The Ridiculous Standards for Blockbuster Movies
The first blog I wrote was about my experience making a homemade Transformers film. My drive to make this movie was spawned from my love not for the whole the “Transformers” franchise, but, significantly, the part that was the live action “Transformers” film series. The movies have received, for the most part, very poor critical reception. But they made tons of money, some earning over a billion dollars. The fifth installment “The Last Knight” made 605 million dollars and is considered a box office disappointment. 605 million dollars. A disappointment?
In discussing this with my boss, he gave me a lesson in the business side of my topic. He explained that the money made from these blockbusters is mostly used to finance award show films and to help push the marketing for those. As much as I appreciated the lesson, which is interesting, it didn’t answer my question.
The Lesson?
Money plays a factor in the success of a film; it’s just as important to how it is critically received. However, to call a film that made almost triple its budget back a “disappointment?” It bugs me. As an aspiring filmmaker, it makes me worried for the future state of the filmmaking career. How long will I last in the industry if the things I create don’t return a profit? I could make the best film in the world, but would need a monetary return on it. As much as I would love to get paid to make movies, I fear that the art will be overshadowed by the business side. If I don’t make other people money, I’m a disappointment.
Each film that I’ve made, I’ve lost money. While I understand there’s an exponential difference between my films and a huge movie studio. But I do invest my time and energy just as much as any other filmmaker. Our purpose being to make my art the best it can be. I’m proud of my work, money or not.
The future
Is 605 million dollars not enough? No. Is it probably not what they expected? Maybe. Should we worry about the ridiculously high standards of the film industry as a whole? I hope we don’t have to.
Written by Michael Davis, Intern
Edited by L.A.M.P Media Productions
