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The Future is Entertainment that Entertains, Maybe

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For the last ten years Hollywood has been making movies based on what they thought audiences ought to see instead of what they wanted to see.  This steady stream of girl-boss super hero and transgender romance stories have lost the studios literally billions of dollars.  I’ve been raving against this for years saying something will have to give and finally it has.

There’s a guy named Scott Cawthon whose twisted imagination came up with a story line where a Chuck E. Cheese-style restaurant becomes possessed by evil spirits and the animatronic animals start slaughtering the patrons.  He called it “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” He went from on-line storytelling to a video game to finally a couple of movies in the theaters that made hundreds of millions of dollars.  And the Rotten Tomatoes scores from the professional reviewers was 33% and the rating by customers was 86%.

So, what’s the lesson?  Find what the audience wants and give it to them.  And this is becoming more frequent.  A YouTuber named Markiplier self-financed a sci-fi horror movie called Iron Lung about a prisoner sealed in a submarine prison on a moon covered in an ocean of blood.  And once again there is a built-in audience from the game and story fans on-line.

Well, finally the actual studios are waking up and saying, “Wait a minute.  Why don’t we start making movies out of stories that people actually like?”  So, there are about a billion kids who play Minecraft so a Minecraft movie will make a billion dollars.  Duh!  Studios like Apple are starting to make science fiction and fantasy movies that piggy back on books that have actual audience appeal instead of left-wing ideological cachet.  It’s still barely detectable but without a doubt it’s the future.

Now, this isn’t targeted at me.  It’s for my grandkids.  They play the video-games that these movies are based on.  When I watch them it’s like some kind of fever dream.  The plots are crazy, the characters are cartoonish and the pacing is almost non-existent.  But no one is preaching.  It’s reminiscent of the slasher movies back in the eighties.  The audience was teenagers and there was no danger of anyone winning an Academy Award but the audience left happy and the studios made money.  This is the model that seems to be returning.

I was talking to one of my grandsons about this phenomenon and he provided a piece of supporting evidence.  He mentioned that none of his friends were going to bother to see the third Avatar movie because basically it’s the same movie recycled.  He said now that the CGI isn’t as cutting edge there’s really no reason to go listen to the same lecture about the military-industrial complex colonizing and oppressing space-aborigines for a third time.  Of course, that’s my take on what he said but it was interesting to me that he recognized the recycled aspect of the plot.  The Zoomers aren’t as helpless as some people paint them.  At least not the ones I’m related to.

You Were Always a Good Friend to Me

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As all who have followed my website know I’m a connoisseur of the various film versions of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol.”  And I’ve opined before that the premiere version of the Ghost of Jacob Marley is Frank Finlay’s portrayal in the 1984 version with George C Scott as Scrooge.

Here is the whole scene:

Now, why do I say it’s best?  Technical presentation?  Acting ability?  Faithfulness to the book?  Emotional impact?  Actually, all of the above.  In all aspects of the scene this version is head and shoulders above all the rest.

The makeup on the ghost is wonderful as are his costume and the pattern and details of his fetters.  Even his eyes appear to be those of a dead man.  Finlay’s reading of the lines is masterful and the emotions he provides are wonderfully potent.  And the lines selected are the best selection from any of the versions out there.  And the climax of his performance is his outrage when Scrooge tells him, “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.”

Marley howls, “Business!” Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

This one speech is easily seen as the reason for the whole story.  We see the partners face to face and we see what Scrooge cannot.  Marley was what Scrooge is; a terrible human being who cared not at all for his fellow creatures, their pain and suffering.  But death and judgement have taught him the error of his ways and in his shame and penitence he wants to save his old partner from himself.

And because he was as Scrooge is, he selects the instruments that have the best chance of reaching into Scrooge’s heart and mind and shaking him out of his evil habits and awaken in him the knowledge that the most precious treasure on this Earth is the chance to use our time to comfort those around us and recognize the kinship we all should have.

So those are the main points.  But even small bits contribute to this “Marley.”  When the ghost appears Scrooge demands to know what it wants of him.  Untying the funeral kerchief from around his head, his bottom jaw drops wide open with a loud clicking noise to indicate that he is a corpse.  Only once his mouth is unbound can he answer. “Much!”

So, yes.  This is the best Marley.  And George C Scott provides a fitting foil for Marley’s mission.  He is suitably impenitent and uninterested in Marley’s gift of potential reclamation.  When told of the three separate spiritual visits he asks Marley if they could all come at once and save time.  All in all, he is completely undeserving of Marley’s gift.  But as we shall see the scope of the gift that Marley procured manages to finally break through Scrooge’s shell of callousness.

Well done Jacob Marley.

Not So Forbidden Planet

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Dr. Morbius – Young man, my daughter is going to be terribly punished for what she just said.

J J Adams – Dr Morbius, don’t you understand it’s your subconscious that is responsible for all this death and destruction?

Dr. Morbius – What, me harm my own daughter.

J J Adams – Well, look at those gages.  Your subconscious monster will use whatever amount of unlimited power it takes to break through that door.

Dr. Morbius – I’m helpless to stop this terrible power.

Altaira – John please do something.

J J Adams – Alright I will.  (draws his sidearm and fatally wounds Dr Morbius who falls to the ground)

(The gages of the Krell machine quickly settle down to minimal levels and the door that was white hot cools visibly.)

Dr. Morbius – Son, throw that switch.

J J Adams – What will it do?

Dr. Morbius – It will initiate a chain reaction inside the Krell thermonuclear power plants that will unstoppably consume the planet in a miniature nova.  The Krell technology is too dangerous for humanity.  It must be destroyed.

J J Adams – Sorry Dr Morbius, I disagree.  The technology they possessed was too dangerous for them and for you.  But we’ll harvest the Krell knowledge without unleashing any subconscious monsters and I predict we’ll do just fine.

(Morbius expires)

Altaira – John, what do we do now?

J J Adams – Our first problem is how to get out of here.  That door will be cool soon but it’s probably permanently welded shut.  I’ll contact my crew and we’ll provide a funeral ceremony for your father and Doc.  Afterwards we’ll get back in touch with Earth and begin the start of the project to decipher the Krell technology.  That will be the largest step change in human knowledge since the discovery of the faster than light drive.  It will take tens of thousands of scientists and engineers centuries to mine all of the knowledge here.

Altaira – But what will become of me?

J J Adams – That depends on what you want to do.  If you want to stay on Altair IV, you will have many opportunities to press your legal right to some kind of remuneration for the government’s seizure of the Krell technology.  I’d say you may end up as one of the wealthiest humans in the galaxy.

Altaira – But what about us?

J J Adams – Well Alta, a starship captain doesn’t make enough of a salary to impress an heiress but if you can wait a year for a wedding I can most probably wangle a desk job on Altair IV and we can see whether your interest in biology is strictly academic or not.

Altaira – I’ll wait for you John.  I don’t want to leave my home.  But with my father gone I need someone to help me figure out my future.

J J Adams – Well, as I said I’ll be stuck here indefinitely while the military secures the Krell infrastructure.  So, you’ll get a chance to get to know me when I’m not killing your relatives or fighting invisible monsters.

(They embrace, kiss and then begin the search for a way out.)

Musings in the Mother Ship

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In the alien spaceship approaching the mothership:

David:  Head straight for it.

Steve:  What the hell?

David:  Don’t touch them.  Don’t, don’t, don’t!  I was counting on this.  They are bringing us in.

Steve:  When the hell was you gonna tell me?

David:  Oops.

Steve:  We’ve got to work on our communication.

Seeing the troops inside the mother ship

David:  Oh, my God!  Look at that!  There must be thousands of them.

Steve:  Millions of them. What the hell are they doing?

David:  Looks like they’re preparing an invasion.

The ship docks with the alien command center and David attempts to upload his virus into the alien control system.

David:  (CLAPS)  We’re in.  (SIGHS)  Do it. Do it. Do it.

Back on Earth:

General:  Sir, he’s uploading the virus.  Eagle One, the package is being delivered.  Stand by!

In the Alien spaceship:

David:  Oh yeah, oh yeah! One more step.

Suddenly the screen flashes a message in the alien text.  David pushes several keys and the message resolves into English, “INPUT PASSWORD.”  David lets out a strangled scream and says:

David:  Steve we’re cooked.  I have no idea what to enter.

Steve:  Just write password in lower case.

David:  That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.  We know nothing of their language or software rules.

Steve:  Yeah, well then how the hell were you able to write a virus that would work in their system?

David:  Well, that’s a good point.  Let’s see, p a s s w o r d.  Good heavens it worked!

Steve:  Of course it worked.  There’s only twenty minutes left in the movie.  We have a few threats left like the ship docking lock that won’t release and then the pursuit by the three alien interceptor craft and finally the debris field created by the nuclear explosion in the mother ship and then we’ll be home free to the heroes’ welcome where the pretty girls jump into our arms and kiss us.

David:  Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.  Tell me does Randy Quaid manage to earn the respect of his stepson by saving the day during the fight against the alien ship back on Earth.

Steve:  Yes, but he dies sacrificing his life to destroy the ship by crashing into the alien ship’s primary weapon.

David:  Well, that’s probably for the better.  He was a very silly and annoying character.  After all, if he really had been abducted by the aliens why would he still be alive?

Steve:  Good point.  Do you think we’ll get to be in the sequel in twenty years?

David:  Well, I will be.  By then I’ll be looking for an easy paycheck to retire on but you’ll be a much bigger star and won’t want your name associated with the kind of cheesy project that a sequel to this goofy movie will likely be.

Steve:  Yeah, I think you’re right.  I’ll probably concentrate on high end projects directed by Steven Spielberg.  Of course, I’ll leave space for the occasional sequel to “Bad Boys.”  You shouldn’t forget what got you to the dance.

David:  Yeah, I’m hoping to make at least one more sequel to “The Fly” one of these days.

Steve:  Oy!

Hailing Frequencies Open!

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Back in the 1960s we had a tv show called “Star Trek.”  It starred William Shatner as James Tiberius Kirk, the captain of the starship Enterprise.  And for one hour every week Kirk and his crew of four hundred able-bodied men (and women) warped their way through the galaxy seeking out new life and new civilizations and boldly went where no men had gone before.

And wherever they went Lieutenant Uhura kept them (mostly) in contact with the Federation using a form instantaneous contact called sub-space communication.  I say mostly because something called sub-space interference would be invoked whenever it would be useful to the plot for the Enterprise to be incommunicado.  This would allow Kirk to show initiative and break with inconvenient policy like the Federation’s Prime Directive against interfering in the technological development of more primitive civilizations.  Of course, Kirk broke this rule about a million times in the course of the show.  But you know, there was dramatic tension while they sorted out their feelings about this rule.

But getting back to sub-space communication, it was instantaneous.  Which was needed to make the stories work.  After all, radio waves are electromagnetic waves and propagate at the speed of light.  The Enterprise travels many times the speed of light (maximum about 1000 times the speed of light).  So normal radio communication is essentially useless for them.  They could beat their radio message back to Earth by a factor of as much as a thousand-fold.

But here’s the thing.  Suppose you want to write a story where faster than light space travel is impossible but instantaneous communication with other stellar systems is possible?  What would be the dramatic possibilities of such an arrangement.  Well, basically, it allows the writer to imagine radically different cultures and organisms sharing ideas and information across the entirety of the cosmos.

You could have a supremely old race teaching a young one how to avoid all of the dangers that it experienced.  And they could teach them about their future.  Suppose a race on a planet is circling a star that is about to explode.  What would they want to pass on to the universe?  Maybe some religious insight or a supremely beautiful musical composition or maybe just their name; so, they would not be forgotten after they die.

Now of course instantaneous communication is as completely untethered to scientific reality as warp drive is.  But I can still see how using it in a story without FTL space flight would present story lines that aren’t as well-explored as ones where FTL space flight exists but “sub-space” communication does not.

Now all this being said, I will say that Lieutenant Tawny Madison, played by Sigourney Weaver in the movie Galaxy Quest really improved on Lieutenant Uhura’s performance as communications officer.  Her costume was significantly skimpier and showed much more cleavage than Lieutenant Uhura ever did.  And Madison didn’t need to wear an ear piece to hear the computer tell her what the ship was doing.  All she had to do was repeat what everyone else could hear over the ship’s speaker system.  Now that was progress.

It Might be Good Enough

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I was watching a video on YouTube that discussed the cratering of movie attendance after 2020 and how even after COVID was no longer a thing, how movie attendance has never recovered to pre-2020 numbers.  But the truth is that even before COVID the movies were steadily losing ground since around the year 2000.  So really COVID just hastened a trend that was already under way.

Well, that clarifies things somewhat but I think there are things to consider about this whole trend.  It’s not just a situation where a change in technology is disrupting an old business model.  Without a doubt that is happening.  But there is another phenomenon at work simultaneously.  And that factor is ideology.  For at least the last ten years there has been a concerted effort on the part of the movie making industry to restrict films to what they consider “acceptable” themes and characters.

And I think the drop in ticket sales reflects this change.  A solid thirty five percent of the country consists of people who aren’t motivated to see these types of movies, at all.  And this accounts for the drop in attendance and box office.

I guess the question that must be answered is, can the industry survive without this segment of the population?  The jury is still out but I think the answer is no.  Theaters have already become a low margin industry and without the enthusiastic patronage of key demographics financial viability won’t exist for much longer.  Then, what are the possibilities going forward?

One possibility is for some newer players in the movie making industry to modernize their operations to lower costs to the point where profits can be made with niche projects that can depend on a reliable demographic to support them.  This could work for the superhero films if the movies cater to the expectations of boys and young men to be entertained with an adventure story that appeals to their instincts.  By the same token a film that caters to the expectations of an LGBTQ audience or a young female audience or a baby boomer audience could also make money if its budget doesn’t swamp out its box office.  And so that could be the future.

I guess it’s possible that Hollywood could become so frightened by what has happened to their profits that they decide to do an about face and start making the kind of movies they made twenty years ago; ones that appealed to the bulk of Americans without trying to divide them by race and sex.  But somehow, I seriously doubt they’d succeed.  I don’t think they still have the wherewithal to recognize what goes into a movie like that.  Even if they tried to recreate that kind of movie making their instincts would betray them and the same woke tropes and characters would appear.  So the first scenario with new players seems more likely.

But I do not think any of this will happen quickly.  The entertainment industry is currently in turmoil.  Video games are currently the most popular form of entertainment for the younger generation.  Super hero movies in the last two or three years have bombed at the box office pretty consistently.  It will be a little while before the new money from Silicon Valley has had a chance to completely usurp the crown from the old Hollywood studios.  It’s definitely already happening but it’s not there yet.  When it does, I think we will start to see some very interesting changes.  It will never look like what we had.  Because we are not what we used to be.  But if it provides products for all of the larger audience types it might be good enough for my movie viewing pleasure.

I Feel Therefore I’m Amused

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What makes a good story?  And by story I’m including books, movies, songs, even a story being told by word of mouth.  What makes it a good story.  Simply, it has to make the audience feel something; satisfaction, recognition, joy, sorrow, anger, fear, horror, amusement, surprise or maybe even wonder.  In the absence of emotion can a story be good?  I’d say no.

So, when writing a story how do you ensure that the story checks some of those boxes?  Well, plot is one of the tools you can use to activate the reader’s emotions but more importantly, you have to build the characters so that they’re human.  Certainly, any generic female character being thrown into a scene where she is being stalked by a psychopath will elicit at least some emotion from the audience but if she is first made into a real woman with the requisite and recognizable emotions then the scene becomes harrowing.  Think of Agent Starling trapped in Buffalo Bill’s lightless room while he toyed with her in preparation for ending her life.  She is a trained law enforcement agent but she’s also a terrified young woman trapped by a predator.  The audience is on the edge of their seats.  Her fear is the fuel to make the scene real for the viewers.  It’s gripping.

And this is just as important for any emotion in any situation.  To be considered a success the reader has to feel something strong enough to make the story in some way real.  Let’s test my thesis.  Is the movie, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a good story?  Does it make us feel anything?  Yes, there are scenes in the movie where we feel a sense of wonder at some of the things happening.  And there is a feeling of worry for Dave Bowman as he faces off against HAL9000.  I guess there is sadness over the death of Frank Poole.  But are any of these emotions particularly strong.  I guess on reflection the sense of wonder at the technological wonders we are shown in the flight to the Moon and aboard the Discovery One spacecraft are pretty interesting.  But none of the characters (except perhaps HAL) really activate our emotions.  In some ways Dave and Frank appear more robotic than HAL.  So, on the whole I wouldn’t call “2001” a successful story.  It’s almost like a travelogue to inform the audience about some interesting things that will be seen during a vacation trip.

Now compare this to the earlier science fiction movie, “Destination Moon.”  Technically, there’s no comparison.  “2001” is astonishingly beautiful and seems like a documentary shot in space.  “Destination Moon” appears woefully primitive in its special effects and graphics.  But the story has engaging characters and a plot that creates emotional interest.  The characters are placed in danger and the audience wants to see how the characters respond to this crisis.  Now surely, this isn’t some great work of art.  It’s melodrama and adventure.  But it works.  There’s enough there to make the characters real enough for us to care if they live or die.  Compare this to Dave Bowman at the end of “2001” travelling to the end of the universe through some kind of acid dream followed by him getting very old and then becoming some kind of “space embryo.”  To me all of that was meaningless from an emotional point of view.  It was boring.

So, the lesson is humans like stories that make them feel human.  Because it makes them feel.

Every One

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This is a great time of the year.  I allow myself to watch the various holiday movies whenever the mood strikes me.  I’ve already watched four versions of, “A Christmas Carol” this week and I’m bound to add materially to that number very soon.

Now, in my opinion, the top three versions are the 1938 MGM version with Reginald Owen as Scrooge; the 1951 English production with Alastair Sim as the miser and finally the 1984 version starring George C. Scott as the awful old man.  Each one has its strengths and weaknesses.  But each one manages to provide the catharsis that is the reason for the story.  We get to see Scrooge start out as the victim of a father who blames his son for his wife’s death in childbirth and then the son becomes this misanthrope who punishes everyone around him for revenge.

And along the way we get to see the beauty and joy that Scrooge’s friends and relatives create during their Christmas celebrations; Bob Cratchit and his poor family gather around the tiny Christmas dinner that Scrooge’s pathetic wages afford and rejoice at their day of celebration and family warmth.  Scrooge’s nephew; Fred entertains his friends and even manages to toast Scrooge’s health despite his knowledge that the old man despises him for his generosity and kindness.

As ever I find the 1984 version has the best Jacob Marley scenes.  The 1951 film does the best job chronicling Scrooge’s career with Fezziwig and his subsequent turn toward miserly misanthropy.  And in this presentation, it strays into territory not covered in Dickens’ story.  A subplot emerges where Scrooge’s beloved sister Fan dies after giving birth to her son Fred.  This is given as the origin of Scrooge’s hatred for Fred.  But in the film the Ghost of Christmas Past allows Scrooge to hear his sister’s dying words.  She begs Scrooge to take care of her boy (Fred).  Hearing these words that he’d missed in real-life, Scrooge is wracked with guilt and remorse.

The 1938 version, I believe, has the best portrayal of the Cratchit family.  And in point of fact the actor who plays Bob Cratchit, Gene Lockhart has his real-life wife playing Mrs. Cratchit and his real-life daughter; June Lockhart as one of the younger Cratchit children.  Now, when I say best portrayal, I’m not implying that the acting is better than in the other two versions.  In fact, I think the other two versions have fine actors and stay much closer to Dickens’ text.  But the longer screen time given to the Cratchit family in this version provides a warmer feeling and gladdens the heart of the viewer to watch it.

So then, who is the best Scrooge?  Well, I can’t answer that.  The best I can do is to bring it down to a choice between Alistair Sim and George C. Scott.  And choosing between them is only a matter of what mood I find myself in that day.  I will add that of late I think the George C. Scott mood finds me more often but I have to say at this time of the rolling year I want to have all three DVDs available for whatever mood I find myself in.

And as Tiny Tim observed, “God bless us, everyone.”

For Halloween Fans

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Tyler over at the Portly Politico has a link to some of his content that would be of interest to all those who get into the spirit of Halloween.

“I did a whole series on my YouTube channel during October about various Halloween and/or horror movies, 31 Days of Halloween:

I think you’ll enjoy it!”

Son of Frankenstein (1939) – An OCF Classic Movie Review

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As a kid this was one of my favorite Universal horror movies.  In a way it was the last of the legitimate Frankenstein movies from the series.  Boris Karloff played the Monster for the third and final time.  And they even brought back a couple of the actors from the original Frankenstein movie although as different characters. So, there was a certain amount of continuity with the first two movies.  Basil Rathbone adds his considerable talents to the production as the titular son of the original Dr. Frankenstein.  Lionel Atwill makes his turn as the memorable Inspector Krogh; he of the prosthetic right arm (which the Monster had torn off when Krogh was a child).  And even poor Bela Lugosi is there as Ygor to lend his legitimacy as a part of one of the earlier Universal films (Dracula) that had a lot of “prestige.”  Yes, this movie has everything.  Not only does the younger Dr Frankenstein have a very pretty wife but he also has a curly-haired young son whom the Monster befriends.  After this film the later Frankenstein films became kind of campy to my mind.  So, this is the climax of the original films.

I won’t worry about spoilers because we know that the Monster will come back for endless sequels so let’s just talk about the story.  Dr. Frankenstein and his family have arrived from the United States where he had met his wife.  They find the villagers surly and suspicious because mysterious deaths have continued to occur in the village and the Monster is still blamed for these.

We find out that Ygor has been hiding the Monster below the ruins of the destroyed laboratory but recently the Monster was struck by lightning (!) and hasn’t regained consciousness since.  Ygor wants the doctor to restore the creature.  Ygor was a grave robber who was hanged for his crimes but somehow the hanging didn’t kill him so he went free.  And now he’s befriended the Monster and it does his bidding.  Doctor Frankenstein is intrigued by his father’s creation and we are shown him using “modern” medical equipment like a fluoroscope to examine the Monster.  There’s some gibberish about his rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, cellular structure and we even find out that he has two bullets lodged in his heart which don’t seem to bother him at all.

So, the doctor sets up the generator and zaps the Monster but other than a short bout of consciousness he seems to have failed to rouse the Monster.  But later on, we hear that the doctor’s little boy met a “giant.”  And so, when the murders begin happening again both the doctor and Inspector Krogh are sure the Monster is on the loose again.  After a dart game between Doctor Frankenstein and the Inspector (which was thoroughly lampooned in Mel Brook’s movie; “Young Frankenstein) we have the climax of the movie.  Doctor Frankenstein kills Ygor in self-defense and the Monster kidnaps the little boy and brings him back to the lab.  At this point both the Inspector and the doctor attack the Monster.  Even after the creature tears off Krogh’s prosthetic arm, he manages to fire a number of bullets into the Monster.  And Doctor Frankenstein outdoes him by a swashbuckling rope swing that propels the Monster over the lip of a ledge and into a very convenient, bubbling pool of 800-degree F sulfur-bearing magma.

Alright.  It’s a silly movie.  But it’s a lot fun.  I’ve got a warm spot for this one.  All the hand waving to make the Monster’s existence “scientific” appeals to the ten-year-old kid in me.  They even go so far as to clarify that the “ray” that the original movie said was “beyond the ultraviolet” was actually cosmic rays.  Well, cosmic rays!  What more could you ask?  Highly recommended for ten-year-old boys and other folks who like a good monster movie in black and white.