great topic. i admire this path you are on here, working to discern this benchmark.
i can chime in here, if you don't mind.
first off, the release month is a NIL factor. can't go by that at all. SO MANY TIMES movies that come out in august (dump month: back to school) and january (dump month) are really good to me. at least, ones *i* enjoy. taken with neeson is an example. and inglorious basterds is another. man, there are TONS of other titles i can cite from the so called dump months which i found to be really enjoyable. so, let's toss that
criterion aside....
box office:
for me, maybe not you, but for me, box office means nothing. many of these marvel movies and other huge commercial PG13 ones hit 1 Billion or higher and the story YAWNS me right to sleep. i just don't buy into the teen boy fantasy genre for whatever reason. then there are BOMBS that i absolutely love. so, let's toss box office too, as a criterion
star quality? again, it's hit or miss. so something that is true sometimes, is not regular enough to count it as a guarantee (at least IMO). many times over the years i have found movies i loved which were cast with nobodies...and often find stinkers with a stellar cast. so let's toss this too...
i love nolan too. i really do.
i have an answer as to what constitutes a benchmark for a good film. but, sadly i don't think it ever works as PRE indicator. no way to know ahead of time.
here is my one rule for any film:
it must hold my attention
that's it! there is nothing else. if i find anything boring in it, i start looking around. if it doesn't somehow reach back in and reacquire my attention, the film is toast. i'm done.
A--i don't think this can work ahead of time
B--it varies from person to person, and even WITHIN one person (there are lots of movies i thought were silly and boring until i saw them again later and something clicked and i loved them. i can give example after example of this...)
i think you are onto something with the Nolan comment. which is, following the director by name probably offers a strong likelihood the film will be a winner. but, it doesn't guarantee it. for example, i like soderberg and michael mann, but they both regularly make movies that bore me. then next time, a good one. we never know, IMO lol
anywho, just a few thoughts i thought i'd offer. nothing grand.
cheers!
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123Guy (6173)
2 years ago
i totally get and agree with everything you said here.
I think I'm looking at box office because I am working in writing, producing, directing, and need to reach the largest audience for the most success: IE Great movies.
Somehow, Nolan is very successful making interesting films that get funded and usually do really well, end up at the top of lists etc. That's not an accident. He's good at making films that HOLD ATTENTION, start to finish (usually).
But, I'm worried with the glut of excessive (crap) film making out there, how will the good ones float to the top? The interesting ones, the ones that hold your attention? How can you find those amid the 6,000 new monthly films on Amazon, or NetFlix etc?
Even METACRITICS aggregate numbers don't work for me. A ton of random indie, unknown films rank high that I would never watch. hahahha oh well
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LTUM (975)
2 years ago
i am right there with you. funny, but i suspected you were in the biz. i tried to dig my way in for a while but gave up about ten years ago. lots of reasons i won't go into here.
you are right about the problem of over-saturation. they call it 'discoverability'. that is one reason i quit; all the changes in indie markets following the 'sky is falling' speech, after the advent of streaming.
and he wasn't wrong, actually. it's been 15 years since that speech and everything pretty much bore out.
i still write. that's it. sold all my gear except my DSLR. just couldn't see giving years of my life to something that will pay off (maybe) in tiny monthly residuals 5-7 years down the line. the ROI just doesn't work anymore. and i don't do tv or series; only features.
not to mention the changes in the public's 'tastes' in the past 10-12 years. most adults i know are more fascinated with scrolling their facebook feed than watching a film.
we lost the connection to the viewers' minds, which is tragic. people no longer have an APPETITE for good stories, like they did even 15, 20 years ago. i recall how water cooler talk about movies was very much a regular thing back then.
nice chatting with you.
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