Posts tagged money
“The Force That Changed America”
Mar 25th
Star Wars was changed, as you know, and in 1997 could also have been changed to “Twenty years ago in a Hollywood universe far, far away a young man named Lucas fulfilled his vision and managed to make a sappy space opera filled with mythological overtones, innovative special effects and filmmaking techniques that were a throwback to Saturday matinee serials, and young Lucas was also farsighted enough to keep all the merchandising rights for his creation, which became so successful that it changed how we look at movies, how Hollywood makes movies and society itself, which became seduced by the Dark Side of merchandising and greed.”
On May 25, 1977, Star Wars opened in a little over 30 theaters and went on to do blockbuster business, earn obscene amounts of money, spawn many equally successful sequels, make George Lucas a wealthy man and an unequaled force in the entertainment industry and perhaps “single-moviedly” create movie fan clubs and people obsessed with collecting every collectible associated with the movies they could get their hands on.
However, Star Wars is more than just a sappy space opera filled with mythological overtones, innovative special effects and filmmaking techniques that are throwbacks to Saturday matinee serials. It is also a transference of power and importance from one generation to the next, and it might not just be coincidence that the “special edition” came 20 years later, the time of one generation.
If you were one of the millions who stood in line at one of the 1800 theaters in which Star Wars (Special Edition) opened January 31, 1997, you might have noticed how it was not as interesting if you already knew everything that happens and what everything means. Wait! We already knew that from the many, many times we had already seen it, whether in theaters the first time around long, long ago or on TV from either broadcast showings, movie rentals or our own private collections.
We already know that Mark Hamill was a wooden actor, that the story is sappy at the beginning when Luke Skywalker is with his aunt and uncle and that scenes go on way, way too, too long to show us the razzle-dazzle of special effects rather than advancing the story. And we already knew that the superficial banter between Han Solo and Princess Leia is just a cover-up for their mutual attraction.
Yes, we knew how the movie begins, how it middles and how it ends. So, why were we so fascinated to want to see it again when it was already etched in our brains like a historical myth?
Well, that depends on who “we” is. Some of us were (ahem) old, old enough to have seen it the first time around, which means we were probably Baby Boomers and didn’t want to grow any older and were reliving that experience again, which helped us to think we were still that age of 20 years earlier.
Some of us were just old enough to have children, and we probably wanted to see it again with our kids, sort of like passing a sacred totem on to the next generation.
And some of us were (ahem) young, young enough to have never seen it on a large screen, where Lucas maintained it was meant to be seen.
Lucas said he was only 50% to 60% happy with the film 20 years earlier and later he was 80% happy with it. He said, “The only thing I joke about now is it would be fun–and we can’t do this for another 10 years or so–to go back and digitize the entire movie and clean it up.”
May the Force help us!
Was this how we wanted Hollywood to treat our icons? Was this how we wanted movies made and remade as new technology allowed filmmakers to ignore the limitations of their raw material?
Think of Independence Day. Think of Plan 9 from Outer Space. Heck, think of Mars Needs Women.
Star Wars created Hollywood’s obsession with the blockbuster, it created the phenomenon in which merchandising earns more than the box office and it probably has a direct influence on why magazines and newspapers contain more advertising than text over time, companies now sponsor sporting events and even uniforms, and athletes make more money from endorsements than they do from playing their sports.
Star Wars is the Force that changed Hollywood, and as Hollywood goes, so goes America.
I rest my case.
“A Good Day to Die Hard” a Video Game of Mass Destruction
Mar 10th
“Video Game of Mass Destruction”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
A Good Day to Die Hard is the fifth in the series of movies starring Bruce Willis as wisecracking action hero John McClane, which began in 1988, and of all the movies in the series, this one is the most recent.
In other words, if you can see only one of the five movies, don’t start with this one.
Yes, there is plenty of action, yes, there are plenty of explosions, yes, there is plenty of gunfire, yes, there are plenty of McClane wisecracks, but no, there is no plot.
Unless you call McClane going to Russia to shoot it up and blow it up to help his estranged son a plot.
McClane hasn’t heard from Jack in years, doesn’t know what he has been doing lately, and yet McClane says, “He could never get out of his own way, he had a lot of problems, but he’s still my kid.”
So, when McClane hears that Jack is on trial for murder in Moscow, McClane decides to go to Russia and help Jack in whatever way he can without even being asked.
And let the mayhem begin.
Jack is willing to testify under oath that another man on trial, Yuri Komarov ordered Jack to kill a third man, but the real purpose of the trial is to force Yuri to hand over a sensitive file he has to authorities.
McClane arrives at the courthouse just as all hell breaks loose, there are explosions, Jack and Yuri escape and seem to be working together, and then McClane joins them to Jack’s obvious displeasure.
McClane and Jack are estranged, remember?
So, now the three of them try to keep from being captured or killed, retrieve the sensitive file, get Yuri’s daughter, and all escape the country.
There are foot chases, there are car chases, there are truck chases, and there are even helicopter chases, all with an excessive amount of gunfire and explosions and even a double cross or two.
Oh, and don’t forget that McClane and Jack will obviously reconcile whatever problems caused their estrangement.
In other words, there is a lot of blithering blather in the movie, too.
A Good Day to Die Hard is nothing more than a video game of mass destruction, and I say don’t waste your money on this sorry excuse of a movie.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Quartet” More Than Just the “Big Game” Gala
Feb 17th
“More Than Just ‘The Big Game’ Gala”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Quartet is another in a string of recent movies about colorful, quirky oldtimers, the first film directed by actor Dustin Hoffman, and much more entertaining than you might have expected.
The credit for a large part of that has to go to the cast, which includes Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, and Michael Gambon.
The film is adapted from the 1999 play written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Donald Harwood, and it takes place in England at Beecham House, a home for retired musicians.
Consequently, the film contains plenty of delightful music, as we encounter many of the residents throughout Beecham House doing what they have done all their professional lives: performing music and singing.
One day a new resident arrives, Jean Horton, played by Maggie Smith, who is so well known that when she walks into the main hall, the residents recognize her and give her a standing ovation.
However, Jean is not as pleased to be there as the other residents are pleased to see her, and at one point she says, “This isn’t a retirement home; this is a madhouse.”
Now, a major plot point is a tired, old hackneyed one: The retirement home is in financial difficulty, and it needs to raise money to keep it going, which is achieved every year by a so-called Big Gala performance by the residents to which tickets are sold to the public.
However, this year tickets are down by 60 percent, and the musical director has to come up with a great idea in order to increase the ticket sales.
You see, the arrival of Jean means that all four performers of a famous quartet of opera singers who sang together in the Ritoletto opera by Guiseppe Verdi, the most important opera composer of the 19th century, are now staying at the retirement home.
Unfortunately, Jean exclaims that she doesn’t sing anymore, and that is final. But more important, bad blood exists between Jean and another member, Reginald, because they were once married to each other and the marriage ended very badly, so badly that when Reginald learns that Jean now lives there, he wants to move.
Well, you can see where this is going, can’t you?
Quartet is much more than just “The Big Game” gala at the end, and it is funny and also very entertaining.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”