The Curse of the Syndicate Trilogy
June 3rd 2007 03:21
So far 2007 has been a year of sequels and big budget syndicate trilogies. Budgets have been blown, producers have lost and gained weight sporadically sweating it out in the lead up to opening weekend while critics have sharpened their knives ready to swallow syndicate classics whole.
As always, however, it's the audience that judges what goes big and what goes belly-up and this year damn near everything has gone big... so far. And damn near everything has been hailed as appalling... so far.
Three sure fire winners: Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Shrek 3 have all opened to record breaking box-offices. Indeed there is a small gang war going on between Spidey and the Pirates as to just who broke which box office record as execs at Sony and Disney bevvy up to the bank to whip out their budgets and compare just who has the biggest!
It's truly vile...
However, even though there is a fourth movie planned for the Pirates of the Caribbean syndicate, a fourth, fifth and sixth Spiderman and a fourth and fifth Shrek - though no more afterwards, no doubt palms are sweating already in Hollywood given just how badly the third instalments have been received.
Critics cut the three biggies to shreds and so have audiences - a rare situation in this day and age where critics are becoming increasingly out of touch.
In the 2000's big budget action movies are becoming more and more common - given the fact that they can be done mostly with the aid of a blue screen and a wharehouse full of computer nerds. This makes them easily replaceable. DC and Marvel have a bevvy of heroes out there just dieing for a big-screen release and audiences are not only fickle but they do not forgive easily.
Spiderman 3 was a disappointment but it is doubtful whether Spiderman 4 will suffer a great deal from the fallout. Chances are it just won't break any records. Pirates 4 will no doubt be in the same boat. People want to know what happens or how the story ends as may be the case.
But Shrek the Third...
Here is a different can of beans. Not only was the movie god-awful but it came the birth child of the syndicate responsible for two of the funniest animated movies ever made! Expectations have rarely been higher nor more painfully dashed. The question on the lips of producers in Hollywood right now must be: will audiences forgive us?
No doubt there is a slew of devoted fans out there and plenty of families with kids who won't know better who will see it do reasonably well into the fifth instalment. But the damage has still been done.
Furthermore, just how is the failure of the big three US "summer releases" going to affect the June July box office? Transformers, The Simpsons Movie (eagerly anticipated but most likely disappointment of 2007) and Fantastick 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Are people going to be over the action movie formula by then? Or perhaps hesitant given the disappointments that have been dished out so far?
Of course nothing is going to stop people clamouring to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Destruction of Fine Literature for Profit!
The syndicates of the day are all skating on thin ice. They have a few years to pick their acts up, but unquestionably they got too cocky, deviated too far from the pop corn formula and unless they are very good children in the intervening years... next time around they will suffer the consequences!
It's truly vile...
However, even though there is a fourth movie planned for the Pirates of the Caribbean syndicate, a fourth, fifth and sixth Spiderman and a fourth and fifth Shrek - though no more afterwards, no doubt palms are sweating already in Hollywood given just how badly the third instalments have been received.
Critics cut the three biggies to shreds and so have audiences - a rare situation in this day and age where critics are becoming increasingly out of touch.
In the 2000's big budget action movies are becoming more and more common - given the fact that they can be done mostly with the aid of a blue screen and a wharehouse full of computer nerds. This makes them easily replaceable. DC and Marvel have a bevvy of heroes out there just dieing for a big-screen release and audiences are not only fickle but they do not forgive easily.
Spiderman 3 was a disappointment but it is doubtful whether Spiderman 4 will suffer a great deal from the fallout. Chances are it just won't break any records. Pirates 4 will no doubt be in the same boat. People want to know what happens or how the story ends as may be the case.
But Shrek the Third...
Here is a different can of beans. Not only was the movie god-awful but it came the birth child of the syndicate responsible for two of the funniest animated movies ever made! Expectations have rarely been higher nor more painfully dashed. The question on the lips of producers in Hollywood right now must be: will audiences forgive us?
No doubt there is a slew of devoted fans out there and plenty of families with kids who won't know better who will see it do reasonably well into the fifth instalment. But the damage has still been done.
Furthermore, just how is the failure of the big three US "summer releases" going to affect the June July box office? Transformers, The Simpsons Movie (eagerly anticipated but most likely disappointment of 2007) and Fantastick 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Are people going to be over the action movie formula by then? Or perhaps hesitant given the disappointments that have been dished out so far?
Of course nothing is going to stop people clamouring to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Destruction of Fine Literature for Profit!
The syndicates of the day are all skating on thin ice. They have a few years to pick their acts up, but unquestionably they got too cocky, deviated too far from the pop corn formula and unless they are very good children in the intervening years... next time around they will suffer the consequences!
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