Hollywood Making Cr@p for the M@sses: A Video by Taualumna

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Ehh...I was just asking why some titles are changed.



Not just foreign accents, but any accent that isn't standard American (unless story takes place in a location where a regional accent is used).

Tau....hey...bottom line too, it's all about marketing....same reason why you have Confessions of a Video Vixen as opposed to A Video Vixen's Dreamworld.

Which do you think the audience would buy?

If there are enough consumers out there who are buying into the crap that is made, it will continue to be made ( I think I said it before).

It doesn't necessarily have to be smart or intelligent.

Any media made has to be marketed to a targeted audience and as long as a goal is met that shows that it is working, it's going to continuously be made.

For instance, historic epics....anyone remember Gladiator?

One of my admitted favorite movies...won best picture...kind of alluding to the politics again...but how historically inaccurate was it?

It sometimes makes you wonder what standards are set when the powers that be in Hollywood make when they measure a movie. IMO...I understand they are basing part of the award on the quality...but to me, I would have thought that a part of the quality of a film like this is also in its accuracy....but hey...the Titanic and A Beautiful Mind won too right? LOL.

I believe what has happened is that Hollywood is running short on greenlighting good ideas and mkaing them nto movies...I used to say that we have run out of ideas, but I don't think that at all. Holly wood has just gotten lazy. Hollywood, instead of putting out more cutting edge movies has turned to doing the following:

1. Remaking 'classic' horror franchises (Halloween and now Friday the 13th)
2. Butchering comics and children's books (Spiderman, XMen and Golden Compass)
3. Chruning out way too many sequels for franchises that has long since left the limelight (Star Trek and A vs P anyone?)

[Taualumna]

But why make changes though? Why won't the typical American watch a movie about hate crimes against Catholics in certain parts of the Bible Belt (but would watch a movie about the Holocaust)? Why not a movie about a gay person where his or her sexuality isn't a central part of the story? A remake of a foreign film that isn't bastardized/Hollywoodized because Americans want a happy ending?

Can't the PR people publicize it in a way that can appeal to everyone?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

But why make changes though? Why won't the typical American watch a movie about hate crimes against Catholics in certain parts of the Bible Belt (but would watch a movie about the Holocaust)? Why not a movie about a gay person where his or her sexuality isn't a central part of the story? A remake of a foreign film that isn't bastardized/Hollywoodized because Americans want a happy ending?

Can't the PR people publicize it in a way that can appeal to everyone?

I still remember being very upset by the movie Teachers as its PR presented it as a goofy teen comedy....it was NOT that...it was extremely dark.

I don't even know if it was a good movie or not, because in effect, my mouth was set for roast beef and I got banana cream pie. It could have been good but the marketing was so far from what it actually was I couldn't enjoy it. So no, the PR people should NOT publicize movies as something they are not.

As far as your original question, can you think of a certain hate crime against Catholics you want movie-ized? I mean, that sounds more like something that would end up on Law & Order (where many more people will watch it).

A lot of your ideas sound vaguely familiar, like there were independent films about them (did you see Saved?). Just because it isn't the major studio doesn't mean it won't be seen.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Ehh...I was just asking why some titles are changed.

And I was just saying that most answers will be speculation.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Ehh...I was just asking why some titles are changed.

Well, you seemed to be trying to make an argument that a specific title was "dumbed down."

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

I believe what has happened is that Hollywood is running short on greenlighting good ideas and mkaing them nto movies...I used to say that we have run out of ideas, but I don't think that at all. Holly wood has just gotten lazy. Hollywood, instead of putting out more cutting edge movies has turned to doing the following:

1. Remaking 'classic' horror franchises (Halloween and now Friday the 13th)
2. Butchering comics and children's books (Spiderman, XMen and Golden Compass)
3. Chruning out way too many sequels for franchises that has long since left the limelight (Star Trek and A vs P anyone?)

Y'all act like this is something new. I can make a good case that "one of the best-loved movies of all time," the MGM 1939 "The Wizard of Oz," butchered the original story by making the whole trip to Oz a dream and stuffing in the whole "if-I-ever-go-looking-for-my-heart's-desire" sentimentality. And note that in the movie, Dorothy "accidently" throws water on the witch as she tries to put out the Scarecrow's fire; in the book, she grabs the bucket and throws water on the witch out of anger. And it's not even Disney.

There's really nothing new in this thread.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Well, you seemed to be trying to make an argument that a specific title was "dumbed down."

Y'all act like this is something new. I can make a good case that "one of the best-loved movies of all time," the MGM 1939 "The Wizard of Oz," butchered the original story by making the whole trip to Oz a dream and stuffing in the whole "if-I-ever-go-looking-for-my-heart's-desire" sentimentality. And note that in the movie, Dorothy "accidently" throws water on the witch as she tries to put out the Scarecrow's fire; in the book, she grabs the bucket and throws water on the witch out of anger. And it's not even Disney.

There's really nothing new in this thread.

Not that it's new...it's becoming more and more apparent....how many times was The 10 Commandments done? at least 3 before we got Cecil B Demille's verson.

I think the whole point of this thread is not how 'new' a phenomenon is, but how much blatant redundancy we are finding coming from the movie industry due in part to Hollywood's laziness.


Go thru a list of big movies coming out this year and count how many of them are either sequels or remakes...they probably far outnumber any based on an orginal story.

[DSTCHAOS]

So what is this thread about, really? It's all over the place just like most threads are.

Remakes are often done because people want to add their own artistic touches to it. Titles are sometimes changed for the same reason that there are different endings to movies and execs wait to see which one gets the best response.

How is any of that about dumbing down for Americans (or even overprotective parents keeping everything in happy happy land so kids won't be damaged)? Still waiting.....

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

A remake of a foreign film that isn't bastardized/Hollywoodized because Americans want a happy ending?

Sometimes the best of anything is the original

Let me give you a list off the top of my head of some good foreign flicks you may want to check out...and if you find an American equivalent watch and see if there is a difference

Oldboy
Lady Vengeance
Nuevas Reignas (9 Queens)
The Devil's Backbone
Pan's Labrynth
Breaking News
3 Extremes
Irreversable
Warriors of Heaven and Earth
Hero
Audition

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

So what is this thread about, really? It's all over the place just like most threads are.

Remakes are often done because people want to add their own artistic touches to it. Titles are sometimes changed for the same reason that there are different endings to movies and execs wait to see which one gets the best response.

How is any of that about dumbing down for Americans (or even overprotective parents keeping everything in happy happy land so kids won't be damaged)? Still waiting.....

DST

1. When is the last time you went to the movies?
2. What is the last good remake you saw?
3. What's the last movie You saw remade that was overhyped?
4. Name a franchise movie that you wish Hollywood would stop doing.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Not that it's new...it's becoming more and more apparent....how many times was The 10 Commandments done? at least 3 before we got Cecil B Demille's verson.

And that was in 1956. You say it's becoming more apparent, and you site four (or more) movies made before 1960 as your examples.

It's not becoming more apparent. Some people are just becoming more aware.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

And that was in 1956. You say it's becoming more apparent, and you site four (or more) movies made before 1960 as you're examples.

It's not becoming more apparent. Some people are just becoming more aware.

ok...

All the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remakes, The 39 Steps done 4 times,1984 and The Fly (which is due out AGAIN in 09),King Kong, even your aforementioned Wizard of Oz was a remake (not referring to the Wiz)

I think we are trying to say the same thing and with that awareness, there is much frustatration to see something fresh...technology has helped Hollywood stay in the game but the lack of great stories or worse the lack of EXECUTING a great story is what is holding Hollywood back.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

I think we are trying to say the same thing . . . .

I'm not so sure about that.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

So what is this thread about, really?

Plug for her book, apparently.

Wow, really, just took the time to watch the video, supremely not interesting. It started out heading somewhere that could have been interesting (changing the ethnicity of the characters in the movie "21"), but then you veered off into a lecture to the "big studios" (who I'm sure are watching) about how they're trying to "make fun of us". And then it seemed to become a contest as to how many times you could say "dumb down" in a 6-plus-minute time period.

The subject has been explored and discussed to death. Are TV and movies geared toward the masses and some might argue the "lowest common denominator?" Duh, yes. Foreign films exist if you find them more palatable, go crazy. But if you think the latest export from France is going to play well in the flyover states, you're completely wrong, and the "big studios" know it.

And yes, the bottom line IS the studio's bottom line, here's what they care about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sNJhX0x7yI (hey, it's "foreign", it must be smarter, right?!?)

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

Plug for her book, apparently.

Wow, really, just took the time to watch the video, supremely not interesting. It started out heading somewhere that could have been interesting (changing the ethnicity of the characters in the movie "21"), but then you veered off into a lecture to the "big studios" (who I'm sure are watching) about how they're trying to "make fun of us". And then it seemed to become a contest as to how many times you could say "dumb down" in a 6-plus-minute time period.

The subject has been explored and discussed to death. Are TV and movies geared toward the masses and some might argue the "lowest common denominator?" Duh, yes. Foreign films exist if you find them more palatable, go crazy. But if you think the latest export from France is going to play well in the flyover states, you're completely wrong, and the "big studios" know it.

And yes, the bottom line IS the studio's bottom line, here's what they care about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sNJhX0x7yI (hey, it's "foreign", it must be smarter, right?!?)

RE: 21 - Changing the characters' ethnicities is actually dumbing the movie down to make money.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

RE: 21 - Changing the characters' ethnicities is actually dumbing the movie down to make money.

How does just that change make the movie "dumber"?