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- Scorsese: "The Industry Is Over."
Howdy Hollywood tech nerds!
In this week’s post:
🎦 Scorsese: “The Industry Is Over.”
💥 I Told You So!
🍿 Kernels: 3 links worth making popcorn for
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Scorsese: “The Industry Is Over.”
Well, the industry is over. In other words, the industry that I was part of, we’re talking almost, what, 50 years ago? It’s like saying to somebody in 1970 who made silent films, what do you think’s happened? [Studios are not] interested any longer in supporting individual voices that express their personal feelings or their personal thoughts and personal ideas and feelings on a big budget. And what’s happened now is that they’ve pigeonholed it to what they call indies.
The above comes from a terrific Scorsese profile in GQ, one of a number that have appeared in the weeks leading up to the October 20 release of Killers of the Flower Moon, which is receiving both a theatrical run and a later exclusive window on Apple TV+.
There’s lots about the film in these articles, but for me the best value is Scorsese’s take on the state of the business. Of course, not everybody enjoys hearing from Marty on this subject; Marvel fans have longstanding beef with Scorsese, and he certainly gives them more grist for the mill:
The danger there is what it’s doing to our culture. Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those... it’s manufactured content. It’s almost like AI making a film. And that doesn’t mean that you don’t have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork. But what does it mean? What do these films, what will it give you? Aside from a kind of consummation of something and then eliminating it from your mind, your whole body, you know? So what is it giving you?
This can feel upsetting and dismissive if your only regular trip to the theater is to see the latest superhero movie. However, it’s also fundamentally right. As the article takes pains to mention, Scorsese isn’t anti-progress or technology —how could he be with a film being distributed on Apple TV+ or regular appearances on his daughter Francesca’s TikTok?
@francescascorsese He lowkey slayed. #fyp #martinscorsese #dadsoftiktok #dadguesses
In Time, Scorsese points to the community aspect of filmgoing that has been lost: “It should be one cinematic culture, you know? But right now everything is being fragmented and broken up in a way. Not everybody liked musicals. Not everybody liked westerns. Not everybody liked gangster films or noirs. But at the time, we just went to the movies, and that’s what was playing.”
This was the reason “Barbenheimer” was such an exciting phenomenon this summer: the communal event aspect of going to the movies was back. Even Marty agrees! Being at the theater on opening weekend was electric. How does Hollywood achieve that consistently once again? This is the question the business must answer, and the answer won’t be found in endless superhero films.
Young people expressing themselves with moving images, they’re going to find a way to be seen. But they have to fight, they have to really, really fight and not be co-opted.
I Told You So!
I’m not typically one to toot my own horn, but I don’t think it’s too self-aggrandizing to point out your pal Steve occasionally has his finger on the pulse of the biz:
In my newsletter on David Slack’s interview with Ed Zitron, I highlighted the IP concerns that were high priority for the WGA. When the new WGA deal was finalized, that was the top AI concession from the AMPTP.
I wrote about the importance of Taylor Swift’s unusual direct distribution deal with theater chains for her Eras Tour concert film. Which major artist just announced she’s distributing her concert film similarly? Beyoncé.
Last week, on the day my newsletter about the TikTokification of content arrived, Paramount dropped Mean Girls on the site in 23 parts (while robbing its writers and actors of any possible residuals due to a clip-related loophole).
Now am I ridiculously prescient prognosticator or a simple stumblebum with too much Internet time on his hands? Probably both? Either way, keep your eyes trained here, and tell your friends!
Kernels (3 links worth making popcorn for)
Here’s a round-up of cool links about Hollywood and technology:
What IS a subscriber, really? (link)
How The Last of Us came to Hollywood Horror Nights. (link)
Disney is ditching Hulu’s branding. Perhaps they shouldn’t! (link)