He and Steven Spielberg see a collision course as studios pile on mega-budget films, one that will make a movie outing like going to Broadway and put thoughtful pictures on internet TV. June 13, 2013 7:28 AM PDT Filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg spoke about the film industry's doom at a University of Southern California panel with Xbox Interactive Entertainment Business President Don Mattrick. (Credit: Xbox) George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the two men perhaps most responsible for the model of the summer blockbuster, see the studios' scrum over such hits putting the in-theater film experience on a crash course--and internet TV may be there to pick up the pieces. Studios would rather pour $250 million into one movie to have a shot at a mega-blockbuter than invest in personal, interesting or historical projects that could get lost in the hubbub of a entertainment-saturated world, Spielberg said during a panel discussion at the University of Southern California. Their comments, made alongside those of Xbox executive Don Mattrick, come as the movie industry is in the heart of record season for "tentpole" films, those with huge budgets that have increasingly become the basket studios put all their eggs in. Related stories Apple to stream its WWDC keynote Monday 'The Pirate Cinema' snoops on torrent downloads in the name of art The next box Pandora wants to open will be a TV set-top one Fan TV could be the ultimate set-top box How Xbox One opens the door for the next Apple TV This year's slate has the most tentpoles in recent memory, stuffed with as many as 19 expensive action and animated movies coming to theaters through August. While that could tee up the box office for its best summer ever, it also makes gigantic flops an inevitability. Spielberg sees the tentpoles buckling soon. He predicts "an implosion where three or four or maybe even half a dozen of these mega-budgeted movies are going to go crashing into the ground." That's what will upend the paradigm again, he says. Hints that demand for films outside the tentpole model is already there. The first weekend of this month, Lionsgate scored a win as its modest magician heist movie "Now You See Me" trumped the mega-budget Will Smith vehicle "After Earth" from Sony at the box office their opening weekend. After the tentpoles buckle, Lucas predicted a shift that makes going to the movies like going to a Broadway show--an entertainment outing loaded up with bells and whistles that may cost you up to $150. "Everything else is going to look more like cable television on TiVo," he said. In other words, pictures like Spielberg's "Lincoln" are going to be on television, not movie screens. But they won't be on cable or broadcast, he said, but internet television. Via the Verge.
He and Steven Spielberg see a collision course as studios pile on mega-budget films, one that will make a movie outing like going to Broadway and put thoughtful pictures on internet TV.
Filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg spoke about the film industry's doom at a University of Southern California panel with Xbox Interactive Entertainment Business President Don Mattrick.
(Credit: Xbox)
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the two men perhaps most responsible for the model of the summer blockbuster, see the studios' scrum over such hits putting the in-theater film experience on a crash course--and internet TV may be there to pick up the pieces.
Studios would rather pour $250 million into one movie to have a shot at a mega-blockbuter than invest in personal, interesting or historical projects that could get lost in the hubbub of a entertainment-saturated world, Spielberg said during a panel discussion at the University of Southern California.
Their comments, made alongside those of Xbox executive Don Mattrick, come as the movie industry is in the heart of record season for "tentpole" films, those with huge budgets that have increasingly become the basket studios put all their eggs in.
Related stories
- Apple to stream its WWDC keynote Monday
- 'The Pirate Cinema' snoops on torrent downloads in the name of art
- The next box Pandora wants to open will be a TV set-top one
- Fan TV could be the ultimate set-top box
- How Xbox One opens the door for the next Apple TV
This year's slate has the most tentpoles in recent memory, stuffed with as many as 19 expensive action and animated movies coming to theaters through August. While that could tee up the box office for its best summer ever, it also makes gigantic flops an inevitability.
Spielberg sees the tentpoles buckling soon. He predicts "an implosion where three or four or maybe even half a dozen of these mega-budgeted movies are going to go crashing into the ground." That's what will upend the paradigm again, he says.
Hints that demand for films outside the tentpole model is already there. The first weekend of this month, Lionsgate scored a win as its modest magician heist movie "Now You See Me" trumped the mega-budget Will Smith vehicle "After Earth" from Sony at the box office their opening weekend.
After the tentpoles buckle, Lucas predicted a shift that makes going to the movies like going to a Broadway show--an entertainment outing loaded up with bells and whistles that may cost you up to $150. "Everything else is going to look more like cable television on TiVo," he said. In other words, pictures like Spielberg's "Lincoln" are going to be on television, not movie screens.
But they won't be on cable or broadcast, he said, but internet television.
Via the Verge.
