The Power of the Audience

When it comes to writing movies, that idea--that concept for a film that we haven't seen before--is elusive. Sure, we can blame the movies themselves--after all, everything these days seems to be a sequel or a reboot, right? Same old, same old ... And yet, how did that get to be?

Maybe the real question is, were movies ever original? Even in what's called the golden age of the 30s and 40s, movies often came from other sources--plays in particular. And novels and comic books often led to films ... which certainly still happens today.

But think about it--who determines what scripts will be produced? The studios? The boys club therein? The gates of which are difficult to crash ...

I say no. I say it's the audience.

If we go to every remake that's made, well, the studios are in the business of keeping their studio afloat--so they'll make more remakes. More sure things.

But as Tom Hanks said recently at Telluride, "We all go to the cinema for the same thing: to be transported to someplace we have never been before." Hanks was supposed to be talking about his own new film, Sully, but veered off into talking about another new film called La La Land.

"When you see something that is brand new," Hanks continued, "that you can't imagine, and you think, 'well thank god this landed', because I think a movie like La La Land would be anathema to studios. Number one, it is a musical and no one knows the songs. This is not a movie that falls into some sort of trend. I think it is going to be a test of the broader national audience, because it has none of the things that major studios want. Pre-awareness is a big thing they want, which is why a lot of remakes are going on. [La La Land] is not a sequel, nobody knows who the characters are, but if the audience doesn't go and embrace something as wonderful as this then we are all doomed."

Wow. And what will stop us from being doomed? Per Hanks, the audience will have to take notice of this film.

THE AUDIENCE.

That's us. All of us. We need to take notice of the new, the original, the never tried before. We need to spend our dollars supporting different kinds of movies or we will be given the same diet over and over again. Can we see the newest summer blockbuster? Of course! But that's, like, an appetizer. I want something more substantial for my main course--something I can really get my teeth into. So I can't wait until La La Land comes out--I'll be in my favorite spot, third row center. And I hope the same is true for all the other La La Lands to come ... I hope we all continue to support those who aim for something more ... those writers who put their soul onto the page in the hopes of giving us something new.

Copyright © Diane Lake

23Oct16

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