DISCLAIMER: For better context, click here for Part 2.
As promised, today we’re gonna switch gears a bit. Rather than discussing different big film and TV franchises, we will be focusing more so on their general impact on pop culture engagement as a whole.
So, yet again, let’s just drive right in with…
YouTubers
NOTE: I do not know any of these people personally. I am not here to judge who they actually are as people. I am just here to explain how I perceive their public personas, is all.
We’re just gonna focus on YouTubers who review movies and TV. Let’s start with RedLetterMedia. I used to love everything about them. These days, however, I find myself disagreeing with a lot of their points, though I still appreciate them for coming across as a bit more “honest” than most others. I also like Doug Walker (preferably when he’s not in his Nostalgia Critic character) and his associates like Brad Jones.
Screen Junkies is okay. They used to be a little too “corporate,” but they seem to have become more wholesome these days, and they all seem like cool people (the ones that are still there, that is). There’s one particular former member of this crew I want to discuss in detail, though, and that’s Dan Murrell. There was a point where he suddenly became way too sensitive about people disagreeing with him on things. That being said, I don’t blame him, cause as an outsider, I could tell that what was really going on was that he just didn’t like his job anymore, but was hesitant to leave, which is understandable. It’s hard to leave your job, especially in a field as unpredictable as the entertainment industry. When he did finally announce that he was leaving Screen Junkies to do his own YouTube channel that focused more on movie statistics (which is what he likes the most), I was happy for him, and now it seems like he’s doing much better these days. I think his taste is a little too “oldschool,” but it’s whatever.
And then there’s Collider… AKA the most embarrassing movie-based YouTube channel blunder in history. No wonder almost all of their shows ended up shutting down! The channel may have started off mostly well, back when it was still AMC MovieTalk, but the fact that members kept coming and going and the formats kept changing just shows that they never knew what they wanted to be longterm, and were just chasing trends. Supposedly most of that was because of their owner, Marc Fernandez, which doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen videos of his, and he really comes across as a “my way or the highway” type of guy. The real final nail in the coffin of that show though was when Kristian Harloff had that embarrassing temper tantrum on air just because he didn’t get early access to the new Star Wars amusement park. Once I saw that, I knew it was all over. It’s no surprise that John Campea abandoned that organization. It was clear that he wanted Collider to be one thing, and then Fernandez hijacked it and turned it into something else. And for the record, I have mixed feelings about Campea (and same goes for pretty much the rest of the Collider crew). EDIT: Harloff seems to have mellowed out now, so I’ll give him that.
As far as other YouTubers of this kind go; MovieBob is okay, but long-winded. Andre from BlackNerdComedy is cool, as are HelloGreedo, Mr. Sunday Movies and RalphTheMovieMaker, among others. Chris Stuckmann made some mistakes back in the day, with that homophobic rap video and whatnot, but he recently clarified that a lot of that had to do with his troubled past, and he seems to be a lot more mellow now. Jeremy Jahns, like Murrell, is a little too “oldschool” for my taste. There are other YouTubers of this ilk besides the ones mentioned here, but most of them are very “clickbaity” and not really worth talking about. And for the record; I am fine with reactors, as long as they appropriately edit the content they react to so that it’s not stealing and/or get permission from the content owner to react to the full thing.
So, let’s move on to…
Filmmakers, Movie Theaters and the Streaming Wars
So as most of you probably know, Warner Bros. recently announced that they were going to release all of their films for 2021 in theaters and on their new streaming service, HBO Max, on the same day as one another, for one month. Then, each film would run exclusively in theaters for another two months or so, before moving back to HBO Max permanently. Some people saw this as a convenient way of working around the decline of the theater industry that has resulted from the pandemic, while others see it as WB using the pandemic itself as an excuse to boost the subscriptions for their service (which was failing hard before all of this was announced). Personally, I think theaters were already on their way out before the pandemic was even a thing, and all of the delays from other studios are making things crowded as is. So in theory, I think WB made the right call here. That being said, they supposedly made this massive announcement without warning any of their filmmakers or studio partners in advance. I agree with everyone out there that this was a dick move. According to reports, they’re now working out new deals with all their associates and partners, to make sure that they all remain appropriately compensated, so they’re fixing their shit now, at least. But yeah, the way they kicked this all off was moronic, so hopefully they learn from that.
However, many filmmakers are not happy about this. Someone who has voiced their opinion loudly on the matter is acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who went as far as to calling HBO Max “the worst streaming service.” Over the summer, he pushed to get his most recent film, Tenet, released normally in theaters (even banning it from drive-in screenings where indoor theaters were still open). As one would expect, the movie tanked, which has since lead to WB making the move to streaming, as well as to other studios further delaying their films indefinitely. So, by trying to save theaters, Nolan has actually just furthered their destruction. Good job, Chris!
Now look, I still think Nolan is a very innovative filmmaker, and I respect him for mostly sticking to his own original content. I like some of his films and dislike others. But should he really be biting the hand that feeds him here? Sure, most of his movies are still his own original ideas. But who pays for those (expensive) films? Who pays to make his crazy visions a reality? Practical effects and all? Who allowed Tenet to be released normally and even blocked it from most drive-in screenings when Nolan asked them to? Warner Bros., that’s who. Apparently he vows to never work with them again now. Have fun finding another studio that’ll give you everything you want like that ever again, Chris. EDIT: This was before Universal gave him everything and more for Oppenheimer. Also, I didn’t know he made his first film Following for basically no budget at all. I have more respect for him now.
But you know who threw an even bigger and even more unwarranted temper tantrum cause of all of this? Denis Villeneuve. He went as far as to writing an entire hit-piece article against WB. Now, once again, I think he’s very talented and I admire his work, but let’s take a look at what he’s mostly known for: Prisoners (based on a short story), Enemy (based on a book), Arrival (based on a short story), Blade Runner 2049 (a legacy sequel to an old movie he had nothing to do with), and the upcoming Dune (based on a book). Notice a pattern here? This guy doesn’t even make his own shit! Which is fine, if that’s the kind of filmmaker he wants to be, but then what gives him the right to tell WB what to do and what not to do? Hey Denis, you know who pays for the licenses of the stories you adapt? You know who owns the rights to all those characters? Once again; Warner Bros. does!
Sure, you can disagree with how they suddenly choose to distribute their properties, but in the end, those are still their properties, that they paid for and own the rights to. Was it wrong for them to do it without warning anyone first? Sure, but ultimately, it’s still their shit, and nobody else’s. If people like Nolan and Villeneuve don’t like it, than maybe they should go back to the indie circuit and start getting used to working with low budgets and low paychecks again. I’d like to see them both suddenly agree to less money. EDIT: Turns out I was wrong. WB did not require the rights to Dune. Legendary Pictures did, and WB changed the release plan without warning Legendary. So Denis’ outburst is actually more warranted than I had initially thought. That said, if I were him, I would’ve chosen better rhetoric.
So basically, there are three “tiers” of indoor movie theaters; art-house theaters (for small, low-budget indie movies), multiplexes (the massive theaters you see in malls where all the big blockbusters go), and local “town theaters” (the middle ground where big movies still play, but not on massive screens with surround-sound or anything). If I had to guess, town theaters will go away almost entirely, whereas the other two kinds will become a rare novelty like drive-ins did. Look, I loved going to the movie theater when I was a kid. Actually, some of my happiest memories from that time are my parents picking me up from school to take me to the movie theater (I’m getting emotional just thinking about it right now). But we can’t stop the world from changing. Yes, it’s sad that a lot of people are about to lose their jobs from all this (if they haven’t already), and I wish them all the best. Hopefully enough theaters will still be close by for the people who really still want to go to them…
And who knows! Maybe someday in the future, long after the pandemic ends, things will actually go back to normal. Even if the theater chains of today no longer exist, new ones may appear in their place (it happened before, so it can happen again). If movie theaters are really meant to come back, they will. But for now, the pandemic is still out there, and continuously delaying all of the movies in limbo right now is only going to make the film industry more hectic than it already is. Let’s focus on what’s best for the present, and then worry about the future when it’s time to worry about the future. You may think this won’t be fixable by then, but trust me, it will be. There are things far more unfixable than this…
Speaking of Nolan and Villeneuve, let’s talk about…
Other Filmmakers
I like a lot of the films done by “classic” directors like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. I’m also a big fan of movies from more recent filmmakers who still have an old school “touch,” like Quentin Tarantino. I also give guys like Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Smith credit for finding opportunity with minimal resources. Hell, I’m even a fan of super-old silent movies from directors like Charlie Chaplin! That being said, each of these guys have said or done shit I disagree with, but sometimes it’s best to just separate the art from the artist. To be fair, this is easier to do for some than it is for others. For instance, it’s pretty hard for me to ignore the fact that both James Cameron and Joss Whedon come across as major assholes these days, and I think that reflects in their work now too (I’m still a fan of both of their earlier works, though). Then there’s also people that just suck no matter what, like Michael Bay.
Speaking of films I like or dislike, let’s move on to…
Rotten Tomatoes
I used to be obsessed with this website. I’ll admit it; I used to wait to see what the score of a movie was on this site before deciding whether I liked that movie or not. It sounds foolish, in hindsight, but eh, I was a kid! These days, though, I couldn’t give a single fuck about Rotten Tomatoes. Would much rather just think for myself. Besides, it’s not an accurate reflection of the quality of these movies anyways. It takes all the reviews for a film, determines whether each review is “positive” or “negative,” and then compiles a percentage from there. Here’s the problem, though, what about all the “middle of the road” reviews that could go one way or another? I’ve seen plenty of reviews on that site that seem negative to me, but the algorithm labels them as positive, or vice versa. What makes this even more ironic is the fact that most movies are probably “middle of the road” for most people anyways…
What made Rotten Tomatoes even worse was back when they allowed audiences to add their own reviews as well (for a separate “audience score”). The problem here was that, before last year, the site provided no way at all of verifying whether audience reviewers actually saw the movie or not. This lead a lot of films like The Last Jedi and Captain Marvel to being “review bombed” for biased reasons. Thankfully, the site has since implemented a way to verify whether a user has actually seen the film they’re reviewing now, so that part has been resolved, at least. However, what hasn’t been resolved is the fact that most films still use both the critics score as well as the audience score for marketing. I mean, they’re allowed to do whatever they want, I just find this to be kinda snobbish is all, as it reinforces the idea that what Rotten Tomatoes says is gospel, when really everyone should just think for themselves.
Speaking of websites telling you what to believe…
Online “Journalism”
Let me make something clear for you people… If a piece of news is released by the official source where that news is supposed to come from (meaning the movie studio or the official website of a franchise or whatever), then it’s 100% true. Furthermore, if a piece of news is reported by a reputable source that has been establishing connections to the industry for nearly a century (New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, etc.), then it’s 99% true. Lastly, if a piece of news comes from anywhere else (We Got This Covered, Latino Review, ComicBookMovieNews, etc.), then it’s most likely bullshit. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen read some piece of false movie news from sites like We Got This Covered and then go “Oh my god, I can’t believe this is happening!” when it really isn’t.
Sometimes these sites get things right, but that’s just because they make educated guesses. One time, Fox News reported something that We Got This Covered said, without double-checking their own internal channels to see if it was correct or not. Basically, all I’m saying is this: The next time you hear some entertainment news, trace it back to the very source of the announcement, and do research to see if it’s a reputable source or not. If more people would just take the time to do this, I’d have less headaches when talking to people about movie news…
And last but not least, we can’t close this out without discussing…
The Pandemic Impact
So when a bunch of these big franchises like Marvel and Star Wars were closing out their most recent “sagas” in 2019, many people speculated that we would enter an era of “fatigue,” and that future films from these franchises wouldn’t do well financially, even if their next movies were good. Sadly, thanks to a certain virus, we will never know if that’s true or not, as all the statistics will be skewed on way or another now. This is really a shame for me, cause I was really looking forward to seeing if the “fatigue” theory was true or not. Oh well…
That’s enough for now. Next time, we’ll wrap this whole thing up (I promise)!
Peace!
Click here for Part 4.
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