The Blood Fever At Dreamamount Builds
Going into the lovely New Year
June 18, 2013
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Quote Unquotesee all »
“I have to imagine from Mr. Spielberg’s point of view, the paradigm shift in the 1970s was just the new “normal,” a “halcyon era” from which we are straying in the 21st century–because theatrical exhibition is tenuous (as it has been since the 1940s), the home video market has dried up and people are watching pirated movies on their phone. Spielberg’s coming-of-age era was for him the halcyon period that the 21st century “implosion” will cause to go “crashing into the ground.” But he is wrong. The market for movies is actually diverse and highly segmented–although from the top-down movie industry vantage point and media punditry you would not think this to be true. Would we really mourn for Mr. Spielberg or ourselves if Lincoln would have been made for cable or had played on public television? Is it bad for humanity that cable television is creating wonderful, resonant stories in long-form series that people want to watch at home on TV (or streamed onto their computer)? I don’t think so, but it is a paradigm shift and it might affect people’s theatrical moviegoing habits. Televisions in people’s homes have had that effect for seven decades–it is not a new phenomenon. As Art House cinema impresarios we need to focus on what WE can do at our theaters and in our communities. It is not productive for us to fret over what pundits say or about what well-meaning filmmakers like the Stevens–Spielberg and Soderbergh–say. We should fret about what we can do in our communities. What we can do to support filmmakers.”
~ From A Response By Russ Collins, CEO, Michigan Theater – Ann Arbor And Director, Art House Convergence, To Mr. Spielberg
“Do not kick me under the table. I hate that. I don’t need you as my conscience, my Jewish Jiminy Cricket. Especially do not kick my boots. You know they protect my ankles. Richard Burton had great talent. He’s ruined his great gifts. He’s become a joke with a celebrity wife. Now he just works for money, does the worst shit. And I wasn’t rude. To quote Carl Laemmle, “I gave him an evasive answer. I told him, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ ” In his time, Sam Goldwyn was considered a classy producer because he never deliberately did anything that wasn’t his idea of the best quality goods. I respected him for that. He was an honest merchant. He may have made a bad picture, but he didn’t know it was a bad picture. And he was funny. He actually once said to me, in that high voice of his, “Orson, for you I’d write a blanket check.” He said, “With Warner Brothers, a verbal commitment isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.” Gregg Toland, who shot so many Goldwyn pictures, told me that in Russia, if you didn’t see every actor’s face brilliantly, they had to go back and reshoot it. Sam was the same way. Whenever there wasn’t a bright light on a star’s face for 30 seconds, he went nuts: “I’m paying for that face! I want to see the actor!” Long shots, all right, but no shadows.”
~ Maverick Hollywood Reniassance Man Henry Jaglom Garners Alleged Table Talk From Orson Welles With His Trusty Recorder
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I’m confused. What exactly does this have to do with Brokeback Mountain?
Ha ha. Waterbucket, you beat me to it. I was going to make the exact same joke.
Anyways, back to Kong vs. Narnia.
I guess this inside baseball industry info (which I love, more please!) doesn’t play well in Peoria, where people would rather rehash boring old debates.
I wouldn’t even call them debates. It’s two sides restating their own positions ad infinitum, each oblivious to the other.
I couldn’t care less about who goes or stays at Paramount.
Will it result in better movies is the only relevant question to me.
I like the fantasy baseball analogy. That is actually a fun way to pick who stays and who goes.
Do I see the hidden hand of Rick Sands? As a Miramax VP he orchestrated Miramax’s hard-right turn after 9/11/2001. Might have even convinced Disney to sack the Weinstein brothers. Sands bailed out just in time to land at . . . DreamWorks.
As Paramount is owned by Viacom — whose chairman loves Bush — I wouldn’t be surprised if Sands stays on and steers Par further to the right.
Chucky, you really got to let it go. The right wing conspiracy stuff? Relax.
It’s real funny. Bush is the only guy to get savaged for being dumb and stupid than three days later he’s praised as genuis and cunning enough to sandbag all Liberals into buying what he’s selling. What’s that say about them? They’re hoodwinked by a guy that savage as a box of rocks? The public really wants people like that in charge. People who get hoodwinked by retards.
Rick Sands was one of the DWers who was kicked to the curb.
Julian is still PISSED about it.
goldplated watches? Cheapskates.
A starf*cks card lasts longer (and it don;t turn green).
they really give out gold watches as retirement gifts? i thought that was only in the movies.
This is what happens when companies merge or buyout another. Good old fashioned American capitalism. Pink slips are never a good thing but sometimes they are needed. People land on their feet. They always do.
Ha, every time Dave posts about people getting laid off there’s a “rah rah capitalism” reply. I was wondering how long it would take.
Yeah, it’s always ‘good old fashioned American capitalism’ when it’s happening to someone else.
communism called. they want jeff leer back. do u guys call each other up to make sure u follow up back to back whenever the convo veers into anything other than movies?
Would you force a company to keep every employee it ever hired even if they weren’t productive or hurt the companies bottom line? Because that’s what it sounds like here.
I can understand the hatred of big business but you should take a few economics classes before you go flying off the handle about layoffs especially at companies the size of Paramount. That is how the economy works. If you aren’t productive you shouldn’t be employed. If you have issues with that there is always work in China.
I’ve been laid off before and it’s not a joy. But you have to understand that’s the business world. You have to be indispensible. I am sure these higher ups who are losing their jobs because of the merger have other options and back ups or they wouldn’t be where they are today.
I wish every worker made a billion dollars and had the same work hours and the same benefits and the same attitude and we all shared and shared alike. I’d say wake up but it’s probably a lost cause.
There’s a reason you go to school, work hard, study, have ambition, show effort, and strive to go up the ladder and be a success. And it’s not because everyone makes the same and earns the same. It’s called freedom.
If you’re worried about losing your job?
Then run the company and be the one making the decisions. Easy enough. I’d fire JeffMCM in about two seconds just because.
The two funniest remarks here:
BiBob making fun of people backing each other up on their comments…who would ever do that?
‘run the company…easy enough’ Yes, easy enough indeed.
No worries, Josh, you can’t preemptively fire me, I preemptively quit.
From what I’ve learned about this blog is to run away anytime a Liberal starts sprouting off on anything other than film. I’d rather gnaw my hand off than listen to it.
The unpleasant truth here is that the film studio business is a shrinking one. Many of the people who are being laid off here will have to either leave this industry or will take jobs at smaller companies and will displace other people who will be forced to leave this business.
Yes, this is the nature of capitalism. And some of the choices that are displacing people who have invested decades at Paramount are good calls. But still… it is hardly something to be blithe about. The people who will most harshly be affected are the ones who are actually working for a living and not the ones in charge who play the endless game of failing up and pass the pipe.
Maybe we ought to start a season of America’s Net Top Instigator and every week, we can kick someone off the blog.
“This Week’s Challenge: Get The Dalai Lama To Throw Hot Liquid In Your Face.”
Seriously. Coming to a film blog and throwing around the word “liberal” like an epithet is like going to an ice hockey game and trying to use “Canadian” as a slur. A bit pointless.
Every industry goes through this. It’s the nature of the beast.
Sure it’s to be expected. That doesn’t mean we have to just sit back and be glib about it.
There are a lot of people whose worldviews can’t stand any disruption and take any challenge to the status quo personally.
We all supposed to picket out in front of Paramount because some people are going to lose their jobs?
I feel bad for them, the timing sucks and I think they’ll be alright in the end. Working for Dreamworks you knew your company was in play for the past two years. This isn’t a shock to the system. Hopefully, they kissed the right people’s butts.
I don’t really feel too sorry for studio executives. Yeah they’re people and it’s going to be rough on them, my father was fired from his job when I was a kid and it took a toll on us for a while. But imo the studio system is bloated with too many executives and that more than anything is the cause of the relative poorer quality of films we’ve been seeing over the past decade.
BTW Dave, you read that guest editorial piece in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday poking holes in the Slump bigtime? It seemed like something that’d be right up your alley.
To be honest, I’d be sad about this… If it was happening to any other studios besides Paramount & Dreamworks (MGM already is in the bag). Talk about a much needed kick in the behind.
At least I can do a little dance from the news about Rick Sands. Sheesh, what a schmuck.
Paramount’s been is disarray ever since the departure of Lansing and DW has been continually haphazardly managed. And with the WB cutting 400 recently, I don’t think either organization was particularly shocked by added layoffs. But still, not exactly a great way to bring in the new year.
I just want to post here so that every post listed on the front page is either from me or Kamikaze Camel. Rock on!
I just want to post here so that every post listed on the front page is either from me or Kamikaze Camel. Rock on!
Thanks. At least the Camel has a point when he posts.