Modified On October 6, 2009
An article in the Financial Times says that Hollywood is in a budget-cutting mood. (It’s surreal being in Los Angeles… we had forgotten what it was like– we lived here for five years long ago– as we listened to the all-news radio stations on our way to Universal Studios yesterday, the big news was was the resignation of two top execs… at Universal Studios.)
Apparently, this past summer was a big one… for flops! Now everyone is jabbering about cost-cutting and saying the dopiest things to the press. Word on the street is that “Paranormal Activity” is going to be a blockbuster. They’re rooting for it because it cost about $200 to make and it’s going to gross more than “The Sound of Music.” So, logically, every picture made from here on out will star unknowns, cost $200 to make and will gross more than “The Sound of Music.” Wow! That’s exactly what happened after “Blair Witch Project!” (For those of you keeping score at home, BWP happened in 1999. The “trend” it set off lasted about ten or fifteen minutes… and it took another decade for a similar phenomenon to occur.)
Meanwhile:
As Hollywood studios tighten their belts, the lower budget film could be a sign of things to come.
The average cost of producing and marketing a studio movie has risen more than 6 per cent since 2007…
Which is odd… considering that, after BWP, the cost of marketing a movie was going to be about fifteen bucks or so because Hollywood geniuses were poised to move their marketing methods over to (fanfare please)– The World Wide Web!
Of course, they still haven’t figured out how to use the internet properly. They still think they can “make” a viral video. (They’re like alchemists laboring to turn lead into gold… sure, it’ll never happen, but BOY OH BOY, if they do, watch out!)
Leave it to Barry Katz. His quotes are the last word in the article and they serve as a nice bucket of cold water, thrown directly into the faces of the wizards at the heads of the studios.
Top talent will continue to command a premium price, according to Barry Katz, president of New Wave Entertainment, which represents stars such as Dane Cook.
“I can guarantee you that the big stars aren’t going to take a pay cut,” he says. “Studios need them to bring in the audiences.”