed just as big an audience on Netflix. And so I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that certain kinds of movies do or don’t work. There’s no reason to believe that the movie itself is better in any size of screen for all people. My son’s an editor. He is 28 years old, and he watched “Lawrence of Arabia” on his phone.”
“At every new development of technology, there’s wins for the audience.“
And one might argue that “wins” may be the inaccurate term here since many could see watching a classic like Lawrence on a 6 inch screen is cinematic blasphemy, but that’s also because Sarandos and Netflix have a strong focus on allowing the customers to define their preferences.
“We define quality from the perspective of the audience. So if the audience loves the movie, it’s great. That’s quality.“
Specifically he and the interviewer talked about Irish Wish, a Lindsey Lohan rom-com that most people, even those who watched and loved it, might call “trash.” And yet, 65 million people apparently watched it. That’s a lot of dumpster divers!
It’s this adherence to no one set way of defining “quality” that has clearly helped Netflix become as big as it is. Plenty of people will complain about the “trash” on Netflix and then continue to watch it. Which brings up another quote where Sarandos said he regretted saying Netflix needs to become HBO before HBO can become Netflix.
“Look, if there’s one quote that I could take back, it would have been in 2012, I said we’re going to become HBO before HBO could become us. At that time, HBO was the gold standard of original programming. What I should have said back then is, We want to be HBO and CBS and BBC and all those different networks around the world that entertain people, and not narrow it to just HBO. Prestige elite programming plays a very important role in culture. But it’s very small. It’s a boutique business.“
And Netflix clearly doesn’t want to be a boutique business.
They of course also touched on A.I. and what that meant for movies and the workers, but again Sarandos was positive, noting many previous examples where technology has been a boon. Again, some may argue, but the broad behavior of viewers might argue back.
“Think about this gigantic leap from hand-drawn animation to computer-generated animation, and look how many more people animation employs today than it used to. Remember how everybody fought home video? For several decades, the studios wouldn’t license movies to television. So every advancement in technology in entertainment has been fought and then ultimately has turned out to grow the business. I don’t know that this would be any different.“
I’m then I’m sure there are plenty of people who will say well sure, but A.I. is different. And yet, this quote I loved.
“A.I. is not going to take your job. The person who uses A.I. well might take your job.“
I enjoyed it because I remember having discussions with certain Paramount executives back in the day and they were complaining about Netflix and what they’re doing to the industry while at the same time letting them rent their content. And all I could do was wonder how they weren’t admiring and trying to crib from what The Flix was doing. Instead, they had meetings where the combined salary in the room was easily in the multi millions so we could discuss building a website to sell 10 digital copies of Transformers (it’s a story for another time).
I guess the thing I feel threads across all of his comments is a sort of “riding the rails of reality” vs trying to bend them towards one’s will.
People want the world to be a certain way. And they are allowed to feel that way, of course. They can even try and force it into that view. But others, like Sarandos, seem to take a different approach. One that let’s consumers lead vs thinking you know what’s right for them.
In other words, I would argue that “riding the rails” has born out over and over and will so as long as humans exist.
But then again, maybe I’m wrong. 🤷♂️
NEWSY BITS 👾
‘Furiosa’ Box Office Puts Brakes on George Miller’s Next ‘Mad Max’ Movie: unfortunately, there are legit consequences outside of an executive not getting their bonus when a movie doesn’t make what the studio wanted it to make. The next movie would have been another prequel, but following Max before he got caught up in the Fury Road stuff. - The Hollywood Reporter
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) 📝
Jim Henson Idea Man - did you grow up on Jim Henson’s creations (see: The Muppets, Labyrinth, Sesame Street, The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock)? Because it’s a strong likelihood you did. And if you were ever curious how one man could build so many amazing things, here’s a doc by Ron Howard to show you. The reviews say it’s a bit hagiographic (i.e. the man could do no wrong), but that it doesn’t really matter, because he you’re still enjoy yourself. Streaming on Disney + Friday
Ezra - a stand-up comedian father takes a roadtrip with his autistic son and many lessons shall be learned along the way. The reviews say it’s pretty schmaltzy and a bit pander-y, but that it does do a fairly good job of touching on the challenges and rewards of this particular human experience. Playing in Limited Theaters Friday
Summer Camp - just cuz you’re in your 70’s doesn’t mean you can’t get a little wild and crazy. It’s basically what Diane Keaton has set out to prove in her third act (see: Poms, Book Club 1 & 2). The reviews are bound to be not great, but watching a few old “grandmas” kick up some dust is still likely to have its charms. Playing in Theaters Friday
Robot Dreams - an animated movie about a dog who builds a robot to keep him company. Sounds silly and slight, right? Apparently is the exact opposite, with reviews nearly 100% positive and strongly effusive in how it’s a universally heartwarming story with animation that homes in on the quotidian. Playing in Limited Theaters Friday
NOTABLE NEW RELEASES 🎟 & 📺
Young Woman and the Sea
The thing about progress is, it doesn’t just “happen.” There’s no dictatorial process whereby the next step in our erudition as a species is tossed into our collective brains, no matter what certain Charlton Heston movies may say. It’s really a combination of individuals making extraordinary efforts that when taken in concert, are responsible for what can be be viewed as shifts in “culture” - but again, that really just means one person and then another changing their perceptions about how the world is, can and should be.
It’s maybe a bit (read: a lot) unfortunate it takes such big acts for things to transform, but taken as a whole, us humans are a stodgy fuckin’ bunch (sometimes quite funky too). So it seems to be that you can understand why people were all atwitter (note: not that one) when a young woman - Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle - in 1920’s Manhattan decides she wants to swim across the English channel when only five people had ever done it before (five men to be specific).
And who knows exactly why some of us have a greater drive to do what’s never been done, but you can be sure that you’ll be questioning yours while you watch Daisy Ridley (Rey in the new Star Wars trilogy, duh) portray Ederle and kick her way across the channel 2 hours faster than any man had ever done it.
It’s almost as if Ms. Ederle knew Walt Disney would come along and form a company that would build a brand around inspiring family stories like this one. But while that would be quite prescient of her, it’s likely far more simple. She was an one person who was told no, and then responded with “oh yeah? watch me.”
And now you can too.
Note: original intended as a Disney + release, this is getting a (limited) theatrical release, but assume it’ll be on the streamer fairly quickly.
Out: Friday
Where: Limited Theaters
Details: 1 hr 40 mins | PG | 🍅: TBD
In a Violent Nature
Gory.
Brutal.
Murders.
From the killer’s perspective.
With little story.
Great reviews.
The end.
Out: Friday
Where: Limited Theaters
Details: 1 hr 34 mins | R | 🍅: 89%
TRAILERS! ⏯
Moana 2 - the first one was an absolute fucking delight of a movie. Here’s hoping they were able to keep the vibes going in this sequel (note: isn’t in the full playlist because they disabled that feature on account of it being a kids movie. Don’t ask me why).
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - re-enter the gothic wrapped in the macabre once more. Side note: am I bummed Geena Davis isn’t anywhere to be seen? God damn right I am.
Wolfs - yes that is the correct spelling (see trailer image below). I’m sure we’ll learn why, or not, it’s spelled that way, but what we do know is this is a “big name” project in that it stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney as two lone fixers who end up having to work together.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F - little surprised they didn’t go with Beverly Hills Cop: AF, tbh.
Kinds of Kindness - next one from director of Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos. It played at the Cannes Film Festival which just finished so it has some reviews. While they’re good, I doubt it’ll be creating the kind of cultural noise his previous effort did. I’m still 100% in though.
A Family Affair - Nicole Kidman starts bangin’ her daughter’s (Joey King) boss (Zac Efron) and it goes super* well.
*sarcasm