How the halt of film production and delay of theatrical films could be a blessing in disguise

[Kalo]

Some people on here are have become increasingly negative as to the state of the future of Cinema and there fears are not unwarranted.  Film production shutdown and closure of nearly all cinemas globally is unprecedented and it is certainly going to hurt theater chains- especially some independently run theaters. Some theaters are going to close and that is unfortunate. Of course there is a mostly unknown virus being spread all over the world and the closures (at least for the time being) is necessary to help save lives) But life goes on and there is talk of some theaters in the US starting to reopen (with restrictions) as early as the 27th of this month. (April 27th).  Obviously this is bad right now. but I think we have failed to look at the bigger problem that has plagued the film industry for decades and only has gotten worse to the point it is has become pervasive (and I'm not talking about the so called "theaters are dying" angle that some people believe).

 

The film industry has completely lost it's touch with creativity and takes very little risks when it comes to original content. franchises run for decades now with it not uncommon for over 6 films in series, weather it be a reboot or continuation. decades doormat franchises are being revived; force rebooted with varying degrees of success happen on a daily basis, the film industry is dead. not dead as in they are't creating content and even a good amount of the content is quite enjoyable (I love the MCU and think it is one of the best examples of a successful franchise). but it takes no risks and just keeps throwing more money at next blockbuster because they know it will make money (the last two Avengers films were reported to have a combined budget of nearly $700m. Studios are spending too much money on too many films releasing to few originals movies and the ones they do make are mostly bombing and they is partially our fault for not supporting them -although even the studio based original content seems very corporate as of late. not the mention the film increasing political agendas being seeped into modern film culture so pervasively that it waters down the actual quality of the story (Star Wars sequel trilogy anyone). I'm not saying you shouldn't put your own views into your content, but no body wants to be forced fed something and not everyone has the same views. and the story should always come first (The Expanse is an excellent example of a very diverse series that is so well written the agenda behind it (if any) is nearly untraceable. it is however not a movie).

 

So how can any of this be made into a good thing? Well it could be.. for one thing when theaters start to reopen there will almost certainly be restrictions on seating capacity, which means you will need to will either need to play one or two movies on all screens (blockbusters) or release films with smaller budgets (they're are very little of those being made apart from independent micro budget films). So for the next few months that is going to an issue, but probably more for actually theaters than film studios. 

 

Anyways the truth is this, people in the industry are going to have to get creative if they want movie theaters to survive, this virus isn't going to last forever, social distancing will someday (hopefully) soon become a thing of the past, and life will more or less go back to normal, but hopefully we will learn something from it. Maybe now is a time to look back to the past and focus on the more intimate things, there is almost certainly going to be budget cuts once production resumes full throttle and that is when studios need to get creative, release more more mid budget films. Get original content out there. people will be longing for togetherness and unity after being forced into isolation for so long. I'm not saying to due away with blockbusters, but to make more cheaper ones more character and story focused then budget related. this is also a great opportunity for new film makers and studios to come into the forefront. and maybe quit fighting with each other so much.

 

I do not believe theaters will die, the Spanish flu hit hard in the late 1910s and what was the next decade known as? "The roaring 20s" we very well still could be heading into the next roaring 20s.. we'll have to wait and see.

 

I know there are going to be people that will say the exact opposite that the only films in the future will be mega blockbusters and everything else will go straight to streaming and they might be right, but I hope not. 

 

I think this is a rare moment to take a look at what we are doing and maybe take a step back and see if it's actually working and if we should do something about it. what do you think? 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Kalo