I can tell because you changed the thumbnail and title like 5 times. Don't worry I feel your pain, look at my last vid and its views and tell me if its fair 🤕
How do you know if your story is good? Imagine sitting at a campfire and telling it to your friends. Most stories in today's movies will not gather any attention, or there is a chance someone will start throwing food/stones at the storyteller.
I'd say that depends on your definition of "good." A lot of the big productions of today can't even keep a consistent world going for the duration of the movie. Regardless of how interesting the story might be, it I'd still say it was badly written.
@@promcheg Wow. Rather than sticking to your guns you immediately contradict yourself. Nope. No more questions, oh wise one, you have given me all the answers I need.
Former Hollywood executive here. This is a decently-complete take on what happened. I'll just add a bit for a conclusion so people can see some light at the end of this tunnel. Its actually rather impressive that so many people on the consumer side of the product line have pieced together what happened at all. The politicization is, unfortunately, so engrained in every facet of the industry now that it would take a purge so massive it would make Elon's efforts at Twitter look tame. I am not sure Hollywood has a future to be honest. It may still exist in some form as a production place, but it will have a lot of competition from other areas that are looking to get a piece of that now that they have dropped the ball so hard. I actually have been planning/working on the starting steps to create new studios and production elsewhere. Projects will follow where the facilities and benefits are. There are tons of other areas offering similar or even better deals than Los Angeles right now, and its really starting to show. Those of us that left years or decades ago should work to bring these production facilities to those other areas; especially if they aren't as "woke". The more we take from Hollywood and start decentralizing power, the more we'll see the return to a much more democratic type of film/tv again.
That's thing is that companies who are doing this stuff won't continue to make money because they will push the audience away and the fact that their are people out their who are waking up to this is something that is inspiring
Art isn’t dead. You can’t kill art, because it will find a way. Hollywood just doesn’t make art anymore. It always comes from passion projects these days.
Ironically streaming services which lack IP are hungry for new content and are giving original or obscure IPs a chance. Amazon prime making an invincible or Boys show was a good move since they don't have Marvel or DC. Similarly Netflix is letting Zack Synder make his original projects for them. I am aware he's not exactly widely loved but him doing his own thing is artistic as it can get while straying away from contemporary studio structure at the moment. It's safe to say streaming services are going through what Hollywood did initially.
Guys I’m talking about stuff like youtube animations and short films and other things that small creators do. I completely agree that Hollywood has fully lost its magic.
Thankfully we have alternatives, not just obvious ones like independent films, but serialized shows (whether from TV or stream) But I understand your frustration. Many professionals of today are predicting that cinema (as in films made specifically for movie theatres) is going to die very soon. This isn't like the previous century anymore, the population that actually "went" to the movies is not the same as the one of today. Some blame streaming (and there is truth to that) but it's also the mentality of today. Thanks to the internet, people want their experiences with any form of entertainment to be more "personal", as in being able to watch it on their own (with their phones, TV, computers, etc). That's one reason streaming services were so successful. Actually going somewhere to watch a film with other people at the same time (including the fact that they can't pause the film for obvious reasons) just isn't as appealing as it was before.
Aww, dont give up! There are still a few good ones out there like many of the movies from A24. Not A24, but I really like Fall, Barbarian, and Black Phone.
The only movie I was excited for this year was "Jujutsu Kaisen 0". I took my father and a friend there to watch it (we watched it dubbed as my dad is new to anime) and we had a great time there as we were one of the only people in the theatre! My dad calls it "the Anime where that Mothaf*cka eats a finger!"
Love how this video doesn't just explain away the state of Hollywood by rehashing terms like "creative exhaustion" or "genre fatigue" but instead delves deep on precisely how these terms became so ubiquitous in the first place. Your analysis of the industry is stellar and original, and I think this might be your most insightful essay yet.
I think large movie corporations shoulder some of the blame for soulless movies, but a lot of the blame has to be on the audience. It seems like a lot of people consume media like a fireworks show rather than a story, so as long as there's a big spectacle with their favorite brand, they'll watch. If audiences accept bad media because it has a popular name on it, movie studios have little reason to risk money on a good, new story. I think the best stories are probably always going to come from smaller studios who can take bigger risks. I don't think it's a coincidence that Netflix put out a lot of it's best shows when it was first starting out. Glad to see another upload! Love your videos!
I agree. Movie studios constantly have reboots, sequels, prequels, requels, because people go to the movies and see them. Black Panther 2 was packed on a Friday. I see a movie nearly every week, and theaters are often more or less empty.
I think one reason of this is globalization and trying to get into other countries’ markets. Different countries have very different cultures. So trying to please all of them leads to soulless movies that sell well globally. It’s not the only reason but it’s a part of it. Especially trying to please the Chinese communist party.
Marketing is also to blame. The movies and shows that get the most marketing and publicity are the soulless "less story, more spectacle" ones. Therefore, the majority of population get exposed to those kind of movies instead of others that have good stories but very little marketing.
For me, this is why I enjoyed Top Gun 2 so much. It wasn't a cinematic masterpiece and yes, it did fall into some of the pitfalls of modern movie making but it was a serious attempt to return to a pre-2010 era. The fact that it succeeded financially is why I hope there is a push to return to actual filmmaking and actual risk taking.
18:41 Fun fact: Spielberg believed in Star Wars so much that he and Lucas made a bet. Spielberg would get 2.5% of Star Wars's profits and Lucas would get 2.5% of Close Encounters's profits. It's pretty clear who won that bet.
The notion that society went from “word of mouth” to twitter rants and rotten tomato score checks, kind of skips over a hundred years of history. Including free-to-air tv interviews, radio interviews, newspaper film review columns, tv film review shows, cable tv movie review shows, behind the scenes documentaries, etc etc etc.
I totally agree with you but we can't always blame technology. Technology exacerbates preexisting cracks and flaws. Going forward we need to be more mindful not just focusing on the craft but it's entirety the product the production the profit the promotion the technology how it will be received the place the time location etc in the future a holistic view not a limited view.
There's always been poorly written movies. We don't remember them because they were forgettable garbage, but if you look up what was in theaters in the 80's and 90's, you'll see random bad movies you forgot existed, or never heard of.
@Buster’s Well A24 is pretty great, so that's not necessarily a terrible fate. However, I do agree that people need to stop giving money to endless sequels and remakes. If everyone chose to support original movies, we would get more of them.
True, and notice how she only talks about the most well received blockbusters of the era but for all the new ones that are well liked (like Infinity War) she glances over then and calls them cookie cutter. It's easy to say artistic integrity died when you refuse to give modern films the recognition they deserve. She's also on the Taika Watiti hate train and acts like his artistic integrity died because he made one bad movie, which shows how pathetic her and most Marvel fans are and how easily "their" opinion can change. This video just feels like someone looking bad with rose tinted glasses or looking through someone else's rose tinted glasses and comparing that with reality and saying the rise tinted glasses were better to look through. Of course it was.
@@TwentyPercentDash true, I think, like usual, the people who hate these sequels, remakes, and reboots are often in the minority of consumers. Most people don't care and others are hypocrites who complain and then buy the product anyway. And then get mad at others for buying the product, too.
Bad movies dominate today's landscape, the middle-budget movie where great filmmakers previously made their names and had creative freedom/solid budgets has disappeared, and writers have lost their power (they make more $$$ in TV, btw). Name the best films of every decade - the ones everybody studies or of which, became pop culture icons. The 2010s movies pale in comparison.
Idk, pick a year, say 1987. Theres a dozen movies i would gladly watch again today. Planes train's and automobiles, dirty dancing, good morning Vietnam, overboard, over the top, empire of the sun... Cant say the same for the last few years
I did have a point in my script where I acknowledged that this video was only going to be targeting big blockbusters but unfortunately it got left out during the recording process. So, yes, this video will purely concentrate on the “blockbusters”. But I also wouldn’t say that this essay has an ambition to cover the entirety of cinema, more so to quickly analyze it through mainstream media. Since mainstream media is the one that went through the most public and noticeable shift, it’s nature could be a great pointer towards maybe not all but one of the biggest problems that Hollywood faces today. It would undoubtedly take both me and the video a lot longer to dig in much deeper and I must admit I only go as far as my competence allows me to. This is a straight up copy/paste of a reply I left to one of the comments but I feel the importance of pointing this out since unfortunately in the video it doesn’t come across as clearly as I wish it would ❤
Great video, as always. More importantly, hope you are doing well, all things considered. First priority is self-compassion, something a lot of content creators put on the back shelf when the self-imposed pressure to put out new content becomes overwhelming. Try not to get devoured by your own ambition...
As a writer making a story is like a gamble or a game of chest it's hard but you have to see what people like, what would they like, what's interesting, etc it's something putting these elements together perfectly is hard and that's the best part is if you try enough it could possibly have a great reward.
The Batman is kinda like the anti-Hollywood blockbuster. The camera cuts were longer, giving it a more personal feel, and the balance of vfx and practical effects was stunning
I understand what you mean. I haven't watched the full movie, but from the few clips I've seen, there's a slow pace to the situations. Not slow as in "it drags on", but rather "slow so that the heavy situation can sink in your mind". I've missed that slowness in films, today's big Hollywood films are trying to have something new happen every single minute, fearing that they're going to loose the audience's interest, which ironically is what they ARE doing by throwing too much stuff at the viewer and overwhelming them. That is what I've felt with the Marvel movies for example, especially the most recent ones.
@@KingAtreides03 Which is ironic because many people were skeptical of the film before it was released. They feared it would just try to imitate The Dark Knight's formula
@@100lovenana exactly. Look if u read any batman comic, especially like year one or court of owls ,long Halloween and black mirror, they r very slowed paced not much action coz of the detective work and the amount of dialogue. The Batman imitates the comic book lore perfectly with its atmosphere and presence to a T. A comic book to life rlly. So TDK to me did t rlly feel like that to me.
As a female viewer, I appreciate your content so much. Maybe it's my algorithm, but I haven't seen a lot of female film youtubers who make this type of content. So this is very refreshing. I hope you keep on creating more!
No im pretty sure its because most women enjoy the garbage that Hollywood makes as long as they dont think about it etc which is the majority of people especially women . And no im not making this up go look up studios etc on what women consume in film , gaming, music etc most of them have so much social justice energy unlike most guys that even if something is artistically corrupt they wont even be aware of it as they say ignorance is bliss . Anyways im pretty sure thats why along with the fact that the internet is highly competitive and male dominated just like it is with gaming , meme culture and much more . . Women to a lesser extent Anyways much love sister 🙂
@@awellculturedmanofanime1246 A question for you - How many of those garbage chick flicks did you watch? Just because something is targeted at women and looks superficial it doesn't mean it's trash. I hate how things targeted at men are seen as universal and things targeted at women are only for women
@@sofija642nowadays, it's a sure fire way to tell if a movie sucks..cinema should be about art, emotion, universal themes.. not diversity and inclusion
@@darianstarfrog lol those shitty movies ain't chick flicks. Be for real is any girl at all watching she hulk or any of that inclusive crap? I'm talking about quality movies like Heathers, Devil wears prada, Legally blonde etc. that aren't taken seriously cause they're girly
This was a really great analysis and I think that the biggest problem with films that come out today is that they don’t exist because of an idea that someone had, they exist because of a message they wanted to send or a demographic that they wanted to please
This retarded comment implies that movies never had messages before today. And I'm pretty sure "sending a message" happens when an "idea" is conceptualized, yet you're treating it like they're too different things.
@@shineon9715 they are different things and comments like this pretend to be “smart” by throwing irrational insults to justify ridiculous takes that a 5 year old could disprove if they thought about enough. What I was saying was that the message should be a result of an idea and not manufactured to create the idea and the fact that you can’t even see that basic point whilst pretending to have a deep intellectual understanding of film is hysterical to me.
@@RENEG4DE4NGEL imitation and emulation would naturally exist. I think biggest problem is people themselves aren't interested in drama anymore. They do get released but who even watches?
A year ago, i saw this in my recommendations, and selected watch later.. tonight, it came back up! And wow! Well done! A very articulate, insightfull and entertaining presentation! New subscriber! 💖💖💖
It’s a low down dirty shame that Nutsa’s talent for critical analysis doesn’t receive broader exposure. I genuinely appreciate your effort, knowing full well how difficult it can be to remain focused on critique. Such effort requires discipline and deep cognition. All that effort only to discover how your generation has been swindled and denied the rich culture we once shared for greater corp profits. I refer not simply to film and TV, but all that we experience as “life in the USA”. I have deep sympathy for millennials and Zoomers who will never experience the same things that countless generations who lived before us experienced. We once thought that our generation, Gen X, suffered the worse under the boomers but we were wrong. Generations will continue to suffer the effects of the boomers for decades, possibly centuries, to come. 😔
We've been robbed, that's a fact. Robbed of a better future, moving past worthless stuff. There are so many things I want to express, but the closest definition might just be "despair".
@Buster’s I agree. As someone who's currently writing and planning their first short film ever (So excited) I'm grateful for modern technology and what it has allowed us to do
@Buster’s I don’t think we disagree on that much? You assert that there’s far more film, TV and music available today than there ever was, a comment I couldn’t agree more with. Where our thoughts diverge is where (I think?) you imply this is overwhelmingly a GOOD thing? This is another concept I feel that we, as consumers, have been tricked into believing. Having more options to choose from doesn’t necessarily lead to good choices. An aspect that’s often overlooked in these media discussions is the cost that each of us pay for unfettered access to media, much of it of questionable value. Has anyone ever watched ALL the films & TV these streaming services have to offer? Of course not. it’s a foolish question but can be useful as a thought exercise? Consider the anecdotal case of a fictional studio exec faced with one last decision before next season’s schedule is finalized: A studio exec needs to decide what goes into production. The remaining choices are to fund one epic sci-fi film, because market data say the sci-fi genre is underserved with unrealized demand and a big sci-fi film will draw subscribers. Even so, our exec recently learned of a competing streaming service’s plans to announce a 10 episode romantic comedy series in the next month. Our exec could beat their competitors to the punch with their own announcement, scoring a huge marketing win. Our exec’s own writing team has been pushing their own rom-com and it’s very similar to their competitor’s. The budget for a 10 episode series would be far less than the sci-fi film. Promoting a romantic comedy also costs far less than promoting a sci-fi film, leaving even more profit margin for the streaming service to earn. What the exec has never shared with anyone is how they don’t fully understand the plot of the sci-fi film because they’re just not into all the science the writers described when they pitched the sci-fi film? With 10 episodes to entice viewers, vs only a 2 hour sci-fi film, which of these makes the most financial sense to a studio exec? Who’s interests are being decided by our indecisive studio exec, the consumer’s or the exec’s shareholders? I’ll assume your “more is better” assertion is far more nuanced than your comment suggests, but its really all I have to work with. I’d argue that having _too many_ choices can lead to distraction, even confusion over what we collectively enjoy. How many is “too many”? That’s where Nutsa invested her time and effort in trying to open the topic for discussion. It’s a complicated question who’s answers are likely even more complicated. Even I think this a cheap example, but it fits and I can’t write a 5000 word TH-cam comment, so I’ll just convey it here: Lucasfilm released their last 5 Star Wars films in 7 years. George Lucas released his 5th Star Wars film 25 years after his first. Were the consumers that these films were intended for pleased with Disney’s result? While having 5 more Star Wars films available to watch at any time on Disney+ couldn’t possibly be a _bad_ thing, have they made Star Wars _better_ for consumers?
Disney is not to blame, they are merely a symptom. While the 80s are probably my favorite film decade, I believe that's where the decline started. Big budget action flicks really became popular as studios realized that big set pieces and explosive action could pack seats. Aliens is a perfect example of this shift in thinking. The original film was a slow, methodical horror flick that just happened to be set in space. The second film (while still amazing) is a loud, bombastic action movie with horror elements sprinkled in. The same shift happened between Terminator and Terminator 2. Of course, many of these films still included interesting stories and characters, but over time studios stopped bothering because audiences would still watch movies if they had enough explosions (and thus Michael Bay was born).
Great video as always! I love how you talk about the subject of the death of artistic intention in hollywood, in a video that I would describe as having a lot of artistic intention. i especially like your use of the theme and how you make that apparent throughout every aspect of your video. you make stuff i feel is worth watching, because i know beforehand that i am about to learn and grow my understanding of the film-industry. Thank you! edit: spelling
Yup. It's not so much now fuelled by passion for the craft at the highest level, it's passion for the box office. Unfortunately the passionate people are not given enough time or creative flexibility to truly shine (art, scripting, drafting, production, ect.), hence the choice to do remakes and sequels that are soulless versions of the originals. But the silver lining: it motivates young storytellers to push past this (hopefully) point in time and get back to the quality, new stories.
The number of times people have said "art is dead" goes back centuries but something always seems to bring it back, bringing it back isnt a gurantee so the warning is granted even if it get proven wrong eventually
Modern companies are standing on the shoulders of giants like Spielberg, Lucas and Cameron, who pushed the development of technology for them to enhance the story, but they don't use the story anymore...
I think you are leaving out the fact that many filmmakers today have to worry about making money. The demise of the studio system made us all freelancers, and while we would love to pour money into a passion project that will flop, you still have to consider: you have to get hired again. If you want to be a storyteller, if you're serious about dedicating your life to the craft of storytelling, you have to be profitable. Perhaps we'd have more risk takers if filmmakers had patrons, but that's not the case today.
There is no soul to the movies now days. The people that are currently working in Hollywood are not artist, they are just employees of a corporate whose only goal is to make money. Artistic integrity has been lost. In a Joe Rogan interview with Quentin Tarantino, he says how Harvey Weinstein asked him to cut the torture scene from Reservoir Dogs and he refused. He knew that there will be financial ramifications but he didn't compramise on his art.
18:09 It's pretty easy to see when you look at the highest grossing movies of any of the last 10 years. For example, take a look at last year: 1. Spider-Man NWH (Marvel) 2. Shang-Chi (Marvel) 3. Venom (WB/Marvel) 4. Black Widow (Marvel) 5. F9 (Fast & Furious) 6. Eternals (Marvel) 7. No Time to Die (Bond) 8. A Quiet Place Pt. 2 (Sequel, but more original than the other titles here) 9. Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Ghostbusters) 10. Free Guy (ORIGINAL!!!!!!!)
a 19 minute video that feels meatier than some 3 hour essays I've seen because it has substance and good writing and exceptional editing. bravo. keep it up. Support this channel ffs
2022 noticed that I don’t go to the movies that much anymore unless it’s a film that really grabs my attention to want to see it. This video perfectly explains why that’s the case
Fantastic video, Nutsa. I watched that same George Lucas interview a couple years ago during one of my SW binges, and was struck by many of the same thoughts as you articulate here. Hollywood is unwilling to take risks or believe in a story that an artist has to tell. Moreover, as you point out, those artists are gone. Filmmakers are now mere produce packers, and the fruit of their labor is memberberries. I walked out of Force Awakens with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and angry veins on my forehead: “There was nothing IN that film-Nothing! You were afraid you couldn’t tell a story, so you didn’t. Star Wars is destroyed, Disney is empty, and Cinema is lost.” I miss George, I miss Walt; I miss Art.
Why do people never mention foreign films when discussing this subject? Hollywood isn’t the only place were movies are made. Cinema isn’t dead. You just need to look for quality somewhere else.
Because none of these people actually know what they're talking about let alone even think about the claims they're making. You have dumbasses here saying movies nowadays only have "messages" in them as if movies didn't before. Or that Hollywood today is run by corporate elites as if the film industry wasn't always a business since its inception.
I mean, the video is called “How *Hollywood* Became a Parody of Itself”. Despite this, your comment did make me wonder how everything is going at other places. I might investigate later.
Ten years ago I started looking to Spain for horror and thrillers and detective/crime, Korea for action and thriller dramas, Bollywood for historic epics and popcorn rom-action lol, British for dramas and crime and China for alittle of all the above. Only superhero and comedy genre is keeping me in hollywood
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I felt breathless listening to begin with (it's the pacing without natural pauses) but nevertheless ... brilliant thesis! Well done! I have been delving back again to even periods before Lucas et al... like John Ford (we are talking Hollywood of course here). Moulds break all the time... something soon will again - wait until VR kicks in! We will be in a an advert...
I think that this is not a complete analysis. It talks only about the big budget sci-fi/superhero spectacles. I think that film suffered on a lot more levels over the years, and a couple other categories should be covered. For example, a couple of decades ago you'd have great movies getting Oscars, but for some time now almost all movies that end up nominated or winning the award were actually designed to be at the Oscars. Then there are fake indies, they're widespread now, they're made on smaller budget with people that already have plenty of connections in the industry and usually serve purpose to secure big budget job to the director, after it gets inflated positive critical reception and possibly receiving an Oscar nomination.
I did have a point in my script where, yes, I did acknowledge that this video was only going to be targeting big blockbusters but unfortunately it got left out during the recording process. But I also wouldn’t say that this video has an ambition to cover the entirety of cinema, more so to quickly analyze it through mainstream media. Since mainstream media is the one that went through the most public and noticeable shift, it’s nature could be a great pointer towards maybe not all but one of the biggest problems that Hollywood faces today. It would undoubtedly take both me and the video a lot longer to dig in much deeper and I must admit I only go as far as my competence allows me to.
As someone who's currently writing and planning their first short film ever (So excited) this video helped me and my confidence. I aspire to have a yt channel like this one day!
I do think we have to look at things in context, though. Post war booms and optimism, combined with compact camera equipment, and the hedonism of the 60s created the perfect conditions for the new wave and new hollywood, off the back of the pioneers in the 40s and 50s - just as music, painting, literature and TV was going through an experimental phase like never before. It's really the 80s and 90s that made where we are now almost sadly inevitable.
There are still amazing films out there. Cinema isn't dead. Art isn't dead. It's just the mainstream sector is In decline. There are still amazing big films and amazing independent films. Just this year we've The Batman, The Northman, NOPE, RRR, And The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent. Plus, on the more independent side of things, we've had great films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, MAD GOD, Aftersun, decision to leave, Triangle Of Sadness, ect. Parasite was just 3 years ago. Saying art is dead is such a huge stretch. Try to look a little outside the total mainstream film industry.
in defense of the video, it's hollywood the subjects of the video, wich is the mainstream industry. I don't think she tell good film aren't made anymore, but that they aren't made by hallywood ? But i was only half on the video so may be i'm interpreting it wrong
Given Disney's recent acquisition of Bleach, I get the feeling the Hollywood is going eventually buy out the Japanese entertainment industry for the film making rights. Which concerns me because it has been repeatedly shown that Hollywood adaptations of series like Ghost in the Shell, Dragon Ball, Death Note and Cowboy Bebop expose how these businessman don't bother to understand WHY Japanese Story(f.y.i. Anime & Manga) telling is outselling there own markets (Hollywood & Comic books).
Disney doesn’t really own the Bleach Franchise. It only owns the streaming rights to it. It is Shueisha who owns the franchise, while creator Tite Kubo who owns the character designs.
Loved the video, Im glad other people adress this problem of over saturated CGI Super-Hero Big-Action-scenes movies. I hope sequels like Dune 2, Knives Out 2, Batman 2 bring more care to character development, art, cinematography and mood that we all can apreciate. Andor is getting really well praised, so that's a good step in the right direction
This is all a great take, but you do seem to forget another entity that is responsible: moviegoers. Things won't change and we won't get the consistent meshing of technically impressive and story driven moviemaking until people actively reject those big budget shills of movies that are not artistically valuable. It's going to be on us, cause there are clearly great storytellers out there and there have been great balances of technical mastery and excellent storytelling (I.e. Blade Runner 2049, Fury Road, Spider-Verse, and Logan to name a few), we just need to demand more of that.
I think ultimately these four concepts changed the industry over the last 40 years into what it is now. 1: Technology for the creators. I don't just mean CGI either, I mean everything. Twenty years ago you had to get the right people in a room to discuss productions, and then later you had to talk about your daily shots with smaller teams using film. Now a director can take a digital clip of what they shot that day, apply temporary music to it, and email it anywhere in the world. In the end the barrier to entry is lower, so films are made faster. Fewer people have to stop and say 'is this a good idea?' Now an entirely different film can be 'found in the edit' than was was originally intended. 2: Technology for the viewer. Think about how different things are with how we watch movies and television now are as opposed to even twenty years ago. We've been able to watch streaming films on our cellphones for over decade. As opposed to renting movies at the grocery store for a dollar they get sent to us instantly for a monthly fee, so it is now normal for people to have access to three or more streaming services. Production cycles are shorter too - you see the trailer for the next big thing months not a year or more before release. 3: A change in the marketplace. Studios started realizing that to get people into the theaters they had to sell them the idea that the theatrical experience was better than their home setup. Movies got bigger and louder. 3D comes and goes every decade. New forms of cameras are made so that physically more of the 'shot' can happen. Watching those experiences at home is drastically different than in the theater. Try watching The Dark Knight Rises at home on a decent setup and watch the aspect ratio changes. It's like the screen itself tells you when the scene is important because it changes size to match the aspect ratio. 4: The new rules. Social media and international box offices have made it so that a smart, adult film is at a disadvantage. If it is rated R only adults will see it. If it has a complicated plot it is less likely to be successful internationally. Even quality itself is now subjective, and studios evaluate success off of social media mentions, positive or negative. Things like Charlie's Angels and Birds of Prey seemed like they might do alright at first purely by 'discussion' scores because they came with baked in controversies. Colorful and loud films with physical comedy that can be understood in any language are rewarded. French New Wave, New Hollywood, Dogme 95, all of these movements try to fix the same thing: that the industry finds a safe middle point and replicates it, which causes stagnation. But technology has never changed as much or as quickly as it has in the last 20 years alone. The era of a film lasting in theaters for an entire year like Jurassic Park did has been gone for so long that people in high school right now probably wouldn't believe it ever happened.
I recently watched the movie, The Meyerowits with Adam Sandler,Ben Stiller and other actors, the movie is about three siblings and their father's relation, the thing i liked about this movie was the dialogue, it actually felt like a conversation with your family, people interrupt themselves, try to change the conversation's topic to another, it's on Netflix, i recommend.
I do believe that Hollywood will move on from nostalgia-bait films eventually and be forced to solely support new creative films. There's only so many memorable IPs out there to milk.
I really thought this would be another baseless and super pretentious video essay, but from what I can tell it was very thorough and thoughtful. The only reason good stories were more prevalent "back in the day" is because it's all the companies could do to secure the bag. With VFX that is no longer the case. Great video! Looking forward to the next one! ❤️
Would it be wrong to say that the surest way to revive Film is to start from scratch? Re-learn the love of making movies, not just to impress or to make money but because you have a tale that you are desperate to tell; one that has to be more than seen but felt. I haven't been paying attention to modern mainstream movies recently but I watch their reviews and read their plots because I want to know about movies that have welcomed back the spirit of storytelling. And even then I fear that if I do find one, somehow, it's foundation will be ruined by its sequel. Which is how I feel about the new Batman. But anyways, I loved this! Your videos always tell stories of their own, and in my opinion, deserve to be called art. Thank you. Also! I'm I the only one surprised that it is pronounced "Nootsa?" I've been thinking it wrong the whole time ahaha...
Not so long ago there used to be a time were i got excited of a new movie coming out made by directors like Spike Lee, Scorcese, Tarantino, Burton, Lucas, Spielberg, Coen Brothers, .... cause they are/were good story tellers and altough sometimes they were dissapointing, most of the time they were great movies. They used to be some kind of quality brand in and on themselves.
As a working VFX artist who loves film and grew up in the 80’s and 90’s I’m completely torn about my industry. I’ve been trying to work at companies who work on projects that are true to the art form…but I will admit, there have been a few projects where I just feel used and abused as a cog in the giant machine that is hollywood. I look forward to the day when this Al turns around and we are back to making stuff that has meaning, and is genuinely entertaining.
5:24 The sad thing is, nearly every Star Wars movie is bad, but even the worst ones that are older are still admirable because they continued to focus on the story
When will Hollywood figure out why I continue to re watch the Shawshank Redemption but not Avatar? One is a masterpiece in storytelling and one is a tech demo.
Don't forget about BIG problem of a media. It is really hard to drag older populations to theaters for some deep storydriven film, especially ones that were born after begining of era of home video. That format don't get much enrichement from theter experience compared with decent home setup, in fact, it could be made much worse. Especially after pandemic, which broke many habits. And, in turn, home video is hit pretty hard with streaming, which is ironic because that guys are burning down all media landscape while having no clue what they doing, and how the hell they intend to make whole thing properly profitable. So, right now releasing good film to any recognition is pretty big problem. Also, while talking about Lucas, don't forget that, while he definetly was aspiring moviemaker when he was broke while working on original trilogy, he is maybe most money driven from big proper filmmakers. Guy is one of inventors of modern merchandizing, for Christ's sake, and created prequels fully on his own will, without any corporate pressure.
So I've seen all your videos now, been watching all morning, and I have to say that you hit the nail on the head. Don't ever compromise your own artistic integrity and vision, and please, continue.
The relationship between art and entertainment is really interesting. Like, I readily acknowledge that Alita: Battle Angel (the movie) is lacking in “artistic merit” compared to Banshees of Inisherin, but I still enjoyed Alita more. “Artistic” greats (like Birdman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and The Favourite) are the best movies ever made imo. The problem is if an artistic movie misses greatness (with that being a very subjective mark to hit), they tend to land on dull. Entertaining hits don’t reach as high, but entertaining misses still tend to be entertaining (ie The Hobbit trilogy). So, if you are not actually great or not sure you’ll be great then you’re better off going for being entertaining (and this is true in every medium).
99.99% of all current movies and tv to be completely unwatchable and I now find that watching some dude clear a beaver dam from a highway culvert in a TH-cam video is much more entertaining and enjoyable than anything Hollowood can now produce.
I never had the words to defend visual effects to my friends, how it’s not their fault for underwhelming quality of film. But this video is something I want to share to everyone, and hopefully it is the wake up call to remember what made film great in the first place. Thanks you so much
What I don’t get is whenever something comes out that’s not woke and actually good - Squid Games, Top Gun Maverick, Dune etc - it does well. Like, the proof is right in front of you Hollywood FFS
I just wanted to say I’m really enjoying your channel. You have thoughtful insight that is refreshing because you approach it all even handedly, objectively. That’s an art. Please keep making long form videos when you can!
...did you just imply that Dune 2021 was a "half decent remake"??? Best bloody adaption I've ever watched, what are you taking about mate?! I literally felt the passion behind that project, I feel it's one of the most genuine pieces of modern film making in recent years, No need to disparage it like that my friend.
Same with Blade Runner 2049, it's on par with the original movie. Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today, he knows how to craft good stories but can also create great visual spectacles, VFX in Dune and BR2049 are leagues above Marvel's CGI shitfests despite costing much less because they actually gave importance to what they were doing instead of caring only about box office.
It’s a statement when a multibillion dollar company’s regurgitated remake or cinematic universe makes me bored and a TH-cam series with the budget of an IPhone has me more hooked up.
Art isn't dead. Anyone who says it is just need to get into the indie scene. That's where the *good stuff* is. Aka: if you only consume mainstream mass produced industry garbage. You'll only find mass produced garbage.
It's assessments like these that only affirm why I miss vintage filmmaking more and more, and have watched far less films than YT vids these past few years. When I was growing up, the films that I saw were, really, MAGIC! They were not just defining chapters in the history of cinema, they were pure cinema, exemplary proof of what could be and were accomplished as art for the ages! Whether on the big or small screen, I watched with wonder and realized how rich our cinematic heritage was. Now it's being reduced to product, mere PRODUCT, like something being churned out onto a conveyor belt and packaged to be bought and sold as the latest commodity before being discarded. There's no more beauty, no imagination, no more care shown towards creating something special or memorable.
We're at a point where I long for the days movie making was just about the money. Back then the studios actually seemed to care about pleasing the customers. Not preaching to and lecturing them then berating the customers if they don't like it.
"The heads of the filmindustry used to be filmmakers who hired fellow filmmakers to make movies. Now the heads are businessmen who hire fellow businessmen to make movies." Sums it up perfectly.
Hey Nutsa! Good essay, thanks for that. As an editing-aside, I enjoy your essays and have watched them all, but they consistently give me motion sickness. This one has been the best, as you didn't do as much insane shaking and motion. Just want to bring that to your attention. Please keep it in mind. Would be nice for people like me to watch your stuff without feeling ill. Looking forwards to the next essay!
5:50 Movies like Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Master & Commander I guess are still included in that category. I think it was the late 2000s that the industry began degenerating. By the 2010s, signs of trouble were clearly visible, and in 2020s not only is the quality sub-par in even major franchises like Star Wars. Cinema begins to seem dead in comparison to both online series and video games, which are now the new innovators that cinema desperately apes. In fact, video games become more and more cinematic while movies become video-game-like. Just watch the 3rd Hobbit movie and think how easy this would be turn into a video game, and how video game like it feels. But there are still some good movies made, with good story and effects, like the Revenant, Inception and Dune, not just that common. You can see that since all movies done today are remakes of classic of past (Star Wars, Lotr, Harry Potter etc. with the sequels, Rings of Power, Hobbit, and Fantastic Beasts) that producers are afraid to take risks and know even themselves that they cannot create a better franchise that would dare equal them
A great video really, and the picture is almost complete, you only forgot one thing. Nepotism, as the businessmen started to hire businessmen and lost the ability to see if someone is talented, they also started to hire "people they know" rather then people that are actually the best choice. There was a transition period where models or rockstars who were cast in a movie never came back after failing at their first try. Then at some point they just kept sticking to them. There were happy accidents like Schwarzenegger or Dwayne Johnson who, while not being good actors by any means, were popular with the audience and were just perfect for the roles they got. There are many examples of actors/writers/directors who got into it not because of talent, although some of them worked hard to get better at it, but because they were the kid of someone, the partner of someone or just someone that someone with some credit knew. Just doing mediocre things for long enough, could eventually get you that big hit and get you in. This also has to do with the locality of Hollywood being basically an inbred group of people concentrated in a fairly small area. It created a cultural monopoly that is not aware of the responsibility that comes with being a cultural hub for more then their own nation. On one hand they desperately cling to this monopoly on the other hand they do nothing to justify the continuation of it, nepotism being one of those things they do which should be despised by responsible people with intact moral compass. Their power is so big now that the only thing that came near to democratic legitimation, which was the profit they made in other words the monetary approval of the audience, still does not initiate change anymore. As with the recruits from other walks of life, bombing once is not enough anymore. Bombing is part of the art as a performer and probably also for a movie maker, but instead of changing, learning and adapting to stop bombing, they use their immense power to rig the game. So they can continue to do the same crap which they bombed with before but make a profit instead. They do not adjust themselves, correct their mistakes improve on their shortcomings, they try to make the audience believe it is their fault.
I agree. Ppl (sometimes myself included I admit) like to blame technology and the era we’re in, but the reality is Hollywood and these filmmakers only care about the bottom line not the storytelling and they get away with it because ppl keep supporting the bare minimum lol.
This is written like a high school essay without deep understanding of the business it hopes to criticize or the talent it displays as an example. You bring up several pieces of media as examples of "this is bad, this is souless" without an in depth or ANY explanation for the point that you're making, expecting the audience to go "OH, I guess this IS bad" and then keep agreeing with you as you make another point based on a statement you made and never backed up. Key Example being dunking on She-Hulk without giving any context for people who haven't seen it or providing context to your implied statement of "This series is bad because it focuses on CGI and spectacle instead of storytelling". In fact, you never said anything about any of the media that you criticized. You just showed pictures of it while you were pontificating about "CGI with no story telling skills = Bad". The problem with doing this is that, if at any point, I disagree with a statement that you make, the house of cards that you've built your argument on falls apart. If I go "Actually, I think She-Hulk was kinda funny, and even tho the VFX was janky, I had a good time." all of the out of context clips, rotten tomatoes score posting, and framing criticism as social woke-ism will not resonate with me and just becomes noise. Even when you criticized writing/directorial talent towards the end, you used that statement that George Lucas already had enough money to live comfortably and essentially worked for free to fulfill his artistic creativity as a well off white man in the 1980s as a contrast to... Working in the 2010s and 2020s in an entirely different economy and actually wanting a paycheck to, you know, live off of, as giving up your artistic integrity for a paycheck?? There was no further discussion of WHY they would be sellouts for doing this or what works of theirs you thought lacked artistic integrity and why that was. You just said some names you thought fit your point, and kept moving on, expecting us to go "Yeah, I guess that's right" and keep agreeing with you. You also demonize "business" and "industry" as key factors in the decline of cinema from where we are in weird areas that don't make sense. Again, towards the end "The businessmen in charge of these studios hire more businessmen to make these movies. Like JJ Abrams because his movies are bad". That's not a point, there's no discussion there. That's an opinion. Even though I agree with it, it's not endemic of even the movies you've shown as bad examples in this video. You dunked on Doctor Strange 2 which was directed by Sam Raimi and is loved by Sam Raimi fans. He didn't make a movie for EVERYONE. He made a movie that fit his vision within the constraints of Disney and is loved by its target audience. I'd be more upset if this was just a bad faith video essay, but it's not. It's just poorly written. Please, explain the points you're making and understand how essays work instead of just showing b roll while you pontificate for 20 minutes.
I would have to disagree. Good writing is not a massive cost sink and still the cheapest way to enhance a product in very meaningful ways. And the industry never stopped looking for it. And bad writing didn't start being around since only a few years ago. *cough* Ed Wood *cough* . The vast majority of movies has always been between bad and kinda good. The only reason that the past seems to have more movies in it that are written well, is because we tend to forget all the generic and most of the bad movies and only remember the good ones. And because back then, high-budget spectacle movies barely existed, we don't remember a whole lot of them. Watch a literally random movie from the 60s to 80s and its writing is probably going to be average to bad. Besides, just because spectacle was cheaper, didn't mean that it wasn't there. Death Wish movies, anyone? Or how about any of the other 5000 'man with gun goes on revenge rampage' movies that we had in the 70s and 80s? So in the end, I think the idea that old movies were generally better written, is mostly an illusion of our culture only remembering the good ones. Of course the average blockbuster movies of the last 10 years can't keep up with the best of the last 60 who stood the test of time.
@@tvsonicserbia5140 I don't know that one, but if anything, that just proves how unreliable the quality of writing is, no matter who does it or what they have under their belt, because Plan 9 From Outer Space definitely wasn't well written.
@@ALookIntoTheEulenspiegel It's Ed Wood's movie about his own transvetitism, where he stars as the main character. While it has some of his weird wackyness and is inescapably cheap, because it was so personal the core message of acceptance shines through, it's what most great writers recommend, write from experience, when you are being truthful in your art, it's simply the definition of good writing.
As much as it hurts me to say it, we’ve reached the point in which greatness has become the exception and not the rule. Let’s just get this industry back to what it used to be.
This is the fifth or sixth time I have watched art die in my lifetime. At least, it has been decried as such. So buckup buttercup, it is a brand new day. If you don't like it, don't go see it. They will stop making it when there isn't any money in it for them. That is the only power a consumer has, in what you consume. Just a thought.
well that was thorough well crafted video with such great opinion well done!! yeah films like rocky(the whole franchise) and god father are classical carrying that perfect emotion and intrigue throughout the film woof such a tough job for the writer isn't it and these days any movies without those grand visuals and epic hype are being overlooked by the audiences. even with good stories story tellers these days are trying to (and most of the times failing to) integrate more of that epic ness into their films just spoon feeding the audiences with the usual formula than entertainment is just soo bizaree anyway loved your presentation and transparency.
Algorithm SUCKKSSS so if you liked this video I would be eternally grateful if you could like and leave a comment to support the vid and my channel 🫀🫀
I can tell because you changed the thumbnail and title like 5 times. Don't worry I feel your pain, look at my last vid and its views and tell me if its fair 🤕
Indeed it does. This was fantastic.
It was very informative, I liked and commented. Keep up the great work.
This was just in my “recommendations” on TH-cam homepage so hopefully things are looking up.
Liking this so it gets around, was in my reccomended so your fans are doing a good job, and this video is fucking amazing, keep this up!!!
Special effects are tools to tell stories. A special effect without a story is pretty boring thing. - George Lucas.
Do you have a reference?
ironic cause he shove as much unnecessary cg into the original triology as possible
@@davidchu2001 His choice.
@@davidchu2001 nah bro he didn’t, in fact a lot of the OT was Pratical effects etc
@@kyckrox1 i meant the hd rerelease’s
How do you know if your story is good? Imagine sitting at a campfire and telling it to your friends. Most stories in today's movies will not gather any attention, or there is a chance someone will start throwing food/stones at the storyteller.
I don't know if that's the best way to connect story telling in film vs in text.
I'd say that depends on your definition of "good." A lot of the big productions of today can't even keep a consistent world going for the duration of the movie. Regardless of how interesting the story might be, it I'd still say it was badly written.
... a group of friends goofing off and talking shit around a campfire. That's your metric?
@@plzletmebefrank No. More innane questions?
@@promcheg Wow. Rather than sticking to your guns you immediately contradict yourself. Nope. No more questions, oh wise one, you have given me all the answers I need.
Former Hollywood executive here. This is a decently-complete take on what happened. I'll just add a bit for a conclusion so people can see some light at the end of this tunnel.
Its actually rather impressive that so many people on the consumer side of the product line have pieced together what happened at all.
The politicization is, unfortunately, so engrained in every facet of the industry now that it would take a purge so massive it would make Elon's efforts at Twitter look tame.
I am not sure Hollywood has a future to be honest. It may still exist in some form as a production place, but it will have a lot of competition from other areas that are looking to get a piece of that now that they have dropped the ball so hard. I actually have been planning/working on the starting steps to create new studios and production elsewhere.
Projects will follow where the facilities and benefits are. There are tons of other areas offering similar or even better deals than Los Angeles right now, and its really starting to show. Those of us that left years or decades ago should work to bring these production facilities to those other areas; especially if they aren't as "woke".
The more we take from Hollywood and start decentralizing power, the more we'll see the return to a much more democratic type of film/tv again.
😊👍🍀
You'll still be open to work with all walks of lifes who value to importance of art on cinema, right?
You wouldn't happen to be interested in producing a new horror franchise? Just shooting my shot here.
That's thing is that companies who are doing this stuff won't continue to make money because they will push the audience away and the fact that their are people out their who are waking up to this is something that is inspiring
I have a question and don't take it personally but you didn't join the others in raping and drinking the blood of babies did you?
Art isn’t dead. You can’t kill art, because it will find a way. Hollywood just doesn’t make art anymore. It always comes from passion projects these days.
Hollywood is a business it's a money market machine.Same with the music business it's about money instead of creativity.
"Art finds a way". Sounds a bit like Jurassic Park to me.
Please describe to me a movie you've seen in the last 10 years that is a boundary pushing film. Please. Love to see what your criteria is.
Ironically streaming services which lack IP are hungry for new content and are giving original or obscure IPs a chance.
Amazon prime making an invincible or Boys show was a good move since they don't have Marvel or DC. Similarly Netflix is letting Zack Synder make his original projects for them. I am aware he's not exactly widely loved but him doing his own thing is artistic as it can get while straying away from contemporary studio structure at the moment.
It's safe to say streaming services are going through what Hollywood did initially.
Guys I’m talking about stuff like youtube animations and short films and other things that small creators do. I completely agree that Hollywood has fully lost its magic.
It’s sad when there really isn’t anything on the horizon that I want to see in the movie theatre anymore. 😕
Thankfully we have alternatives, not just obvious ones like independent films, but serialized shows (whether from TV or stream)
But I understand your frustration. Many professionals of today are predicting that cinema (as in films made specifically for movie theatres) is going to die very soon. This isn't like the previous century anymore, the population that actually "went" to the movies is not the same as the one of today. Some blame streaming (and there is truth to that) but it's also the mentality of today. Thanks to the internet, people want their experiences with any form of entertainment to be more "personal", as in being able to watch it on their own (with their phones, TV, computers, etc). That's one reason streaming services were so successful. Actually going somewhere to watch a film with other people at the same time (including the fact that they can't pause the film for obvious reasons) just isn't as appealing as it was before.
@@100lovenana Very true! I’ve been watching many series from start to finish these past few years. 😕
Aww, dont give up! There are still a few good ones out there like many of the movies from A24. Not A24, but I really like Fall, Barbarian, and Black Phone.
The only movie I was excited for this year was "Jujutsu Kaisen 0". I took my father and a friend there to watch it (we watched it dubbed as my dad is new to anime) and we had a great time there as we were one of the only people in the theatre!
My dad calls it "the Anime where that Mothaf*cka eats a finger!"
Movies are so dang expensive too!!!
Love how this video doesn't just explain away the state of Hollywood by rehashing terms like "creative exhaustion" or "genre fatigue" but instead delves deep on precisely how these terms became so ubiquitous in the first place. Your analysis of the industry is stellar and original, and I think this might be your most insightful essay yet.
These were the precise words I could instinctively and planely see
I think large movie corporations shoulder some of the blame for soulless movies, but a lot of the blame has to be on the audience. It seems like a lot of people consume media like a fireworks show rather than a story, so as long as there's a big spectacle with their favorite brand, they'll watch. If audiences accept bad media because it has a popular name on it, movie studios have little reason to risk money on a good, new story. I think the best stories are probably always going to come from smaller studios who can take bigger risks. I don't think it's a coincidence that Netflix put out a lot of it's best shows when it was first starting out.
Glad to see another upload! Love your videos!
I agree. Movie studios constantly have reboots, sequels, prequels, requels, because people go to the movies and see them. Black Panther 2 was packed on a Friday. I see a movie nearly every week, and theaters are often more or less empty.
Most people don’t care, only the minority of those conscious of story suffer
I agree with you but how do you know if something is good or not if you don't experiment it first?
I think one reason of this is globalization and trying to get into other countries’ markets. Different countries have very different cultures. So trying to please all of them leads to soulless movies that sell well globally.
It’s not the only reason but it’s a part of it. Especially trying to please the Chinese communist party.
Marketing is also to blame. The movies and shows that get the most marketing and publicity are the soulless "less story, more spectacle" ones. Therefore, the majority of population get exposed to those kind of movies instead of others that have good stories but very little marketing.
For me, this is why I enjoyed Top Gun 2 so much.
It wasn't a cinematic masterpiece and yes, it did fall into some of the pitfalls of modern movie making but it was a serious attempt to return to a pre-2010 era. The fact that it succeeded financially is why I hope there is a push to return to actual filmmaking and actual risk taking.
Nostalgia is risk-taking?
@@troubadour723 If done right, yes.
But committee approved checkbox films is not risk taking.
@@xLeeroycranex Nostalgia is easy money, sadly.
I liked Maverick because it made me smile till it hurt, and I’ve literally never seen the first movie
@@heavenlyusurper I'm starting to wonder if there are subliminal messages in it. :-D
18:41 Fun fact: Spielberg believed in Star Wars so much that he and Lucas made a bet. Spielberg would get 2.5% of Star Wars's profits and Lucas would get 2.5% of Close Encounters's profits.
It's pretty clear who won that bet.
Nice rent seeking.
Sounds like lies
The notion that society went from “word of mouth” to twitter rants and rotten tomato score checks, kind of skips over a hundred years of history. Including free-to-air tv interviews, radio interviews, newspaper film review columns, tv film review shows, cable tv movie review shows, behind the scenes documentaries, etc etc etc.
I totally agree with you but we can't always blame technology. Technology exacerbates preexisting cracks and flaws. Going forward we need to be more mindful not just focusing on the craft but it's entirety the product the production the profit the promotion the technology how it will be received the place the time location etc in the future a holistic view not a limited view.
Internet is definitely not the problem here.
There's always been poorly written movies. We don't remember them because they were forgettable garbage, but if you look up what was in theaters in the 80's and 90's, you'll see random bad movies you forgot existed, or never heard of.
@Buster’s Well A24 is pretty great, so that's not necessarily a terrible fate. However, I do agree that people need to stop giving money to endless sequels and remakes. If everyone chose to support original movies, we would get more of them.
True, and notice how she only talks about the most well received blockbusters of the era but for all the new ones that are well liked (like Infinity War) she glances over then and calls them cookie cutter. It's easy to say artistic integrity died when you refuse to give modern films the recognition they deserve. She's also on the Taika Watiti hate train and acts like his artistic integrity died because he made one bad movie, which shows how pathetic her and most Marvel fans are and how easily "their" opinion can change. This video just feels like someone looking bad with rose tinted glasses or looking through someone else's rose tinted glasses and comparing that with reality and saying the rise tinted glasses were better to look through. Of course it was.
@@TwentyPercentDash true, I think, like usual, the people who hate these sequels, remakes, and reboots are often in the minority of consumers. Most people don't care and others are hypocrites who complain and then buy the product anyway. And then get mad at others for buying the product, too.
Bad movies dominate today's landscape, the middle-budget movie where great filmmakers previously made their names and had creative freedom/solid budgets has disappeared, and writers have lost their power (they make more $$$ in TV, btw).
Name the best films of every decade - the ones everybody studies or of which, became pop culture icons. The 2010s movies pale in comparison.
Idk, pick a year, say 1987. Theres a dozen movies i would gladly watch again today. Planes train's and automobiles, dirty dancing, good morning Vietnam, overboard, over the top, empire of the sun...
Cant say the same for the last few years
I did have a point in my script where I acknowledged that this video was only going to be targeting big blockbusters but unfortunately it got left out during the recording process.
So, yes, this video will purely concentrate on the “blockbusters”.
But I also wouldn’t say that this essay has an ambition to cover the entirety of cinema, more so to quickly analyze it through mainstream media. Since mainstream media is the one that went through the most public and noticeable shift, it’s nature could be a great pointer towards maybe not all but one of the biggest problems that Hollywood faces today. It would undoubtedly take both me and the video a lot longer to dig in much deeper and I must admit I only go as far as my competence allows me to.
This is a straight up copy/paste of a reply I left to one of the comments but I feel the importance of pointing this out since unfortunately in the video it doesn’t come across as clearly as I wish it would ❤
That’s ok great vid
Dont worry, humans have limits and u did ur best, that's all it matters 🙃
Great video, as always. More importantly, hope you are doing well, all things considered. First priority is self-compassion, something a lot of content creators put on the back shelf when the self-imposed pressure to put out new content becomes overwhelming. Try not to get devoured by your own ambition...
As a writer making a story is like a gamble or a game of chest it's hard but you have to see what people like, what would they like, what's interesting, etc it's something putting these elements together perfectly is hard and that's the best part is if you try enough it could possibly have a great reward.
Stop watching blockbusters
The Batman is kinda like the anti-Hollywood blockbuster. The camera cuts were longer, giving it a more personal feel, and the balance of vfx and practical effects was stunning
I understand what you mean. I haven't watched the full movie, but from the few clips I've seen, there's a slow pace to the situations. Not slow as in "it drags on", but rather "slow so that the heavy situation can sink in your mind". I've missed that slowness in films, today's big Hollywood films are trying to have something new happen every single minute, fearing that they're going to loose the audience's interest, which ironically is what they ARE doing by throwing too much stuff at the viewer and overwhelming them. That is what I've felt with the Marvel movies for example, especially the most recent ones.
That’s y the batman is a masterpiece it follows the old cinema ways. It’s my fav movie ever
@@KingAtreides03 Which is ironic because many people were skeptical of the film before it was released. They feared it would just try to imitate The Dark Knight's formula
@@100lovenana exactly. Look if u read any batman comic, especially like year one or court of owls ,long Halloween and black mirror, they r very slowed paced not much action coz of the detective work and the amount of dialogue. The Batman imitates the comic book lore perfectly with its atmosphere and presence to a T. A comic book to life rlly. So TDK to me did t rlly feel like that to me.
Do people consider it a good film? I quite dislike it
Nutsa proving herself to be one of the best new video essayists with each new release.
Love the use of Bo Burnham clips and songs though out this video
It fits the subject perfectly
💕
As a female viewer, I appreciate your content so much. Maybe it's my algorithm, but I haven't seen a lot of female film youtubers who make this type of content. So this is very refreshing. I hope you keep on creating more!
I know, she needs more subs !!
No im pretty sure its because most women enjoy the garbage that Hollywood makes as long as they dont think about it etc which is the majority of people especially women . And no im not making this up go look up studios etc on what women consume in film , gaming, music etc most of them have so much social justice energy unlike most guys that even if something is artistically corrupt they wont even be aware of it as they say ignorance is bliss . Anyways im pretty sure thats why along with the fact that the internet is highly competitive and male dominated just like it is with gaming , meme culture and much more . . Women to a lesser extent Anyways much love sister 🙂
@@awellculturedmanofanime1246 A question for you - How many of those garbage chick flicks did you watch? Just because something is targeted at women and looks superficial it doesn't mean it's trash. I hate how things targeted at men are seen as universal and things targeted at women are only for women
@@sofija642nowadays, it's a sure fire way to tell if a movie sucks..cinema should be about art, emotion, universal themes.. not diversity and inclusion
@@darianstarfrog lol those shitty movies ain't chick flicks. Be for real is any girl at all watching she hulk or any of that inclusive crap? I'm talking about quality movies like Heathers, Devil wears prada, Legally blonde etc. that aren't taken seriously cause they're girly
Any day Nutsa posts a well edited, well-made video is a good day:)
This was a really great analysis and I think that the biggest problem with films that come out today is that they don’t exist because of an idea that someone had, they exist because of a message they wanted to send or a demographic that they wanted to please
Or an idea that someone else had a long time ago that it would be profitable to copy.
This retarded comment implies that movies never had messages before today. And I'm pretty sure "sending a message" happens when an "idea" is conceptualized, yet you're treating it like they're too different things.
@@shineon9715 they are different things and comments like this pretend to be “smart” by throwing irrational insults to justify ridiculous takes that a 5 year old could disprove if they thought about enough. What I was saying was that the message should be a result of an idea and not manufactured to create the idea and the fact that you can’t even see that basic point whilst pretending to have a deep intellectual understanding of film is hysterical to me.
Or simply as cash grabs!
@@RENEG4DE4NGEL imitation and emulation would naturally exist. I think biggest problem is people themselves aren't interested in drama anymore.
They do get released but who even watches?
A year ago, i saw this in my recommendations, and selected watch later.. tonight, it came back up! And wow! Well done! A very articulate, insightfull and entertaining presentation! New subscriber! 💖💖💖
It's a real catch-22. Art shouldn't be driven by money, but artists deserve money for their art.
Same way medicine shouldn't be driven by profits, but doctors still need to be paid.
It’s a low down dirty shame that Nutsa’s talent for critical analysis doesn’t receive broader exposure. I genuinely appreciate your effort, knowing full well how difficult it can be to remain focused on critique. Such effort requires discipline and deep cognition. All that effort only to discover how your generation has been swindled and denied the rich culture we once shared for greater corp profits.
I refer not simply to film and TV, but all that we experience as “life in the USA”. I have deep sympathy for millennials and Zoomers who will never experience the same things that countless generations who lived before us experienced. We once thought that our generation, Gen X, suffered the worse under the boomers but we were wrong. Generations will continue to suffer the effects of the boomers for decades, possibly centuries, to come. 😔
We've been robbed, that's a fact. Robbed of a better future, moving past worthless stuff.
There are so many things I want to express, but the closest definition might just be "despair".
@Buster’s I agree. As someone who's currently writing and planning their first short film ever (So excited) I'm grateful for modern technology and what it has allowed us to do
@Buster’s I don’t think we disagree on that much? You assert that there’s far more film, TV and music available today than there ever was, a comment I couldn’t agree more with. Where our thoughts diverge is where (I think?) you imply this is overwhelmingly a GOOD thing? This is another concept I feel that we, as consumers, have been tricked into believing. Having more options to choose from doesn’t necessarily lead to good choices. An aspect that’s often overlooked in these media discussions is the cost that each of us pay for unfettered access to media, much of it of questionable value. Has anyone ever watched ALL the films & TV these streaming services have to offer? Of course not. it’s a foolish question but can be useful as a thought exercise?
Consider the anecdotal case of a fictional studio exec faced with one last decision before next season’s schedule is finalized: A studio exec needs to decide what goes into production. The remaining choices are to fund one epic sci-fi film, because market data say the sci-fi genre is underserved with unrealized demand and a big sci-fi film will draw subscribers. Even so, our exec recently learned of a competing streaming service’s plans to announce a 10 episode romantic comedy series in the next month. Our exec could beat their competitors to the punch with their own announcement, scoring a huge marketing win.
Our exec’s own writing team has been pushing their own rom-com and it’s very similar to their competitor’s. The budget for a 10 episode series would be far less than the sci-fi film. Promoting a romantic comedy also costs far less than promoting a sci-fi film, leaving even more profit margin for the streaming service to earn. What the exec has never shared with anyone is how they don’t fully understand the plot of the sci-fi film because they’re just not into all the science the writers described when they pitched the sci-fi film? With 10 episodes to entice viewers, vs only a 2 hour sci-fi film, which of these makes the most financial sense to a studio exec? Who’s interests are being decided by our indecisive studio exec, the consumer’s or the exec’s shareholders?
I’ll assume your “more is better” assertion is far more nuanced than your comment suggests, but its really all I have to work with. I’d argue that having _too many_ choices can lead to distraction, even confusion over what we collectively enjoy. How many is “too many”? That’s where Nutsa invested her time and effort in trying to open the topic for discussion. It’s a complicated question who’s answers are likely even more complicated.
Even I think this a cheap example, but it fits and I can’t write a 5000 word TH-cam comment, so I’ll just convey it here: Lucasfilm released their last 5 Star Wars films in 7 years. George Lucas released his 5th Star Wars film 25 years after his first. Were the consumers that these films were intended for pleased with Disney’s result? While having 5 more Star Wars films available to watch at any time on Disney+ couldn’t possibly be a _bad_ thing, have they made Star Wars _better_ for consumers?
Gringos are so dramatic lol, my country is fucked since 1999.
Disney is not to blame, they are merely a symptom. While the 80s are probably my favorite film decade, I believe that's where the decline started. Big budget action flicks really became popular as studios realized that big set pieces and explosive action could pack seats. Aliens is a perfect example of this shift in thinking. The original film was a slow, methodical horror flick that just happened to be set in space. The second film (while still amazing) is a loud, bombastic action movie with horror elements sprinkled in. The same shift happened between Terminator and Terminator 2. Of course, many of these films still included interesting stories and characters, but over time studios stopped bothering because audiences would still watch movies if they had enough explosions (and thus Michael Bay was born).
Disney is to blame because they trying to control the rest of the media and control our studies and that's a problem.
Yea I think that is the issue.
and people still don't realize why anime/manga has better their budget than hollywood and comics today
I love these intelligent, researched, and thought-out commentaries you make on film. Yet again, great work!
Great video as always!
I love how you talk about the subject of the death of artistic intention in hollywood, in a video that I would describe as having a lot of artistic intention. i especially like your use of the theme and how you make that apparent throughout every aspect of your video. you make stuff i feel is worth watching, because i know beforehand that i am about to learn and grow my understanding of the film-industry. Thank you!
edit: spelling
Yup. It's not so much now fuelled by passion for the craft at the highest level, it's passion for the box office. Unfortunately the passionate people are not given enough time or creative flexibility to truly shine (art, scripting, drafting, production, ect.), hence the choice to do remakes and sequels that are soulless versions of the originals. But the silver lining: it motivates young storytellers to push past this (hopefully) point in time and get back to the quality, new stories.
The number of times people have said "art is dead" goes back centuries but something always seems to bring it back, bringing it back isnt a gurantee so the warning is granted even if it get proven wrong eventually
Maybe it’s because of growing pains
Modern companies are standing on the shoulders of giants like Spielberg, Lucas and Cameron, who pushed the development of technology for them to enhance the story, but they don't use the story anymore...
I think you are leaving out the fact that many filmmakers today have to worry about making money. The demise of the studio system made us all freelancers, and while we would love to pour money into a passion project that will flop, you still have to consider: you have to get hired again. If you want to be a storyteller, if you're serious about dedicating your life to the craft of storytelling, you have to be profitable. Perhaps we'd have more risk takers if filmmakers had patrons, but that's not the case today.
There is no soul to the movies now days. The people that are currently working in Hollywood are not artist, they are just employees of a corporate whose only goal is to make money. Artistic integrity has been lost.
In a Joe Rogan interview with Quentin Tarantino, he says how Harvey Weinstein asked him to cut the torture scene from Reservoir Dogs and he refused. He knew that there will be financial ramifications but he didn't compramise on his art.
This seems like a parallel to what happened to the gaming industry too. Great vid.
18:09 It's pretty easy to see when you look at the highest grossing movies of any of the last 10 years. For example, take a look at last year:
1. Spider-Man NWH (Marvel)
2. Shang-Chi (Marvel)
3. Venom (WB/Marvel)
4. Black Widow (Marvel)
5. F9 (Fast & Furious)
6. Eternals (Marvel)
7. No Time to Die (Bond)
8. A Quiet Place Pt. 2 (Sequel, but more original than the other titles here)
9. Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Ghostbusters)
10. Free Guy (ORIGINAL!!!!!!!)
Venom was actually a Sony title, not WB
@@jongetitdunn But still.
Well said Nutsa. I love your music selections. Live long and prosper.
a 19 minute video that feels meatier than some 3 hour essays I've seen because it has substance and good writing and exceptional editing. bravo. keep it up. Support this channel ffs
2022 noticed that I don’t go to the movies that much anymore unless it’s a film that really grabs my attention to want to see it. This video perfectly explains why that’s the case
Fantastic video, Nutsa. I watched that same George Lucas interview a couple years ago during one of my SW binges, and was struck by many of the same thoughts as you articulate here. Hollywood is unwilling to take risks or believe in a story that an artist has to tell. Moreover, as you point out, those artists are gone. Filmmakers are now mere produce packers, and the fruit of their labor is memberberries.
I walked out of Force Awakens with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and angry veins on my forehead: “There was nothing IN that film-Nothing! You were afraid you couldn’t tell a story, so you didn’t. Star Wars is destroyed, Disney is empty, and Cinema is lost.”
I miss George, I miss Walt; I miss Art.
What happened was they wanted to make money by having sequels prequels and reboots.
Why do people never mention foreign films when discussing this subject? Hollywood isn’t the only place were movies are made. Cinema isn’t dead. You just need to look for quality somewhere else.
Because none of these people actually know what they're talking about let alone even think about the claims they're making. You have dumbasses here saying movies nowadays only have "messages" in them as if movies didn't before. Or that Hollywood today is run by corporate elites as if the film industry wasn't always a business since its inception.
I mean, the video is called “How *Hollywood* Became a Parody of Itself”.
Despite this, your comment did make me wonder how everything is going at other places. I might investigate later.
Like what?
Ten years ago I started looking to Spain for horror and thrillers and detective/crime, Korea for action and thriller dramas, Bollywood for historic epics and popcorn rom-action lol, British for dramas and crime and China for alittle of all the above. Only superhero and comedy genre is keeping me in hollywood
@@ALookIntoTheEulenspiegelJust get a MUBI subscription and start from there :)
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I felt breathless listening to begin with (it's the pacing without natural pauses) but nevertheless ... brilliant thesis! Well done! I have been delving back again to even periods before Lucas et al... like John Ford (we are talking Hollywood of course here). Moulds break all the time... something soon will again - wait until VR kicks in! We will be in a an advert...
There is an old saying - a bad craftsman blames his tools. CGI isn't the problem, it is just a tool. The storytellers need to use it better.
I think that this is not a complete analysis. It talks only about the big budget sci-fi/superhero spectacles. I think that film suffered on a lot more levels over the years, and a couple other categories should be covered. For example, a couple of decades ago you'd have great movies getting Oscars, but for some time now almost all movies that end up nominated or winning the award were actually designed to be at the Oscars. Then there are fake indies, they're widespread now, they're made on smaller budget with people that already have plenty of connections in the industry and usually serve purpose to secure big budget job to the director, after it gets inflated positive critical reception and possibly receiving an Oscar nomination.
I did have a point in my script where, yes, I did acknowledge that this video was only going to be targeting big blockbusters but unfortunately it got left out during the recording process.
But I also wouldn’t say that this video has an ambition to cover the entirety of cinema, more so to quickly analyze it through mainstream media. Since mainstream media is the one that went through the most public and noticeable shift, it’s nature could be a great pointer towards maybe not all but one of the biggest problems that Hollywood faces today. It would undoubtedly take both me and the video a lot longer to dig in much deeper and I must admit I only go as far as my competence allows me to.
As someone who's currently writing and planning their first short film ever (So excited) this video helped me and my confidence. I aspire to have a yt channel like this one day!
Your first short film will be amazing!! Sending goodvibes!
@@ellauty4341 Thanks. Really means a lot! I'm starting filming over Winter Break and have already started writing the musical score!
@monarchmusic4040 good luck friend. I'd like to do that someday too.
@@jobutupaki1047 Thank you. I'm hoping to post it to YT. I hope you get to make yours!
I do think we have to look at things in context, though. Post war booms and optimism, combined with compact camera equipment, and the hedonism of the 60s created the perfect conditions for the new wave and new hollywood, off the back of the pioneers in the 40s and 50s - just as music, painting, literature and TV was going through an experimental phase like never before. It's really the 80s and 90s that made where we are now almost sadly inevitable.
I'm actually very fond of the art produced in the 80s and early 90s.
@@thingfish000 Nothing wrong with 80s and 90s but it lead us to here.
There are still amazing films out there. Cinema isn't dead. Art isn't dead. It's just the mainstream sector is In decline. There are still amazing big films and amazing independent films. Just this year we've The Batman, The Northman, NOPE, RRR, And The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent. Plus, on the more independent side of things, we've had great films like Everything Everywhere All At Once, MAD GOD, Aftersun, decision to leave, Triangle Of Sadness, ect. Parasite was just 3 years ago. Saying art is dead is such a huge stretch. Try to look a little outside the total mainstream film industry.
in defense of the video, it's hollywood the subjects of the video, wich is the mainstream industry. I don't think she tell good film aren't made anymore, but that they aren't made by hallywood ? But i was only half on the video so may be i'm interpreting it wrong
Given Disney's recent acquisition of Bleach, I get the feeling the Hollywood is going eventually buy out the Japanese entertainment industry for the film making rights. Which concerns me because it has been repeatedly shown that Hollywood adaptations of series like Ghost in the Shell, Dragon Ball, Death Note and Cowboy Bebop expose how these businessman don't bother to understand WHY Japanese Story(f.y.i. Anime & Manga) telling is outselling there own markets (Hollywood & Comic books).
Disney doesn’t really own the Bleach Franchise. It only owns the streaming rights to it.
It is Shueisha who owns the franchise, while creator
Tite Kubo who owns the character designs.
Loved the video, Im glad other people adress this problem of over saturated CGI Super-Hero Big-Action-scenes movies. I hope sequels like Dune 2, Knives Out 2, Batman 2 bring more care to character development, art, cinematography and mood that we all can apreciate.
Andor is getting really well praised, so that's a good step in the right direction
Hollywood is like a chef that believes food should look good instead of tasting good.
This is all a great take, but you do seem to forget another entity that is responsible: moviegoers. Things won't change and we won't get the consistent meshing of technically impressive and story driven moviemaking until people actively reject those big budget shills of movies that are not artistically valuable. It's going to be on us, cause there are clearly great storytellers out there and there have been great balances of technical mastery and excellent storytelling (I.e. Blade Runner 2049, Fury Road, Spider-Verse, and Logan to name a few), we just need to demand more of that.
I think ultimately these four concepts changed the industry over the last 40 years into what it is now.
1: Technology for the creators. I don't just mean CGI either, I mean everything. Twenty years ago you had to get the right people in a room to discuss productions, and then later you had to talk about your daily shots with smaller teams using film. Now a director can take a digital clip of what they shot that day, apply temporary music to it, and email it anywhere in the world. In the end the barrier to entry is lower, so films are made faster. Fewer people have to stop and say 'is this a good idea?' Now an entirely different film can be 'found in the edit' than was was originally intended.
2: Technology for the viewer. Think about how different things are with how we watch movies and television now are as opposed to even twenty years ago. We've been able to watch streaming films on our cellphones for over decade. As opposed to renting movies at the grocery store for a dollar they get sent to us instantly for a monthly fee, so it is now normal for people to have access to three or more streaming services. Production cycles are shorter too - you see the trailer for the next big thing months not a year or more before release.
3: A change in the marketplace. Studios started realizing that to get people into the theaters they had to sell them the idea that the theatrical experience was better than their home setup. Movies got bigger and louder. 3D comes and goes every decade. New forms of cameras are made so that physically more of the 'shot' can happen. Watching those experiences at home is drastically different than in the theater. Try watching The Dark Knight Rises at home on a decent setup and watch the aspect ratio changes. It's like the screen itself tells you when the scene is important because it changes size to match the aspect ratio.
4: The new rules. Social media and international box offices have made it so that a smart, adult film is at a disadvantage. If it is rated R only adults will see it. If it has a complicated plot it is less likely to be successful internationally. Even quality itself is now subjective, and studios evaluate success off of social media mentions, positive or negative. Things like Charlie's Angels and Birds of Prey seemed like they might do alright at first purely by 'discussion' scores because they came with baked in controversies. Colorful and loud films with physical comedy that can be understood in any language are rewarded.
French New Wave, New Hollywood, Dogme 95, all of these movements try to fix the same thing: that the industry finds a safe middle point and replicates it, which causes stagnation. But technology has never changed as much or as quickly as it has in the last 20 years alone. The era of a film lasting in theaters for an entire year like Jurassic Park did has been gone for so long that people in high school right now probably wouldn't believe it ever happened.
Funny I'm watching the dark knight rises whilst reading this.
I recently watched the movie, The Meyerowits with Adam Sandler,Ben Stiller and other actors, the movie is about three siblings and their father's relation, the thing i liked about this movie was the dialogue, it actually felt like a conversation with your family, people interrupt themselves, try to change the conversation's topic to another, it's on Netflix, i recommend.
I do believe that Hollywood will move on from nostalgia-bait films eventually and be forced to solely support new creative films. There's only so many memorable IPs out there to milk.
If we're living long enough to see more of that originality, much agreed. 👍 💯
I really thought this would be another baseless and super pretentious video essay, but from what I can tell it was very thorough and thoughtful. The only reason good stories were more prevalent "back in the day" is because it's all the companies could do to secure the bag. With VFX that is no longer the case. Great video! Looking forward to the next one! ❤️
Would it be wrong to say that the surest way to revive Film is to start from scratch? Re-learn the love of making movies, not just to impress or to make money but because you have a tale that you are desperate to tell; one that has to be more than seen but felt.
I haven't been paying attention to modern mainstream movies recently but I watch their reviews and read their plots because I want to know about movies that have welcomed back the spirit of storytelling. And even then I fear that if I do find one, somehow, it's foundation will be ruined by its sequel. Which is how I feel about the new Batman.
But anyways, I loved this! Your videos always tell stories of their own, and in my opinion, deserve to be called art. Thank you. Also! I'm I the only one surprised that it is pronounced "Nootsa?" I've been thinking it wrong the whole time ahaha...
that's why early 2000's will always be goated, big blockbusters sharing the screens with story driven movies
Not so long ago there used to be a time were i got excited of a new movie coming out made by directors like Spike Lee, Scorcese, Tarantino, Burton, Lucas, Spielberg, Coen Brothers, .... cause they are/were good story tellers and altough sometimes they were dissapointing, most of the time they were great movies. They used to be some kind of quality brand in and on themselves.
As a working VFX artist who loves film and grew up in the 80’s and 90’s I’m completely torn about my industry. I’ve been trying to work at companies who work on projects that are true to the art form…but I will admit, there have been a few projects where I just feel used and abused as a cog in the giant machine that is hollywood. I look forward to the day when this Al turns around and we are back to making stuff that has meaning, and is genuinely entertaining.
5:24 The sad thing is, nearly every Star Wars movie is bad, but even the worst ones that are older are still admirable because they continued to focus on the story
You have a very solid way of presenting you ideas. Good work!
When will Hollywood figure out why I continue to re watch the Shawshank Redemption but not Avatar? One is a masterpiece in storytelling and one is a tech demo.
Don't forget about BIG problem of a media. It is really hard to drag older populations to theaters for some deep storydriven film, especially ones that were born after begining of era of home video. That format don't get much enrichement from theter experience compared with decent home setup, in fact, it could be made much worse. Especially after pandemic, which broke many habits. And, in turn, home video is hit pretty hard with streaming, which is ironic because that guys are burning down all media landscape while having no clue what they doing, and how the hell they intend to make whole thing properly profitable. So, right now releasing good film to any recognition is pretty big problem.
Also, while talking about Lucas, don't forget that, while he definetly was aspiring moviemaker when he was broke while working on original trilogy, he is maybe most money driven from big proper filmmakers. Guy is one of inventors of modern merchandizing, for Christ's sake, and created prequels fully on his own will, without any corporate pressure.
True He did have a love for Toys though. Mark Hamill said he was like a big child playing with toys on set.
So I've seen all your videos now, been watching all morning, and I have to say that you hit the nail on the head. Don't ever compromise your own artistic integrity and vision, and please, continue.
The relationship between art and entertainment is really interesting.
Like, I readily acknowledge that Alita: Battle Angel (the movie) is lacking in “artistic merit” compared to Banshees of Inisherin, but I still enjoyed Alita more.
“Artistic” greats (like Birdman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and The Favourite) are the best movies ever made imo. The problem is if an artistic movie misses greatness (with that being a very subjective mark to hit), they tend to land on dull. Entertaining hits don’t reach as high, but entertaining misses still tend to be entertaining (ie The Hobbit trilogy). So, if you are not actually great or not sure you’ll be great then you’re better off going for being entertaining (and this is true in every medium).
love your in depth analysis of the film industry, makes the film nerd in me happy :)
99.99% of all current movies and tv to be completely unwatchable and I now find that watching some dude clear a beaver dam from a highway culvert in a TH-cam video is much more entertaining and enjoyable than anything Hollowood can now produce.
I never had the words to defend visual effects to my friends, how it’s not their fault for underwhelming quality of film. But this video is something I want to share to everyone, and hopefully it is the wake up call to remember what made film great in the first place. Thanks you so much
Story, Storytelling and Storyteller! That's something I love about this channel
What I don’t get is whenever something comes out that’s not woke and actually good - Squid Games, Top Gun Maverick, Dune etc - it does well. Like, the proof is right in front of you Hollywood FFS
As always your editing is much appreciated
I just wanted to say I’m really enjoying your channel. You have thoughtful insight that is refreshing because you approach it all even handedly, objectively. That’s an art. Please keep making long form videos when you can!
...did you just imply that Dune 2021 was a "half decent remake"??? Best bloody adaption I've ever watched, what are you taking about mate?! I literally felt the passion behind that project, I feel it's one of the most genuine pieces of modern film making in recent years, No need to disparage it like that my friend.
Same with Blade Runner 2049, it's on par with the original movie. Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today, he knows how to craft good stories but can also create great visual spectacles, VFX in Dune and BR2049 are leagues above Marvel's CGI shitfests despite costing much less because they actually gave importance to what they were doing instead of caring only about box office.
It was a ok movie just the pacing was too slow but Blade Runner 2049 was awesome.
Director was denied crayons as a child.
It’s a statement when a multibillion dollar company’s regurgitated remake or cinematic universe makes me bored and a TH-cam series with the budget of an IPhone has me more hooked up.
Art isn't dead. Anyone who says it is just need to get into the indie scene. That's where the *good stuff* is.
Aka: if you only consume mainstream mass produced industry garbage. You'll only find mass produced garbage.
Art is dead in Hollywood
It's assessments like these that only affirm why I miss vintage filmmaking more and more, and have watched far less films than YT vids these past few years.
When I was growing up, the films that I saw were, really, MAGIC! They were not just defining chapters in the history of cinema, they were pure cinema, exemplary proof of what could be and were accomplished as art for the ages! Whether on the big or small screen, I watched with wonder and realized how rich our cinematic heritage was. Now it's being reduced to product, mere PRODUCT, like something being churned out onto a conveyor belt and packaged to be bought and sold as the latest commodity before being discarded. There's no more beauty, no imagination, no more care shown towards creating something special or memorable.
We're at a point where I long for the days movie making was just about the money. Back then the studios actually seemed to care about pleasing the customers. Not preaching to and lecturing them then berating the customers if they don't like it.
"The heads of the filmindustry used to be filmmakers who hired fellow filmmakers to make movies. Now the heads are businessmen who hire fellow businessmen to make movies."
Sums it up perfectly.
Have I ever mentioned that I just love your editing? Because I don't think I did.
George Luca getting the sequel rights was an incredibly good business move. He is a fantastic businessman.
I love this quality and effort, put in these Videos.
I really enjoy the work you put into the editing, it puts your vids a cut above co many others.
You know a video will be great if it starts with "art is dead" by bo burnham
After so long!! Great to see you back, Nutsa.
Hey Nutsa! Good essay, thanks for that.
As an editing-aside, I enjoy your essays and have watched them all, but they consistently give me motion sickness. This one has been the best, as you didn't do as much insane shaking and motion. Just want to bring that to your attention. Please keep it in mind. Would be nice for people like me to watch your stuff without feeling ill.
Looking forwards to the next essay!
5:50 Movies like Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Master & Commander I guess are still included in that category. I think it was the late 2000s that the industry began degenerating. By the 2010s, signs of trouble were clearly visible, and in 2020s not only is the quality sub-par in even major franchises like Star Wars. Cinema begins to seem dead in comparison to both online series and video games, which are now the new innovators that cinema desperately apes. In fact, video games become more and more cinematic while movies become video-game-like. Just watch the 3rd Hobbit movie and think how easy this would be turn into a video game, and how video game like it feels.
But there are still some good movies made, with good story and effects, like the Revenant, Inception and Dune, not just that common.
You can see that since all movies done today are remakes of classic of past (Star Wars, Lotr, Harry Potter etc. with the sequels, Rings of Power, Hobbit, and Fantastic Beasts) that producers are afraid to take risks and know even themselves that they cannot create a better franchise that would dare equal them
Long time no see?
A great video really, and the picture is almost complete, you only forgot one thing. Nepotism, as the businessmen started to hire businessmen and lost the ability to see if someone is talented, they also started to hire "people they know" rather then people that are actually the best choice. There was a transition period where models or rockstars who were cast in a movie never came back after failing at their first try. Then at some point they just kept sticking to them. There were happy accidents like Schwarzenegger or Dwayne Johnson who, while not being good actors by any means, were popular with the audience and were just perfect for the roles they got.
There are many examples of actors/writers/directors who got into it not because of talent, although some of them worked hard to get better at it, but because they were the kid of someone, the partner of someone or just someone that someone with some credit knew. Just doing mediocre things for long enough, could eventually get you that big hit and get you in.
This also has to do with the locality of Hollywood being basically an inbred group of people concentrated in a fairly small area. It created a cultural monopoly that is not aware of the responsibility that comes with being a cultural hub for more then their own nation. On one hand they desperately cling to this monopoly on the other hand they do nothing to justify the continuation of it, nepotism being one of those things they do which should be despised by responsible people with intact moral compass.
Their power is so big now that the only thing that came near to democratic legitimation, which was the profit they made in other words the monetary approval of the audience, still does not initiate change anymore. As with the recruits from other walks of life, bombing once is not enough anymore.
Bombing is part of the art as a performer and probably also for a movie maker, but instead of changing, learning and adapting to stop bombing, they use their immense power to rig the game. So they can continue to do the same crap which they bombed with before but make a profit instead. They do not adjust themselves, correct their mistakes improve on their shortcomings, they try to make the audience believe it is their fault.
I agree. Ppl (sometimes myself included I admit) like to blame technology and the era we’re in, but the reality is Hollywood and these filmmakers only care about the bottom line not the storytelling and they get away with it because ppl keep supporting the bare minimum lol.
This seems like the overarching thesis of all the pieces of yours that I've binged so far. Glad I found you, despite the algorithm.
This is written like a high school essay without deep understanding of the business it hopes to criticize or the talent it displays as an example.
You bring up several pieces of media as examples of "this is bad, this is souless" without an in depth or ANY explanation for the point that you're making, expecting the audience to go "OH, I guess this IS bad" and then keep agreeing with you as you make another point based on a statement you made and never backed up. Key Example being dunking on She-Hulk without giving any context for people who haven't seen it or providing context to your implied statement of "This series is bad because it focuses on CGI and spectacle instead of storytelling".
In fact, you never said anything about any of the media that you criticized. You just showed pictures of it while you were pontificating about "CGI with no story telling skills = Bad".
The problem with doing this is that, if at any point, I disagree with a statement that you make, the house of cards that you've built your argument on falls apart. If I go "Actually, I think She-Hulk was kinda funny, and even tho the VFX was janky, I had a good time." all of the out of context clips, rotten tomatoes score posting, and framing criticism as social woke-ism will not resonate with me and just becomes noise.
Even when you criticized writing/directorial talent towards the end, you used that statement that George Lucas already had enough money to live comfortably and essentially worked for free to fulfill his artistic creativity as a well off white man in the 1980s as a contrast to... Working in the 2010s and 2020s in an entirely different economy and actually wanting a paycheck to, you know, live off of, as giving up your artistic integrity for a paycheck??
There was no further discussion of WHY they would be sellouts for doing this or what works of theirs you thought lacked artistic integrity and why that was. You just said some names you thought fit your point, and kept moving on, expecting us to go "Yeah, I guess that's right" and keep agreeing with you.
You also demonize "business" and "industry" as key factors in the decline of cinema from where we are in weird areas that don't make sense. Again, towards the end "The businessmen in charge of these studios hire more businessmen to make these movies. Like JJ Abrams because his movies are bad". That's not a point, there's no discussion there. That's an opinion. Even though I agree with it, it's not endemic of even the movies you've shown as bad examples in this video. You dunked on Doctor Strange 2 which was directed by Sam Raimi and is loved by Sam Raimi fans. He didn't make a movie for EVERYONE. He made a movie that fit his vision within the constraints of Disney and is loved by its target audience.
I'd be more upset if this was just a bad faith video essay, but it's not. It's just poorly written. Please, explain the points you're making and understand how essays work instead of just showing b roll while you pontificate for 20 minutes.
This video sounds like a university media studies project.
I hope Nutsa improves so well!
nutsa's back baybee!!!!!
Thanks!
I would have to disagree.
Good writing is not a massive cost sink and still the cheapest way to enhance a product in very meaningful ways. And the industry never stopped looking for it. And bad writing didn't start being around since only a few years ago. *cough* Ed Wood *cough* . The vast majority of movies has always been between bad and kinda good. The only reason that the past seems to have more movies in it that are written well, is because we tend to forget all the generic and most of the bad movies and only remember the good ones. And because back then, high-budget spectacle movies barely existed, we don't remember a whole lot of them. Watch a literally random movie from the 60s to 80s and its writing is probably going to be average to bad.
Besides, just because spectacle was cheaper, didn't mean that it wasn't there. Death Wish movies, anyone? Or how about any of the other 5000 'man with gun goes on revenge rampage' movies that we had in the 70s and 80s?
So in the end, I think the idea that old movies were generally better written, is mostly an illusion of our culture only remembering the good ones. Of course the average blockbuster movies of the last 10 years can't keep up with the best of the last 60 who stood the test of time.
Ed Wood could write very well when he was writing from the heart, watch Glenn Or Glenda
@@tvsonicserbia5140
I don't know that one, but if anything, that just proves how unreliable the quality of writing is, no matter who does it or what they have under their belt, because Plan 9 From Outer Space definitely wasn't well written.
@@ALookIntoTheEulenspiegel It's Ed Wood's movie about his own transvetitism, where he stars as the main character. While it has some of his weird wackyness and is inescapably cheap, because it was so personal the core message of acceptance shines through, it's what most great writers recommend, write from experience, when you are being truthful in your art, it's simply the definition of good writing.
Love your work bro!! Keep doing the Great Work!!
The death of story is what kills me.
This was a great video essay. I really liked the editing and clips that convey the mood
As much as it hurts me to say it, we’ve reached the point in which greatness has become the exception and not the rule.
Let’s just get this industry back to what it used to be.
Has Greatness always been the exception?
@@SlapstickGenius23 It was the goal
This is the fifth or sixth time I have watched art die in my lifetime. At least, it has been decried as such. So buckup buttercup, it is a brand new day.
If you don't like it, don't go see it. They will stop making it when there isn't any money in it for them. That is the only power a consumer has, in what you consume.
Just a thought.
well that was thorough well crafted video with such great opinion well done!! yeah films like rocky(the whole franchise) and god father are classical carrying that perfect emotion and intrigue throughout the film woof such a tough job for the writer isn't it and these days any movies without those grand visuals and epic hype are being overlooked by the audiences. even with good stories story tellers these days are trying to (and most of the times failing to) integrate more of that epic ness into their films just spoon feeding the audiences with the usual formula than entertainment is just soo bizaree anyway loved your presentation and transparency.
Your accent is wonderful to listen to. Soothing, in a way.
Great vid, BTW.
Great video like always, I hope all is well.👍
Sitting in traffic binging your entire channel, i love this content. Very well done.
Hey! Get off your phone!