McNutt Against the Music

I was trying to explain to someone the other day why the summer movie season is as big as it is; after all, you’d think that people would much rather spend their vacations outside. But it’s a textbook case of counter-programming: when people have had enough sun, they seek the coolest, darkest place they can find that will keep them entertained. More often than not, that’s a movie theatre. Combine that with kids being out of school with disposable $$$ in their pockets and you’ve got yourself a recipe for hugeness.

The key word in this analysis is “entertained.” Star Wars, released in 1977, usually receives most of the credit/blame for creating the modern Hollywood blockbuster – expensive, special-effects driven “popcorn” films that provide precious little insight into the human condition but sure give one hell of a bang for your buck. To the eternal chagrin of film nerds, it’s these big-budget monstrosities – now expanded to include star-driven comedies and animated spectaculars – that dominate the yearly box office time after time.

I don’t mean to sound like one of those film nerds as I write this. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see a larger audience for a lot of the art-house fare that regularly passes through my DVD player. But some of my favourite movies are the ‘popcorn’ films that I grew up with: Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, not to mention more recent fare like Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Just because a film is big and expensive and (relatively) simple doesn’t mean that it can’t be worthwhile.

Having said that, looking over the summer movie release calendar this year inevitably leads to two observations: a lot of movies are going to make a shitload of money, and, more importantly, haven’t we seen most of these movies before? You would be forgiven for that sense of déjà vu. Almost every major movie being released this summer is either a remake, a sequel or some sort of brand extension. Let’s recap:

Sequels: Spider-Man 3 (May 4), 28 Weeks Later (May 11), Shrek the Third (May 18), Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (May 25), Hostel Part II (June 8), Ocean’s Thirteen (June 8), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (June 15), Live Free or Die Hard (June 27), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 13), The Bourne Ultimatum (August 3), Daddy Day Camp (August 10), Rush Hour 3 (August 10)

Brand Extensions / Major Adaptations / Remakes: Nancy Drew (June 15), Evan Almighty (June 22), Transformers (July 4), Hairspray (July 20), The Simpsons Movie (July 27), Bratz: The Movie (August 10)

(In fact the only two major Hollywood films this summer that don’t fit into one of those two categories are Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up and Pixar’s Ratatouille.)

The “problem” with the blockbuster model of filmmaking, according to the snobs, is that it eschews innovation and reality in favour of similarity. Hollywood has always been an environment where conservatism reigns and repetition abounds, but rarely has it been made as brutally obvious as it is this summer. It begs the question: why?

The answer: because we’ve become as conservative as Hollywood is.

Familiarity is king. There’s a reason why people like McDonald’s – it’s because no matter where they go, they know exactly what they’re going to get. There’s no risk in ordering a Big Mac and fries (besides the one to your arteries) because it’s a known commodity. And as much as some of us will try and argue that movies are an “art form” and deserved to be treated as such, increasingly audiences have come to see films as just as much of a commodity as the studios do. It’s all about the Benjamins.

And who can blame them? Going to the movies costs a fortune in this day and age, especially as a family. Four movie tickets at just under $10, plus overpriced snacks and you’re looking at a $60 night on the town. Compare that to homecooked popcorn and a $6 rented DVD on your nice new LCD TV. Or how about comparing going to the movies to downloading a bootleg for the big expensive price of nothing? Which is more cost-effective?

The rise of DVDs and downloading, combined with the other complications of theatre-going such as noisy crowds and transportation, have put your average moviegoer and your Hollywood studio on the exact same page: audiences are only going to go out to the movies if they know that it’s a sure thing. The solution to this conservatism from a studio standpoint is easy: if you build sequels, remakes and brand-extensions, they will come.

Take this upcoming May, for example, which thanks to three films has the potential to be the biggest month in box office history. The third installments of the Spider-Man, Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean series are being released, their predecessors all sitting comfortably in the Top 10 grossing films of all time. If you’re expecting anything less than some of the biggest opening weekends ever, you’re nuts. These movies will be met with rave reviews from the public via their pocketbooks, in large part because its unlikely that any of them will deviate much from the formula that’s been established in their predecessors. In other words, they’re not made to disappoint.

What happens when a blockbuster does deviate from formula? You end up with The Matrix Reloaded. The original Matrix was a surprise hit, a succesful blending of Asian kung-fu cinema with Western visual effects and science fiction. It represents a rare exception to this love of familiarity, but at its core it was still a traditionally-structured action film – easily digestible, in other words. Its sequel was a film that bravely messed with established concepts and structure – its climax was a CONVERSATION for goodness sake – and as such was detested by audiences far and wide. The failure of Reloaded wasn’t in its actual quality (a flawed film, sure, but at the very least an interesting one) but in that it didn’t deliver what audiences were expecting.

Now, all this doesn’t mean that I’m not excited about several of the movies coming out this summer. Considering that Spider-Man 2 ranks up there with Batman Begins as the pinnacle of the modern superhero trend, I’m interested in its follow-up (although worried by evidence that the producers had more influence on this one rather than Raimi running the show on his own). I’m pumped for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as the book contains some of the best material in the series but also some of the worst filler; in other words, it’s a great candidate for a film edit. The first two Bourne movies were top-notch, and few lifelong Simpsons fans will be able to ignore the in-the-works-for-years film adaptation.

But the flipside of the known commodity syndrome is that folks like me are easily able to knock films off the “need to see” list…and frankly, there’s not that much I need to see this summer. I suppose there’s a silver lining to this – maybe I’ll give this “outside” thing a try.

As for everyone else, well, no alarms and no surprises, please.

Watch: Spider-Man 3 trailer

Watch: Shrek the Third trailer

Watch: Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End trailer

EDIT: And with almost perfect timing, the final trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released today. You can watch it in glorious Quicktime here, or watch the YouTube version from the good folks over at the Leaky Cauldron:

Absolutely LOVE the look of Voldemort here…high hopes for this one, folks.