Like everything else, Hollywood also moves in trends, and the latest one is franchises and shared
universes. Franchises aren't anything new, they have been around for a number
of decades, however their recent rise in popularity has made studios realize
now more than ever that there is money to be made, especially if you start
lumping them together in the hope of creating a Shared Cinematic Universe. In
the race to get that billion-dollar franchise and multibillion dollar universe,
studios are now announcing them before they even exist, and putting them out
there without really much care, or thought. They don't put nearly enough time
into the film, nor at growing a big enough audience to support a future franchise,
and there lies the issue.
In a Facebook post,
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn voiced his skepticism in regards to
this new wave of shared universes.
"Listen, I love
big ass shared universes in movies, as well as huge franchises. But I'm a
little worried about the numerous shared universes being planned by the
studios, without having a strong base film to grow from - or in some cases, NO
base film to grow from. Star Wars had the original Star Wars, the Marvel
Universe had the original Iron Man, the Dark Knight series had Batman Begins,
even movies like Transformers and Twilight - these were movies audiences loved,
and the audiences demanded more from these characters. But these days studios
are trying to grow trees without a strong seed. Execs and producers and
sometimes even directors are focused on the big picture, without perfecting the
task directly in front of them - making a great movie. And studios are trying
to grow franchises from non-existent films or middling successes. It's like
they aren't taking audiences into account at all anymore. I know George Lucas,
Kevin Feige, John Favreau, etc, had ideas where their films would potentially
lead in the face of success. But I don't think it ever got in the way of making
that first movie count as if it was the last, of making it something wonderful
that people would love whether it led to other films or not. In short, I think
this new business model is flawed. I think filmmakers and studios should be
prepared for the big picture, but never, ever let it get in the way of making a
single great film. Be a little more experimental and see what works as opposed
to trying to force success. And mostly, remember that we as an industry exist
to serve the audiences, to communicate with them - they have a voice in what we
create as well. We are not here to dictate what they want to see, mostly
because that's simply not possible."
What do you think?
Source - Facebook
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