Anne Thompson at IndieWire reacts to the success of the G.I. Joe sequel:
Over the decades the movie studios –which are small cogs of huge corporations run by business executives with an eye on Wall Street who are skittish about narrow profit margins– have steadily moved away from risky execution-dependent quality adult films. That’s because they demand painstakingly slow want-to-see building. Studio marketers prefer branded titles that do not require molasses-speed ‘word-of-mouth’ creation for an unknown product that can die in one weekend. That model survives mainly for studio specialty divisions’ fall fest-driven award season contenders.
“Give the people what they already want” is the studio mantra.
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It comes down to this: an exec who lives in fear of losing his job won’t take unnecessary risks. Only the most confident studio head with solid performers behind and ahead can gamble on failure. Which is why they need the security multiple vital franchises provide.
Fear is the fuel behind the power of ‘similar but different’ thinking. If in greenlighting this sequel or an SBD project the exec can point to a successful precursor, that provides some CYA logic to taking the risk of going ahead with their movie.
This is the line of least resistance when it comes to breaking into Hollywood as a screenwriter: Sell them what they’re buying.
We, as movie fans, can complain about it all we want, but as long as movies are commerce, the ‘similar but different’ mentality will continue to exist in Hollywood.
For more of Anne Thompson’s article, go here.