Evidence that Hollywood has gone insane

[FoolKiller]

I swear this thread belongs in the movies section.

I ran across this today:

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/13/rollercoaster-tycoon-movie-picked-up-by-sony-pictures/

Sony Pictures has been rather successful with its Resident Evil movie franchise, so it only makes sense that the company has acquired the rights for the next big video game movie: Heavy Rain God of War Rollercoaster Tycoon. According to a report by Reuters, the project is being developed as a live-action/CGI hybrid at Sony Pictures Animation, with Harald Zwart, director of the upcoming Karate Kid remake, taking an executive producer role.

Heat Vision adds that David Ronn and Jay Scherick are attached as writers, tasked with adapting the PC game into a marketable movie. Perhaps that should be an easier task than their current project: writing The Smurfs reboot. Considering the original games had no story whatsoever, the writers will have a lot of creative freedom -- as long as they remember to put rollercoasters in it.

I know some people don't feel that Transformers or Twilight are enough evidence that some people in Hollywood should just stop making movies, but this has to be.

I loved this game, but what on Earth is this going to be? It's like making a movie from Sim City, only smaller.

All I know is that there has to be at least one scene where a rollercoaster flys off the end of an incomplete track and people die.

 

[Omnis]

Rollercoaster Tycoon was an excellent learning tool about how to run a business. I remember building wild rollercoasters that nobody would ride.

How they'll make it into a movie is beyond me. I can't even imagine how they'll try to make a blockbuster out of it. I just hope it has nothing to do with the wild nonsense the game became in its later forms.

 

[FoolKiller]

Rollercoaster Tycoon was an excellent learning tool about how to run a business. I remember building wild rollercoasters that nobody would ride.

How they'll make it into a movie is beyond me. I can't even imagine how they'll try to make a blockbuster out of it. I just hope it has nothing to do with the wild nonsense the game became in its later forms.

They could make it into the next Jurassic Park by having the scenario from RCT3's Wild! expansion when a lion escapes its pen and you have to go into FPS helicopter tranq gun mode to stop it before it kills someone.


It will likely be some movie where some kid inherits his dead uncle's amusement park and turns it into the most awesome park ever, but the greedy VP tries to sabotage it by selling lots of drinks and having no bathrooms and under staffing the cleaning staff near the roller coaster exits.

 

[McLaren]

What in the sam hell?

 

[astrosdude91]

Honestly this will be the greatest movie of all time! I'll see it at least 20 times!

The movie will climax when the main character gets bored, puts "No entry" signs on all the exits, and starts dropping guests in water!

 

[FoolKiller]

To discuss this continuing trend of Hollywood having no ideas, I am going to grave dig this thread.

I recently saw MI4: Ghost Protocol. In the theater lobby I saw a cardboard stand ad for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D. God, please let it be the first in the whole series being given a 3D update. Worst choice of the series if it is just the one. Anyway, then in the previews was a trailer for Titanic 3D. During that trailer you could hear giggles throughout the audience, and even a collective groan after it was over. Then one guy yells, "Hollywood has officially run out of ideas," and everyone laughed.

What the? Really? Really, really? We've run out of ideas to the point of doing 3D remakes of movies for the theater? New movies given a 3D bump after filming look like crap as it is. Now we're going to have to deal with 3D adapted dated special effects?


I beg of everyone, do not see these films. Let these 3D retreads be a loss of money for the studios so that they will never do them again.

If they want to sell new 3D blu-ray version of them that is fine, but asking me to pay $12+ to see this in theaters is just stupid.

 

[Villain]

I don't understand. Aren't there new writers with fresh ideas graduating from colleges every year? What the heck?

 

[Terronium-12]

So, we've come to the point where rehashing old films with new technology is the "in" thing to do?

 

[niky]

Was quite tickled when I saw that they'd re-released "Lion King" in 3D already.

Sadly... the producers aren't going to lose any money on Phantom Menace 3D. The development cost won't be as big as for a first release, people will still go see it, and even on the off-chance that it doesn't break even (say, ticket sales fall below 30 million dollars worldwide... yeah... fat chance), the boost in sales for the Star Wars toy line will make it worth their while to redo all three movies in the first trilogy.

-

But then, we all know Hollywood ran out of ideas years ago. I mean...

 

[Villain]

Modern production studios are lame.

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

This should be awesome...if you're 5 and think Dora the Explorer is the new Steve Irwin.

 

[F1 fan]

To be honest, Hollywood's decline into insanity has been apparent for a long time. I used to play Rollercoaster Tycoon. Sometimes the theme tune still haunts me, but WTF?

Currently, I'm more concerned about the amount of crappy remakes that are surfacing.

 

[The Bman]

The Phantom Menace isn't a bad idea for 3D.

On topic -
RollerCoaster Tycoon? Hollywood, please go back to making blockbusters. You keep movies based off of a child/teens game and make it dark to ruin people's childhoods.

 

[FoolKiller]

I don't understand. Aren't there new writers with fresh ideas graduating from colleges every year? What the heck?

Because the writers have a guild. My brother-in-law is working to be an actor and most films he doesn't even get a chance to even put in a head shot for extra roles because he isn't a SAG member yet. Hollywood is very union/guild centered and you have to be discovered before they let you in. You can't get into the guild without getting a shot and you can't get a shot without being in a guild.

And that is why Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman are writing half the sci-fi films out there even though they have a horrible habit of creating plot holes.

So, we've come to the point where rehashing old films with new technology is the "in" thing to do?

We've gone from re-releasing special editions to tech upgrades now. I don't mind when they give it some remastering and sell it in HD on blu-ray, but when they waste theater space and ask me for more than regular movie ticket prices to see it one time I get a bit angered at their gall. The cost of one IMAX 3D ticket is nearly as much, or more, as a blu-ray of an older film.

Currently, I'm more concerned about the amount of crappy remakes that are surfacing.

They aren't even remaking movies now. They are just releasing them with new technology. Remakes are arguably worse, as some things don't need a remake (Mr. Deeds and You've Got Mail come to mind immediately).

The Phantom Menace isn't a bad idea for 3D.

Um, it was a bad idea for a movie in general.

 

[Lain]

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D. God, please let it be the first in the whole series being given a 3D update. Worst choice of the series if it is just the one.

Chillax, they're doing the whole series in 3D. You honestly think George Lucas would turn down free money?

 

[FoolKiller]

Chillax, they're doing the whole series in 3D. You honestly think George Lucas would turn down free money?

At least there is less insanity in this bit.

But I guarantee he would make enough to fund free 3D showings of the other episodes if he started with Episode IV or V. I won't pay to see Phantom Menace again. I just can't.

 

[Grand Prix]

I don't understand. Aren't there new writers with fresh ideas graduating from colleges every year? What the heck?

It's virtually impossible to break into the industry these days as a writer unless:

- You have craploads of money
- You have connections with producers, directors and existing scriptwriters

Most producers don't want to take the time to listen to every single script (most of them are crap anyways), and I can't really blame them. They also have to guarantee that the film will be a financial success to the distributors, which is why we hardly see any originality these days.

Also, the catch-22 that Fool Killer explained already. It doesn't just apply to writers, it applies to everyone involved in the industry. They only like working with people they can trust - people that won't waste time and money. The only way to gain their trust is to join the unions. But the unions will only let you join if you have work experience, and you pretty much have to join the union to get work in the first place.

There's thousands upon thousands of film students and actors being pumped out, seemingly all for nothing. Even if you do make it as a payed filmmaker, you're going to have to wait 20 years at least to get the position you want, which you have to be relentless at networking to achieve. That means kissing everyone's ass and going to everyone's parties, and just generally being an attention whore.

Fortunately you can transfer film camera techniques to photography, but there's hundreds of thousands of photographers out there too. What's worse, some newspapers have stopped paying photojournalists and gone with rookies who will photograph for free instead, because of the economy. The only saving grace is that there will always be weddings to photograph and film.


/rant

 

[CaptainHarlock]

I don't understand. Aren't there new writers with fresh ideas graduating from colleges every year? What the heck?

Yes, and unfortunately studios hired them and said "we want you to get to work on a script for Monopoly: The Movie". I'm not kidding! There's going to be a movie based on the board game Monopoly AND Asteroids!

Ticket sales, I read this morning, are down 10% in the U.S. A number of films that they (the studios) thought were going to be hits, in fact under performed. The big movie this summer, Green Lantern, tanked and for good reason. I still read Green Lantern to this day, and I sat there saying "how can you take something so cool and make it this boring?". I admit I haven't seen every movie this year, but the two best films I've seen (I haven't seen Girl With The Dragon Tattoo yet so I have to toss that out) were Captain America, and The Muppets. A lot of other stuff I felt wasn't worth my time and money. Ticket sales are up overseas, but pretty soon foreign audiences will get tired of seeing Seth Rogen in everything just like we are.

Okay, here's the thing; the only thing new we've gotten in recent years is 3D, and now they are making EVERY movie 3D, whether it was shot in 3D or not. All they've figured out is how to charge an extra six bucks for ticket prices for a technology that doesn't even work well in most cases. And actually going ot the movies has become a drag. It's expensive, and you get people who talk on their cellphones, and often times bring very small children into the theater. I understand somebody wants a night out, but Casino Royale is not a film to bring a young child in a stroller to.

The other thing is how many remakes are we going to have? When I saw Captain America, they showed the trailer for the new Spider-Man movie, and I heard everyone around me say the same thing, "why are they remaking Spider-Man??". I understand why they are rebooting Spidey, because if Sony doesn't make a movie the rights go to Disney. Still more reboots are on the way. Movies that aren't that old are getting remade. Are studios that bereft of ideas?

Anyone want to add to this feel free, because I'm out of gas, and I get peeved when I think about this.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Anyone want to add to this feel free, because I'm out of gas, and I get peeved when I think about this.

I have nothing to add, pretty spot on.

I love going to the movies. But I haven't been there in months, because there's just nothing out now, or has come out, that I really want to see. The next movie on my list? The Dark Knight Rises. And that's what, July 2012?

Sad really.

 

[Grand Prix]

We're just going through through a phase with these early 3D films, production companies are currently using it as way to make a quick buck. They know that some people will see a craptastic 3D film over an awesome 2D one. The industry witnessed something similar happening in the 1930s with the appearance of sound - excellent silent films were skipped over by audiences for lesser quality sound films.

Of course no one knew how to write a sound film then, so they turned to people that knew how - radio writers. This had a dramatic impact on cinema, imparting the constant talking style of dialogue (radio productions cannot have "dead air" and dramatic pauses in dialogue) on the films of that era, the 30s and 40s. This style of dialogue eventually disappeared once actors like Marlon Brando appeared on the scene.

But anyway.

Eventually we'll start seeing better use of 3D. Hopefully.

 

[SuperShouden]

They're also making a second GI Joe despite the fact that most people hated it. Sometimes I do wonder what hollywood is thinking...but that might be scary.

 

[Brend]

 

[PureAwesomeness]

Not surprisingly Sony Pictures are predicted to go tits up in 2012.

ten brands that will disappear in 2012

 

[CaptainHarlock]

Well they do have Spider-Man coming up in 2012. The other thing about Sony is that their television production is actually doing fairly well. They own both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. So they won't completely disappear.

 

[CaptainHarlock]

They're also making a second GI Joe despite the fact that most people hated it. Sometimes I do wonder what hollywood is thinking...but that might be scary.

They think they can do more than the $300 million world wide that the first one did.

 

[SuperShouden]

Not surprisingly Sony Pictures are predicted to go tits up in 2012.

ten brands that will disappear in 2012

Sony has too much money to completely kill off Sony Pictures. I also doubt Sony Ericson will completely dissolve since they just released the Playstation Phone. S/E might go away by 2013, but, not without Sony trying to push that phone first. Also, Sony Pictures just signed a deal with MGM to co-produce AND distribute the next Bond film which doesn't come out until November 2012. So, Sony Pictures is definitely not dead.

They think they can do more than the $300 million world wide that the first one did.

I guess...and by the time GI Joe: Retribution is released, most people will have seen enough movies to wash the bad taste of the first movie out of their mouth...only to have it forced down their throats again. It's really sad, really, there was a lot of potential in that franchise.

 

[FoolKiller]

And actually going ot the movies has become a drag. It's expensive, and you get people who talk on their cellphones, and often times bring very small children into the theater. I understand somebody wants a night out, but Casino Royale is not a film to bring a young child in a stroller to.

There is a theater near me with a sign saying no one under 6 in an R-rated film after 6PM. It is sad that they need that sign.

Of course no one knew how to write a sound film then, so they turned to people that knew how - radio writers. This had a dramatic impact on cinema, imparting the constant talking style of dialogue (radio productions cannot have "dead air" and dramatic pauses in dialogue) on the films of that era, the 30s and 40s.

They also pulled from stage, successfully. That is where you had the best, like Orson Welles (who also did radio theater, which was different from radio drama in style) to silly vaudevillian things like The Three Stooges.

Ultimately sound destroyed careers, as some actors had horrible voices. Similarly, TV destroyed the careers of many talented, yet unattractive, radio actors.

Maybe 3D will clear out some old to make way for new talents? I think George Lucas has tarnished his reputation enough now that remaking his stuff in 3D will show that he ran out of ideas years ago.

 

[Wyvern89]

Well they do have Spider-Man coming up in 2012. The other thing about Sony is that their television production is actually doing fairly well. They own both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. So they won't completely disappear.

Is this Spider-Man a continuation of the Toby McGuire ones, or is it supposed to be an entirely new entry?

 

[FoolKiller]

Is this Spider-Man a continuation of the Toby McGuire ones, or is it supposed to be an entirely new entry?

New entry/reboot Takes place with him in high school.

 

[Wyvern89]

New entry/reboot Takes place with him in high school.

I think it's too early to make a reboot. Oh well.