OCCASIONALLY, I read in Time Magazine or Newsweek that it had been a bummer of a summer for Tinseltown. Simply put, there is none of those blockbuster hits that have made Hollywood lights go up simmultaneously.
Yes, we have all heard or seen Fantastic Four, Batman, Sin City, Daredevil, Elektra, Hulk and Spiderman. I admit those computer graphics scenes are mind-boggling and extremely entertaining but one can only consume so much of the same dish for so long.
Imagine yourself eating caviar for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now as a connoisseur of movies, what would you like? Surely, a variety of dishes, generally well cooked or beautifully packaged, right?
Same with movies, my friend. Recently, I saw a documentary where a company was vetting movie scripts from members of the public. I couldn't believe what these people came up with. A lot of them were so ridiculous that I thought these aspiring scriptwrites must be taking the public's intellingence for granted.
No wonder the crowds are conspicuously absent from the ticket booths. Generally, moviegoers are not stupid. They will know a movie is a hit when they see one. And what are the factors that determined a box office hit.
One, it depends on what category it falls into. If it is a romantic comedy then it must have the right cast. That means the couple must have chemistry on screen. I don't care if they want to kill each other on sight in real life but in reel life, they must look as if they are deeply in love with each other and they must convince moviegoers that it is for REAL!
This means the casting person must have a feel for the personalities of the main players in the movie. Take for example, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr & Mrs Smith. Now everybody knows this couple has got chemistry, even Jennifer Aniston knew that. That's beside the point.
If you are producing a romantic comedy, you have got to make sure you don't team up someone like Meg Ryan with a gorilla. I mean nobody is going to be convinced that love is going on!
Two, action movies have be nail-biting, fast-paced, no-time-to-breathe stuff. For example, Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark. Now, that's one movie that leaves you panting at the end. After that, you would just leave over to your friend seated next to you and say, "let's watch it again."
Steven Spielberg is one of those Hollywood Joes who has his fingers on the pulse of moviegoers. I think basically he's like anyone of them. Probably, for a long while during his growing years, he told himself "I want to see the movie go this way, or that way." Now that he's all grown up and he's the man in charge, he can do it the way he feels it should have been done.
Hence, we have those Indiana Jones hit series, ET, Schindler's List and other super-mega hit movies - all by Spielberg himself.
Three, put yourself in the shoes of the moviegoer. In other words, be the moviegoer. Think like them, feel like them and cry if necessary like them. Unless you can be just like another moviegoer yourself, you will never know what the audience wants.
Four, human drama films must have those ingredients that compell viewers to get involved personally with the story.
Take for example, Field of Dreams (Kevin Costner), Miracle (Kurt Russell) and Rocky (Sylvester Stallone). These are but three of the hundreds of human drama movies that have made insane and sinful profits for those responsible. Why are they so successful?
It's obvious. Each other has a hardluck story that has a plausible happy ending. Hey, not every movie must have an open-ended last scene or one of those seemingly irritating endings that tend to show how clever the director is.
Ordinary people who go to cinemas like to have their hopes uplifted, their confidence in mankind reaffirmed and be encouraged to go ahead and improve themselves.
In other words, have a good moral to the story. Don't be obnoxious and test the patience of the moviegoer by giving him or her an ending that makes him shake his head in frustration.
Five, don't worry too much about critics. They are not the ones who put money in your pockets. I have read of critics' reviews that seem intelligent enough when they give a particular movie two-star rating but the movies which they have panned, had gone ahead and earned millions for the producer and director and the actors involved. Now, who has the last laugh?
Movie critics are sometimes too cynical for their own good. Some of them have become too unfeeling in their profession that they are no longer classified as normal human beings. Instead of just enjoying the movie and harbouring no expectations, they begin to probe every nook and corner of cinematic techniques and nuances that are probably not there.
I have a friend who used to be a movie reviewer. Initially, he was readable but after a while, he became so obnoxious that nobody believes him anymore. The next thing you know, he was booted right out of the entertainment pages. A man who became too good for the cinema and for Hollywood.
Sixth, when a film producer does his job, he must get joy out of it. He must feel a deep passion for the subject, otherwise his pessimism will show in the film. Worse, his director feels it too. This kind of feeling must not be allowed to pervade the film set.
Again, take for example, Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ. Nobody in Hollywood wanted to have anything to do with a movie that has the name Jesus Christ in it. I am not saying that the bunch of money-grabbing guys who finance big-budget movies are irreligious or just plain paganistic. That's not the point.
Mel Gibson was so committed to making Passion of Christ that he was willing to risk US$30 million of his own money. And so by the grace of God, he went ahead despite all the doom and gloom projected by his all-knowing colleagues.
And what do you know, the good Lord made sure that good old Mel make ten times the profit inclusive of his investment. Those who saw Passion of Christ know that the passion of Mel Gibson was as strong as the passion of Christ in that movie. See, what happens when you put your passion into a project?
Now, Hollywood, sit down, shut and listen to these little nuggest of wisdom. Then, perhaps you may be able to reap a little profit from your movie projects. You are into making money, aren't you?
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