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Nuking the Fridge. The Hollywoodization of Film. Art Cinema and Mainstream Cinema.
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Nuking the Fridge The Hollywoodization of Film
Art Cinema and Mainstream Cinema • "I think movies are getting dumber, actually. Where it used to be 50/50, now it's 3% good, 97% stupid. Hollywood is an industry, it's not an art form, therefore they have to address the bottom line."-Ridley Scott • Today mainstream cinema is so dumbed down and uninspiring that they are starting to fade from award ceremonies, like the Oscars, leaving the awards to be taken home by independent filmmakers.
Sequels, Prequels, Remakes, and Spin-Offs • Today, Hollywood has begun to play off of a franchise’s commercial success. This has led to film companies to continue to produce additional installments in the franchise, despite the lack of innovation with each succeeding movie. Each movie continues to fare well at the box office but the quality of the film itself lacks the impact of the original.
Sequels • Sequels are stories in a franchise that continue to take place after the events of the original feature. The story tends to mimic that of the original and lacks new ideas. • If at first you do succeed, try until you don’t.
Prequels Prequels are films that are made after original films but the events take place before the events of the original film. The most recognized prequel series is the Star Wars Episodes I-III. Sometimes filmmakers will not know where to go with a story that they will make prequels.
Remakes • Remakes are update versions of previous films. The films have the same plot and characters. • Sometimes remakes are shot-by-shot films that introduce nothing new to the plot. Other remakes are so different from the original that it appears to be a different story.
Spin-Offs are films that take place within a franchise and include characters and plots associated with the franchise, but are not considered parts of the series. Spin-Offs
Inspiration • Films today lack original ideas and most inspiration for today blockbuster hits are inspired by other stories in other forms of media. • Today, many films are based off of books, television series, video games, or true events.
Actors • Sometimes an audience will be attracted to a film because of a certain actor or actress or if there is an all-star cast. • WWE Studios make movies starring professional wrestlers. Their movies include The Marine, See No Evil, and The Condemned.
Visual Effects/3-D • A lot of the focus on movies today are the state of the art visual effects that are present in most action packed movies. Movies with a lot of special effects are often made in 3-D • Three Dimensional films are considered to be trendy right now. • This recent trend slowly rose over the past decade and exploded after the success of James Cameron’s Avatar.
The Oscars • The Oscars dumbed down in order to appeal to a mainstream audience. This includes having comedians host the ceremonies and introducing theatrical dances in the show. • The number of nominees was expanded to ten rather than five to appeal to crowd-pleasing films, such as The Blind Side, District 9, and Up, because fans were upset that mainstream movies, The Dark Knight, were not nominated for an Academy Award. • The upside of the Oscars was giving the award for Best Picture to the least commercially successful film to win the award, The Hurt Locker, rather that the most successful film of all-time, Avatar. • The Oscars have also become more promotional for the film as the audience awareness of the film increases after the award show.
Over-Dramatization • There has been a recent increase in over-dramatized scenes in modern cinema. One of the most recognizable scenes of over-dramatization in cinema occurs in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull where Indiana Jones survives a nuclear explosion by hiding in a refrigerator. • Overly dramatic movies based off of true stories include Titanic, Pearl Harbor, and Unstoppable.
Sometimes a films success is due to the amount of hype created by the media. The excessive advertising of the film, critical acclaim from movie reviews, awards, and popularity. • Films that have benefited from hype include Avatar, Slumdog Millionaire, Harry Potter, Michael Jackson’s This is It, and The Dark Knight. • The Dark Knight and This is It also attracted viewers after the sudden deaths of Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson. Hype
Works Cited • Bergan, Ronald. "Ridley Scott was right, modern cinema is stupid." film blog. guardian.com.uk, 06/09/2007. Web. 29 Nov 2010. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2007/sep/06/ridleyscottwasrightmodern>. • "Indiana Jones Fridge Scene Redub." YouTube. Web. 29 Nov 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_E2ottUWGQ>. • "Buck Smithee: Sequel Producer." YouTube. Web. 29 Nov 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDIeLkdMr-E>.