Buy Back the Movie Business

Once the movie studios were run by movie people. Now, they are run by middle managers from business or law backgrounds. Why? I have no idea. Software companies are run by computer people. Car companies are run by car people. Most sports organizations are run by sports people. But for some reason, the movie people sold out to big mega corporations and now, movies are run by businessmen. That's why marketing departments look at scripts and we get tentpole action comic book movies up the ass. Sure, good movies get made, but almost as an anomaly, rather than the standard. And a lot of great movies are made by people who literally go on a suicide mission to get them made. It shouldn't be this way.

I guess the reason is simple: money. The movie business took the big, safe, comfortable money...and it trickles all the way down. But wouldn't it be nice if the job of the movie studios was to make good movies and the job of marketing departments to market the product?

These corporations bought a brand and a production (hollywood movies) and are sucking it dry for every penny they can squeeze out each year to bump the stock price and return to the shareholders. They don't give a shit about the product - they care about the return. And even if they do care about the product in a basic, good businessman way, they don't get the product in the same way Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or Lee Iacocca or Irving Thalberg or Darryl Zanuck does/did.

Anyhow, now is the time to do something about it. With the corps reeling and in need of cash, why couldn't a saavy movie person buy a studio at a bargain price and shape how movies are made for the next 10-20 years? A few suggestions: make good movies at a price. If you keep costs down on a good idea, chances are you'll make money. Hit singles and don't swing for the fences every time. Don't overpay stars. Make projects that give you the tingley-boner feeling. If you suspect a script/movie will suck, but all numbers say it'll be good, don't make it.

Problem is - this would require balls. And the movie business cuts the balls of people - because, yes, you will fail and fail in front of a lot of people. The businessman have balls and no taste. The movie people have taste and no balls. Tricky, tricky, tricky.