Hollywood just may be on the verge of perpetual mediocrity. Well, maybe not mediocrity as we understand it, but more of a homogenization of all movies within a given genre. For any of you who are fans of or have at least seen "The Big Lebowski", get ready to never see another bowling scene in a movie again. Why, you ask? Well, because bowling scenes in any movie have statistically proven to decrease the amount of money a movie will eventually make. And if a relatively new entrepreneur in Hollywood has his way and his suggestions are heeded, then that's what will happen. Enter the script analyzer. In fact, he has not only entered the building, but he has already had an impact on some movie's scripts, analyzing them before they even get to the filming process. He isn't an editor by any means. He does not go in an suggest which lines to adjust to make it sound better or which order to put things in, he goes in with a deep movie knowledge of what makes a film successful and offers suggestions about how to alter to script in such a way as to make it into a successful film, mostly in the monetary way. This new method of analyzing a script, using data from previous movies, is a new method that is taking hold in a few areas and being fought against in others. It would seem that the movie production studios are attracted to this new method where for as much as $20,000 a script, they can help mold a future movie into a box office hit. However, as we all know with Hollywood, those studios are being tight-lipped as to whether or not they have actually used this gentleman's service and will not comment thus far. The one's who are outspoken about it are the writers themselves. Some of them are fighting tooth and nail against such a service saying that it strips away a good amount of creativity from their process while a few have actually said that it is the best and most honest feed back they have received over a script. So who will eventually win out? My bet would be that the movie studios themselves will win out as they are always in search of the biggest box office hit ever.
My personal opinion, as a writer myself, is that this is a detriment to the creative process. It is not traditional editing as writers know it, adjusting lines and dialogue to improve the quality and context, but rather it is molding a script in such a way as to make more money. Some of the best movies out there are ones that have flopped at the box office initially, mostly because the general population doesn't understand the concept or they have no appreciation for the subtle beauty that the movie contains. As it is, I have not seen a movie in some time and its not only because I don't like most of the movies coming out these days, its just that I don't have time. However, the promos that I see for new movies are depressing to say the least. It would seem that Hollywood as lost their ability to create new and exciting movies based upon original ideas and concepts. Sure, they will push one out every now and then, but in general, Hollywood seems to be full of repeats, remakes, and series that go on way to long. Just take "Fast and Furious 6". I didn't even know that there were a 4 and a 5. These days movies need to be packed full of special effects, be in 3-D, and have at least 2 movies preceding it to be a box office hit. Originality, for the most part, has disappeared from Hollywood. The only place to find originality these days in the small production studios, the low budget films, the indies. Don't get me wrong, I respect what this gentleman is doing, creating a business to help production studios create box office hits, I just don't agree with the concept or how it will affect movies. I personally think that it will make movies of a specific genre predictable and lame, eventually putting together a formula for a box office hit to the tune that you will know exactly what will happen and when based on similar movies. In any case, I wish there were a return to the days when almost every movie coming out was new and exciting, not a spin on something old and predictable. It seems the only reason that there is currently a market for this type of script analyzing is because Hollywood itself is beginning to flop. But then again, that is just my opinion. How about you, do you think this type of script analyzing will help Hollywood or create a world in which every movie is predictable?
My personal opinion, as a writer myself, is that this is a detriment to the creative process. It is not traditional editing as writers know it, adjusting lines and dialogue to improve the quality and context, but rather it is molding a script in such a way as to make more money. Some of the best movies out there are ones that have flopped at the box office initially, mostly because the general population doesn't understand the concept or they have no appreciation for the subtle beauty that the movie contains. As it is, I have not seen a movie in some time and its not only because I don't like most of the movies coming out these days, its just that I don't have time. However, the promos that I see for new movies are depressing to say the least. It would seem that Hollywood as lost their ability to create new and exciting movies based upon original ideas and concepts. Sure, they will push one out every now and then, but in general, Hollywood seems to be full of repeats, remakes, and series that go on way to long. Just take "Fast and Furious 6". I didn't even know that there were a 4 and a 5. These days movies need to be packed full of special effects, be in 3-D, and have at least 2 movies preceding it to be a box office hit. Originality, for the most part, has disappeared from Hollywood. The only place to find originality these days in the small production studios, the low budget films, the indies. Don't get me wrong, I respect what this gentleman is doing, creating a business to help production studios create box office hits, I just don't agree with the concept or how it will affect movies. I personally think that it will make movies of a specific genre predictable and lame, eventually putting together a formula for a box office hit to the tune that you will know exactly what will happen and when based on similar movies. In any case, I wish there were a return to the days when almost every movie coming out was new and exciting, not a spin on something old and predictable. It seems the only reason that there is currently a market for this type of script analyzing is because Hollywood itself is beginning to flop. But then again, that is just my opinion. How about you, do you think this type of script analyzing will help Hollywood or create a world in which every movie is predictable?
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