"I think it's a disaster out there," says Kaufman, who established his own style of story in such films as Adaptation, Being John Malkovich and his directing debut, last year's Synecdoche, New York.I hope Charlie is back to his bearded look because I'm not so sure it's a good idea -- him mixing with razor blades just now."I don't think the mid-range movie is going to exist anymore," he says in a phone interview from his California home. "Movies are going to be blockbusters or really, really tiny budgets. And the tiny-budget movies have a very, very hard time getting distributed.
``All the places that distribute those movies have closed down. . . . There were avenues of exploration and experimentation that existed prior. I don't know what that means for me.
"I think we're going to be left with just more and more versions of Batman. It is a function of the cost of these things and it is a function of a lot of fear. People don't think of (movie-making) as a form of expression, but as a form of business."
The movie he's referring to is Synecdoche, New York (2008) which per Box Office Mojo grossed $4.275M worldwide. With a $20M production budget plus P&A costs and lagging DVD sales, the movie will almost certainly end up in the red -- no matter how creative the Hwood bookkeepers are."I made a movie this past year that didn't do very much business," he says. "The movies I'd done before, none of them were financial blockbusters, but people made their money back, a little profit, and there was some award prestige attached to them. All that stuff that keeps interest in financing them. But I think all that's going away.
"I'm not creating a product. I'm not making a car or a can of beans, I'm trying to express something. . . . In a way, trying to do something that's a bit of an antidote to what this popular art form has become. The fact that I'm not making superhero movies or spy thrillers doesn't seem to me like a flaw . . . this business has been reduced to one story over and over again."
Since Kaufman both wrote and directed Synecdoche, New York, it's understandable how he might be in a rather negative state of mind given the movie's box office performance. And goodness knows, there are plenty of reasons to be depressed about the state of movies nowadays -- cough * Viewmaster * cough / hack * Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen * hack.
But if there's one unalterable fact about the movie business, it's that it's cyclical. In fact, right now much of the buzz going around is about Paranormal Activity, a movie that cost $15K to produce. To wit, a recent Financial Times article:
"Lower budget film could be a sign of things to come." Wouldn't surprise me at all if within 2 years, the indie-film / specialty movie world has come back with a vengeance.After a summer bursting with expensive box office flops, a film made for a paltry $15,000 and starring an unknown cast is shaping up to become one of the year’s surprise successes.
Paranormal Activity, a horror film in the mould of the Blair Witch Project, has been selling out midnight screenings in a handful of US cities and looks set to become a bona fide hit when it is released across the US by Paramount this month.
The positive buzz surrounding the film is in sharp contrast to the negative reaction afforded several big budget releases this summer that flopped at the box office. As Hollywood studios tighten their belts, the lower budget film could be a sign of things to come [emphasis added].
In fact, when I get the time, I'm going to post something about successful low-budget indie/specialty films and see if we can identify key narrative elements that they share. Maybe there are some 'universal truths' we can identify to help steer the writing of those type of stories.
Until then - back away from the rusty razor blades!
H/T to rfuller24 for the Kaufman link.
H/T to Tom Peterson for the Financial Times link.
Posts
9 comments:
"In fact, when I get the time, I'm going to post something about successful low-budget indie/specialty films and see if we can identify key narrative elements that they share."
This would be a great. Looking forward, as usual -
Ted
This town is full of candy-ass blowhards. We're in the worst economic crisis since the great depression and every one of these articles is written as if Hollywood existed in some microcosm where none of these things were happening across the world. If people like Charlie Kaufman want financing for their projects a good way to win investors is to quit jabbering about what a lost cause it is.
Though I would not wish to refer to one of my literary heroes as a 'candy-ass blowhard," I must admit Mr. kgmadman has a point. Perhaps in his next script, Kaufman may not be able to write a film that hinges on the recreation of an entire city within a massive warehouse. Pricey little conceit that film carried around its neck.
Strangely, what I'm doing now feels so right considering the state of things. I'm writing films for very small outfits sprinkled throughout the midwest, all individuals and companies with a smattering of film experience (ad agencies, video production houses) who wish to expand into feature films. Will they be successful? Remains to be seen. But that's not my affair. I'm tasked only to write them a good, solid script. They are tasked to pay me. (Interestingly enough, though, most have so far been very open with wanting my input, one even going so far as to wishing my presence during the shoot...)
These people seem to respect the notion of story. They seem to want to actually make a quality film.
Hell, they return phone calls.
I think we'll see more and more of this happening as Hollywood squanders talents like Kaufman in favor of the seventy four writers it takes to get CHALLENGE OF THE GO-BOTS off the ground. Most will probably never see wide distribution (I don't expect any of these projects I'm writing for to go wider than a festival or two and perhaps some weird shelf life in a RED BOX or on the web, that's for sure) but there does seem to be a market for what I'm doing.
Even if it's all just chasing my tail, I feel a great deal more satisfaction with what I'm pursuing now as opposed to my days of query letters and empty pitch meetings.
I could be wrong, but I think that Michel Gondry directed Spotless Mind and Kaufman wrote it. Anyways, I like what you are saying about the cyclical nature of the movie industry. But Kaufman seems to be saying what you are saying too, in that only low budget and super high budget movies will get made in the coming years.
Even though Hollywood is making lots of brainless blockbusters, indy movie and low budget movies are very much alive and kicking.
I think Kaufmans just a bit bitter cause Synechdoche New York didnt do much money. He should have tried making that movie for less, it cost too much for the kind of film that it was.
Kaufman has to realize his movie is not just an opportunity to bare his soul or whatever, it is a product.
There are a tremendous amount of projects in the works that probably need to be shelved or put on hold because society is not financially or emotionally ready for them right now.
I dont want to see a $20 million movie turned into a $2 million cheaper version. Put it on hold and make it for the full budget later.
If it is a good story, it will still be viable down the road.
If you cant come to terms with the fact that most art is eventually just a product, then time to just write scripts and stories for fun and get a job somewhere else.
"If you cant come to terms with the fact that most art is eventually just a product, then time to just write scripts and stories for fun and get a job somewhere else."
Oh boy. The 'can of worms' is open.
With all due respect, ATTATT, this is why modern day scriptwriting and filmmaking is in such a state. Once the writers and directors start thinking like the marketing department and merchandisers, we're in big trouble.
And, um, in case you're wondering... we're in big trouble.
If, by your standard, the cinema is heading into a place where movies will only be a 'product' and films like Kaufman's can't exist, regardless if they SUCCEED or FAIL, then, yes, the love affair between film and I is quite over.
Did SYNECDOCHE have its problems? Certainly. But I'd rather see a marketplace where chances can be taken than the boardroom mentality that puts "30 explosions here, Megan Fox's ass there, sprinkle in some 3-D, and boom, we got a hit!"
I respect your position, ATT, I just don't like it... :D Does this make me a contradictory, antiquated dinosaur? More than likely...
I respect Kaufman as one of the most original minds in film, but anyone who can't appreciate (or at least accept) the business side of movies shouldn't be making $20M pictures.
This isn't a call to throw originality out the door. THE HANGOVER, DISTRICT 9, and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY are all recent testaments to the box office power of an original, marketable movie. But if you're talking tens of millions of dollars, marketability simply has to be a factor.
It's not what you make. it's what you spend.
Post a Comment