Brendan Fraser says ‘Batgirl’ being shelved shows that movies are being ‘commodified’ in Hollywood.

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    1 day ago

    My son is a budding filmmaker, and we talk about this a lot.

    Young filmmakers often don’t realize what miraculous times they live in. You can literally use the phone in your pocket to shoot a movie, edit it on your computer with free software, and then release it to the world on various video platforms, and even generate revenue, all without a nickel of studio or investor support.

    But if all you want to do is make Marvel movies, then yeah, you have to sell your soul to The System.

    • 0_o7@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 hours ago

      Young filmmakers often don’t realize what miraculous times they live in. You can literally use the phone in your pocket to shoot a movie, edit it on your computer with free software, and then release it to the world on various video platforms, and even generate revenue, all without a nickel of studio or investor support

      That literally just works out for like 1 out of 100s. It’s why people use bots to give it a little push so the almighty algorithm can recommend it to others. And that needs moneyz which is why YouTube front-page and recommendations filled with crap.

      • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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        2 hours ago

        Depends on your definition of “works out.” If all you want to do is get your little movie made so you can learn about all the moving parts that go into it, and get it out there where people might find it, then everyone has all the elements needed to do that, except a script and actors.

        My son and I talk a lot about the costs of films these days, both the actual shooting, and the promotion that follows, which often doubles the coat of the film, making it even harder to be profitable. It is skewing the sorts of movies that are getting released, and generally not for the better.

        And yet there are really compelling, very successful films that were shot on micro-budgets, like Paranormal Activity, which cost $55K, and has made billions. If filmmakers can think on a micro-scale, it’s possible for them to get their movies into the market, where they can be found by adventurous movie lovers.

        And that’s where you think it falls apart, not being able to get noticed by “the algorithm,” but obscure stuff goes viral every day. Being clever in your social media marketing can be far more valuable than throwing a big budget at it.

        Eventually, we are going to have a backlash against the big studios, especially when they start getting all preachy and propaganda-ish (which is coming), and there a new American New Wave film movement with low budget films recorded on phones and small digital cameras will emerge.

    • IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Reminds me a bit of how South Park parodied Marvel & streaming services a few years ago…

      “Netflix, you’re green-lit. Who am I speaking with?”

      • Zahille7@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        Rick & Morty did the same exact thing with the heist episode. Like, the B-plot was almost literally the South Park Netflix episode’s