is Hollywood dying off?

Snake

First goes Robin Williams.. Then Sir Attenborough.. Now Joan Rivers all within what 2 weeks? Conspiracy me thinks. Celebrity serial killer maybe?

FloatingVoter

Snake wrote: »

First goes Robin Williams.. Then Sir Attenborough.. Now Joan Rivers all within what 2 weeks? Conspiracy me thinks. Celebrity serial killer maybe?

David Attenborough was 89. Joan rivers 81. Sad to see them go but not exactly grounds for a conspiracy theory.

House of Blaze

Not dying off.. Just being transformed into a gray goo of sh**tiness over time.

KungPao

FloatingVoter wrote: »

David Attenborough was 89. Joan rivers 81. Sad to see them go but not exactly grounds for a conspiracy theory.

That's what THEY WANT YOU TO THINK!

KungPao

I don't think the younger actors have the "aura" of the previous generations and the money men only invest in dead cert cash cows (killing creativity), so in a way the whole "hollywood" thing isn't quite as awesome as it once was.

So when the old guard is gone, it won't be the same a tall a tall.

Mint Aero

Saw the thread title and immediately thought of the rise of netflix and the many tv series dominating Hollywood viewermanship, thought wow, good thread, wow should be great discusses for the masses then opened and you just pooed all over it op.

SilverScreen

I honestly wouldn't mind if it did. Most of my favourite films have nothing to do with Hollywood's plastic culture.

smash

House of Blaze wrote: »

Not dying off.. Just being transformed into a gray goo of sh**tiness over time.

In fairness, Joan had enough work done that if you dug her up in 30 years she'd look the same.

The Peanut

KungPao wrote: »

I don't think the younger actors have the "aura" of the previous generations and the money men only invest in dead cert cash cows (killing creativity), so in a way the whole "hollywood" thing isn't quite as awesome as it once was.

So when the old guard is gone, it won't be the same a tall a tall.

This makes a lot of sense.

My Dad loved going to the "pictures", as he called it. He lived in a world of no TV: then black and white tv and only one channel. He grew up in a world of John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Humprey Bogart. He went to the cinema to be transported to the wild west or North Africa. The actors had an aura, a mystique about them.

The world was slower, media was different. Every detail of their lives was not broadcast across the interweb or the papers. They seemed more than ordinary people, more special.

That age is gone. They have to prostitute themselves as media whores to sell the products. We see so many aspects of their lives that the sense of mystery is gone. Pity. It's not real but it did act as a sense of wonder, for me certainly when I was younger too.

The Strawman Argument

KungPao wrote: »

I don't think the younger actors have the "aura" of the previous generations

Only in that the media has changed in such a way that it just isn't possible anymore to cultivate that kind of aura. The kinds of roles allowed now probably play a part too (e.g. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has an outstanding collection of performances behind him, but when half of them involve him as a desperate schlub who likes to masturbate, he's not gonna command the same kind of aura as a Humphrey Bogart).
Movie stars will always be a thing, but they'll also be constantly evolving and at increasingly rapid speeds. Very few are gonna be able to string together enough hits in a row that also have some level of critical respectability to be regarded as a true great on a mainstream level.

A lot of the still-working older people's reps will almost certainly return to their previous highs once they retire/die (e.g. when DeNiro dies, people are gonna be revisiting Raging Bull far more than Grudge Match. Will be a lot easier to remember that he was really f*cking good then)

wazky

Hollywood isn't dying off, old people are dying off.

Tilly

Richard.

Killer Wench

I was deeply saddened by Lauren Bacall's death, also.

dr.bollocko

Every one keeps spending money going to ****ing Michael bay movies and super hero movies. Why would Hollywood try harder when you can piss out some dross and make hundreds of millions? TV is improving and movies from the traditional studios are often paint by numbers exercises. I'm sure the cycle will change when it stops working.

LorMal

I actually thought you referring to how it seems movies are not as good anymore. I think the 70s were the peak for Hollywood.
For example, the best film nominees 1976 Jaws, one flew over the cuckoos nest, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Nashville......all incredible movies.

wretcheddomain

Hollywood died a long time ago - the actors and actresses that made it are all yet to die though.

House of Blaze

wretcheddomain wrote: »

Hollywood died a long time ago - the actors and actresses that made it are all yet to die though.

Namely Robert Deniro and Jack Nicholson!

bnt

FloatingVoter wrote: »

David Attenborough was 89. Joan rivers 81. Sad to see them go but not exactly grounds for a conspiracy theory.

KungPao wrote: »

That's what THEY WANT YOU TO THINK!

I don't think that David Attenborough, just back from the funeral of his brother Richard, wants you to think that he's dead ..!

Sam Kade

Does this mean Joan Rivers autographs will go up in value

FloatingVoter

bnt wrote: »

I don't think that David Attenborough, just back from the funeral of his brother Richard, wants you to think that he's dead ..!

Whoops :rolleyes: They were probably both used to that mistake.

hotmail.com

Lauren Bacall too.

Harry Palmr

When Clint dies they might as well turn off the lights and dismantle the Hollywood sign.

DEFTLEFTHAND

They don't even party like they used to, where are all the hellraisers gone?

castletownman

The death knell in Hollywood's coffin was the invention of 3D. In fact, it's over use has ruined cinema as a whole.

hotmail.com

Kirk Douglas is outliving all of them.

The Peanut

hotmail.com wrote: »

Kirk Douglas is outliving all of them.

I'd say Catherine Zeta-Jones is seriously pissed with the genes in that family. She assumed she'd be well out of there by now.

wendell borton

Burn hollywood, burn.

Turpentine

castletownman wrote: »

The death knell in Hollywood's coffin was the invention of 3D. In fact, it's over use has ruined cinema as a whole.

What, in the 50s? There's been a few good films since then.

DEFTLEFTHAND

castletownman wrote: »

The death knell in Hollywood's coffin was the invention of 3D. In fact, it's over use has ruined cinema as a whole.

Yeah they're too reliant on throwing obscene amounts of money on visuals while neglecting the plot, script and character development.

Still some good things getting made, but this stuff dominates the box office.

Highflyer13

Watched Braveheart earlier and Saving Private Ryan yesterday and it got me thinking how crap movies have become the last 10 years or so. They just dont make movies like they once did.

AndonHandon

Vacuous, self-important, shallow and phoney; oh wait, I thought this was a thread about being a Northsider (Dublin) chugging along on the Dublin Society scene with a hairdresser on the arm, S.S. Haircut, beard and I have actually forgotten what my point was.

Burky126

Snake wrote: »

First goes Robin Williams.. Then Sir Attenborough.. Now Joan Rivers all within what 2 weeks? Conspiracy me thinks. Celebrity serial killer maybe?

The cause...MORTALITY.The bastard!

jill_valentine

I think it's just going the way of music. Less big giant stars and big giant films from big giant studios, but a much broader middle class has a chance to emerge in their stead.

That said, I saw the last Captain America movie a while back and I was surprised at how ruddy good it was for a modern popcorn flick, so the age of blockbusters might not be over just yet.

Bipolar Joe

Turpentine wrote: »

What, in the 50s? There's been a few good films since then.

Even before then, since literally everything is 3D anyway.

Highflyer13

Watched Braveheart earlier and Saving Private Ryan yesterday and it got me thinking how crap movies have become the last 10 years or so. They just dont make movies like they once did.

Turpentine

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Even before then, since literally everything is 3D anyway.

Literally everything except for things that exist in 2 dimensions, like your average film. Or even 1 or 4 dimensions, but I don't want to talk about them.

Highflyer13

Highflyer13 wrote: »

Watched Braveheart earlier and Saving Private Ryan yesterday and it got me thinking how crap movies have become the last 10 years or so. They just dont make movies like they once did.

That is just nonsense. There was also crap movies back then as well as good movies but only the good movies are remembered. In the past while we had Inception, Dallas Buyers Club, Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave to name but a few. There is lots of crap movies these days but there is still so many good ones. If you think all the good movies were made years ago you are not watching the right movies nowadays.

FloatingVoter

Deleted User wrote: »

That is just nonsense. There was also crap movies back then as well as good movies but only the good movies are remembered. In the past while we had Inception, Dallas Buyers Club, Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave to name but a few. There is lots of crap movies these days but there is still so many good ones. If you think all the good movies were made years ago you are not watching the right movies nowadays.

+1. If you ever read a story about the "Golden Age of Hollywood" and all its stars, Bogie, Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Kate Hepburn and the rest you see the amount of crap they had to do while under contract. Its unwatchable now. It wasn't always The Maltese Falcon and Citizen Kane.
Fast forward to the 1970s and we have such classics as The Swarm (Michael Caine disowned this..thats how bad) and Caligula (which was bad even when judged as a porn flick).

Turpentine

FloatingVoter wrote: »

+1. If you ever read a story about the "Golden Age of Hollywood" and all its stars, Bogie, Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Kate Hepburn and the rest you see the amount of crap they had to do while under contract. Its unwatchable now. It wasn't always The Maltese Falcon and Citizen Kane.
Fast forward to the 1970s and we have such classics as The Swarm (Michael Caine disowned this..thats how bad) and Caligula (which was bad even when judged as a porn flick).

He did the same for Jaws the Revenge (but admits to liking the house that it bought). How many films has Michael Caine disowned?

FloatingVoter

Turpentine wrote: »

He did the same for Jaws the Revenge (but admits to liking the house that it bought). How many films has Michael Caine disowned?

In fairness he's always been honest about the cash movies. He even admitted accepting Dirty Rotten Scoundrels because they were shooting near his favourite restaurant. And that didn't turn out bad.

porsche959

Bret Easton Ellis often discusses this issue on his podcasts, check out the recent one with Rob Zombie for example:

http://podcastone.com/Bret-Easton-Ellis-Podcast

IvaBigWun

Worst "OP compared to thread title" I can remember in some time.

porsche959

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They don't even party like they used to, where are all the hellraisers gone?

Jack Nicholson was probably the last of them, I think he is more or less retired now though.

Zeek12

Harry Palmr wrote: »

When Clint dies they might as well turn off the lights and dismantle the Hollywood sign.

Please don't tempt fate like that

He's one of the last remaining legends (of which there are very few)

As the song says....

Jimminy Mc Fukhead

Watched Braveheart earlier and Saving Private Ryan yesterday and it got me thinking how crap movies have become the last 10 years or so. They just dont make movies like they once did.

wendell borton

The real problem is distribution as there are decent films out there, the multiplex chains only show lowest common denominator Hollywood while giving anything else a run of only a few days. The smaller indie cinemas have a lot more variety despite having less screens.

paulbok

Jimminy Mc Fukhead wrote: »

Watched Braveheart earlier and Saving Private Ryan yesterday and it got me thinking how crap movies have become the last 10 years or so. They just dont make movies like they once did.

Just seems to be repeats these days....