« Weathering tragedy: tsunami movie tourism? | Main | The Seattle weaseley: spite match in P-Northwest! »
May 20, 2005
Canning Cannes: I've gotten the money reviews and not the money
Anne Thompson on why good don't sell, noting that Cannes perennials like Amos Gitai, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan and Michael Haneke "are far more prized names overseas than stateside... "You almost look at this year's competition films and don't have to worry about buying anything," says Warner Independent Pictures president Mark Gill, who, having viewed about 90 films... might not buy any. "They may be good, but none of them are remotely accessible to an American audience." ... Hard-nosed professionals know what they like -- and what sells at home -- which accounts for about 35% of global box office. They all chase the same holy grail: A cutting-edge, stylish English-language movie with a few names that will nab great reviews... "In the last couple of years, I've gotten the money reviews and not the money," ThinkFilm distribution chief Mark Urman says. "The critics are not quite as influential. So many films that have gotten extraordinary critical support haven't worked. ... people don't want to be challenged to the degree that they used to. If films are dark, depressing, nasty or searing—what used to be recommendations— now they are turnoffs."
Posted by at May 20, 2005 01:42 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.mcnblogs.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/266
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)