MovieChat Forums > Predator (1987) Discussion > A Rant Against Modern Tentpole Filmmakin...

A Rant Against Modern Tentpole Filmmaking (Article):

posted 8 years ago by gogoschka-1
14 replies | jump to latest

If you like most of the blockbusters Hollywood churns out at the moment, you might as well stop reading; the following most likely won’t interest you.

Still here? All right then…

I had been wondering for some time why pretty much all of the big budget studio tentpoles have stopped to provide a thrilling experience for me. For a while I thought: Well, I’m just getting old; I’m becoming more and more cynical and I’m also not as easily excitable anymore as I used to be. In a word, I’m turning into the typical grumpy old geezer who complains how everything used to be so much better in the past and that we don't get gritty, thrilling action films like 'Predator' anymore.

But, being a film geek, through reading and watching hundreds of interviews over the years with studio heads, directors, producers and screenwriters as well as watching making-ofs and documentaries and reading countless articles about all things Hollywood, a very clear picture started to emerge, as to why so many of those blockbusters have become so formulaic - and that in fact we DON'T GET films like 'Predator' anymore: for very specific reasons.

I’ve tried to put everything I learned in an “editorial” for which my friend The_Sentry (who’s also very active here on IMDb) was so generous to provide his page (http://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com/) as a platform. If you’re interested to learn just what has been going on in Hollywood that led to the current state of American (studio) film, I’d of course feel honoured If you checked it out (and let me know in the comment section what you think).

But be warned: it’s a lengthy read - and it could make you angry.

Here it is: http://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com/a-rant-against-modern-tentpole-film-making.html

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] virtualproc 8 years ago

Is there a specific reason this was posted to the Predator board?

[–] gogoschka-1 8 years ago

Yes, there is. In large part, the blog/"editorial" I'm referring to is about how a certain formula (which proved to be successful on superhero films) started to get employed on all kinds of big(-ish) budget action/sci-fi productions once corporations like Sony, Viacom, News Corp, Time Inc and Comcast had taken over the studios by the late nineties. Which is why all the remakes and reboots (and cross-overs) of those fantastic action classics from the eighties like 'Predator', 'Alien', 'Robocop', 'Total Recall', 'Die Hard' 'Terminator' have turned out like bloodless wannabe Marvel movies. If you're not interested in those topcis, fine, you don't have to read it - but there is a reason why posted this on the 'Predator' board.

"The complication had a little complication."

[–] zorenathres-417-709482 7 years ago

While I actually agree with a lot of what you said in the article, I don't think the Predator forum is the place to set up your soapbox. This is good work, so it really does belong where it is attempting to send the message, in the super hero movies forums...

Epic cash grabs made for the lowest common denominator, the rest need not apply...

[–] gogoschka-1 7 years ago

You're not wrong. But the article is more likely to speak to film fans who are less interested in superhero movies and more in gritty action films. I'm more likely to meet those fans of old school, R-rated action films here on the Predator board. The kids on the superhero boards don't even know what they're missing, because they grew up with blockbusters adhering to the "superhero formula".

http://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com/a-rant-against-modern-tentpole-film-making.html

[–] zorenathres-417-709482 7 years ago

Sadly, yes. After thinking about it, you are more likely to get a bunch of fanboys screaming as if their bottle had just been taken away... even if you were to provide them with any evidence contrary to what they think is "real" or "good."

One thing your article forgot to mention was the earlier superhero/ comic movies like Tim Burton's Batman & how they still managed to push the envelope, take risks, & manage to make anything better than what they churn out these days.

Also without the failures & mistakes made in the past, the current corporate studio method of making profitable (though mindless) movies would not exist as is. Without risk there is no progress in art (thus film as art is largely dead).

Epic cash grabs made for the lowest common denominator, the rest need not apply...

[–] gogoschka-1 7 years ago

One thing your article forgot to mention was the earlier superhero/ comic movies like Tim Burton's Batman & how they still managed to push the envelope, take risks, & manage to make anything better than what they churn out these days.

Very true. And the funny thing is, I never even thought about this R-rating/PG-13 rating and 4-quadrant-movie-making thing before around 2009. As you rightfully pointed out, the worst of the formulaic corporate filmmaking mainly started to manifest over the last 10 years - before that, in most cases you just got films that ended up with the rating that was fitting for the story the film wanted to tell. Tentpoles in the eighties, nineties and early 2000s felt (at least in many cases) much more "freeer" and less generic than they do now. Even PG blockbusters like 'Back to the Future' couldn't get made today (according to Robert Zemeckis) because they're not "clean" enough (a mother falling in love with her own son? In a movie for kids? Are you insane?)

http://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com/a-rant-against-modern-tentpole-film-making.html

[–] damocci (1502) 4 years ago

Damn, the link doesn't work anymore. I really wanted to read your article.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I didnt, even the OP was too long , I wanted someone else to read it and give me "the gist"

[–] aavfreak (2859) 4 years ago

I was actually interested in reading it as well.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I found it via the wayback machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20161009120520/http://www.the-fanboy-perspective.com:80/a-rant-against-modern-tentpole-film-making.html

For some reason the background/text colors aren't showing right, at least for me, so you have to do a "select all" text on the page and then it'll be highlighted and you can read.

The TL;DR version is basically that he was saying that all major films these days adhere to a specific corporate formula aimed at a key demographic, kept within PG13 guidelines etc and that's why they are so formulaic and boring.

[–] aavfreak (2859) 4 years ago

Excellent work. That was quite a read. It was probably longer than it needed to be, but it's hard to disagree with much.

Thanks.

[–] damocci (1502) 2 years ago

This is one of the best analyses of what is wrong with Hollywood that I have read. I think that anyone who calls themselves a fan of cinema owes it to themselves to take 20 minutes to read this article. And it should be compulsory reading for every executive in every major Hollywood studio. It would be nice if someone could turn this article into a ten minute Youtube video because we live in an era where people are somewhat lazy to read anything longer than a few paragraphs.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago