Exploiting Hollywood 1980

How come the film industry is in full swing, but people say it’s not good enough? Ronald returned home full of questions.

The entertainment industry is still a very attractive industry, there is no doubt about it. Just look at how many boys and girls are vying to enter.

But if the movie viewing figures mentioned by the professor are good, it is true that the film industry is no longer as prosperous as it used to be.

Why is my intuitive feeling so different from what the numbers reveal?

Which is the reality of the film industry?

Ronald started taking out his notebook again and calling all his acquaintances.

"Eddie, this is Ronald. I was in class at NYU Tisch College today. I met a weirdo who said some weird things. I want to ask you something."

Ronald first called his director’s agent:

"Do you think the entertainment industry and the film industry are in rapid decline now?"

"Of course not. Why do you think so?" Eddie was a little anxious. He had a potential new director, but he actually felt that the film industry was declining rapidly? Quickly change his mind.

"No, this is not my idea. It was a professor who taught us a class. He said that the number of moviegoers in America now is not what it was in 1929."

"When is this an old story? Of course, compared to the golden age before the 1960s, the number of moviegoers has dropped, but most people in this industry are still alive and well. In the 1970s, Coppola shot The Godfather, Spielberg made Jaws, George Lucas made Star Wars.

All of these movies have high box office numbers and total movie attendance. The future of the film industry is also very good, and many multinational conglomerates are rushing to invest in film companies, such as Gulf Western, which bought Paramount, and Pan American, which bought United Artists. "

"I don't think this is a declining industry. The pursuit of these multinational groups shows that the industry is on the rise. And don't you think movies are becoming more and more popular now? Which movies are being shot, which movies will be released soon, and TV stations are still We will interview movie stars and broadcast premieres. We didn’t have this kind of momentum in the past.”

Ronald got another answer from his agent.

Keep flipping through the notebook...

"Hey, Mr. Coleman, I have something to ask you. The professor who gave me my first class at New York University said that movies are an industry that is dying. But the entertainment industry I saw is still very prosperous. He How should we understand that the number of moviegoers has dropped significantly compared to the 1930s?

"Ah, I know him." Roger Coleman said he had heard of the professor's name.

"This is actually a normal thing. There was no television in the 1929s, but the ticket prices at that time were also very low. People went to the movies with the mentality of going out for entertainment.

You can look at it at any time and leave at any time. They buy a ticket and go into the cinema at any time, start watching from the halfway point, and then stop watching when they see the plot of the next scene when they enter the theater, get up and go out. "

"Besides, there was a lack of entertainment during the Great Depression. Movies were relatively cheap entertainment, so the box office exploded. I still have an impression of the movie theaters in the Roosevelt era. Many children took the money given by their parents and spent time in the movie theaters. One afternoon. That’s when I fell in love with movies.”

"So is the decline in moviegoers due to the popularity of television?"

"Movie attendance has been stable in the United States for many years, so you don't have to worry about him at all. Your professor's real worry is that his favorite drama is not doing well at the box office."

"People are more willing to watch those exploitation films with action, erotica, and violence as their selling points. Moreover, now major studios are gradually using big budgets to make these exploitation films. Big productions attract more people to watch. Your professor can't see it It’s a feature film full of artistic thinking like Billy Wilder, Lubitsch, and Chaplin when he was young.”

"Hollywood's box office records were all set after the 1970s, so there is no such thing as saying that this market is about to die."

Thanks to Roger Corman's answer, Ronald understood better: movies before the popularity of television and movies after it were actually two different things. In the past, movie theaters were like TV sets in the living room. People would go to the movie theater every night to watch them.

Now, people only go out to the cinema if they feel they really want to see a certain movie. Otherwise I would rather sit on the sofa in the living room and watch TV.

"Hi Julia. I'm Ronald and my professor kicked us out of school today. Why would he do that? Is the movie industry really in decline right now?"

"Oh, it's that old stubborn again, he's always like this. But he's not completely lying. In the 1970s, many production companies were indeed on the verge of bankruptcy. Universal, and Paramount's studios in Hollywood were suffering from no film production and lack of maintenance. collapsed."

"However, this situation was reversed by your former boss Roger Corman. He discovered Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson and others, and made a movie with Dennis Hopper." Easy Rider', which completely abandoned the traditional Hollywood shooting techniques, was an unexpected success at the box office.

This once again made capital have a strong interest in the film industry, followed by a series of box office blockbusters. "

"For example, Coppola's 'The Godfather,' Peter Bogdanovich's 'Paper Moon,' and Martin Scorsese's 'Mean Streets,' they were all discovered by Roger Corman The film wizards turned Hollywood into a place of dreams.”

"Speaking of which, you also came from Roger Corman, hahaha."

This made Ronald feel embarrassed. They were all talents discovered by Roger Corman. He hadn't even directed a movie yet, but the others were already famous.

"Okay, so, Hollywood may have had some crises before, but it has recovered now?"

"Of course, otherwise how could we open a casting studio? So many actors must mean that there is no major crisis in the industry."

Ronald continued to call...

"Hi, Jim, are you okay?"

"Hi, Ronnie, how did you find time to talk to me?" Cameron was very happy. He had just completed the special effects work for Roger Corman's $2 million "masterpiece" - "Battle of the Stars".

"It's like this..." Ronald repeated the professor's advice.

"He knows shit." Cameron cursed. "I've been to UCLA and USC, and I've seen too much of this self-righteous garbage."

"They say every day that movies are dying, that art is gone, and that people nowadays can only make exploitation films. Ask them which movies they have made. I guarantee they won't be able to tell me."

"Have you ever heard of a saying? Those who are capable make movies; those who are not capable teach film at universities." Cameron is still the same, not liking the clichés taught in schools.

Looking through the notebook, who else can I ask for advice? Walter Merzi from San Francisco, I'm not very familiar with him, so I'd better write him a letter.

"Dear Mr. Merzi,

I'm Ronald Lee. You may remember me. I saw your preview of "Apocalypse Now" at New World Pictures in Los Angeles, and I asked some questions.

Thanks to your kindness, the honey you made by hand tastes great.

I'm currently studying film and television production at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. I've encountered a problem, and I hope to hear your opinion..."