A note to all American film distributors...

It isn't the Movie or the Storyline that is going to sell, it is Jessica Alba that will be making that movie into something big that it shouldn't be...

I did watch Asian on actually... It came on Direct TV on a channel called The Independent Film Channel, 550... I thought it was awesome, even though I had to read the whole movie... It used Yellow Subtext which was really bad, because I was seeing Yellow Subtext for like 3 days afterwards... Movie was still good though... I haven't watched the Remake yet... We've done that with a few films now, I noticed...

I guess people can't come up with anything themselves so they are stealing from everywhere else...

I knew film was dead after Joseph Kahn was signed on to direct Neuromancer..

and then he casts Hayden Christiansen as Case.. WTF! honestly what the hell!

OH and then there is that STUPID Metropolis remake.. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU REMAKE THE MOST CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT FILM OF ALL TIME?! WHY?!

mr_cyberpunk wrote:OH and then there is that STUPID Metropolis remake.. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU REMAKE THE MOST CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT FILM OF ALL TIME?! WHY?!

Damn straight!

What I find it when most films are remade for American audiences, thay are dumbed down significatly. Mainly in story, i.e. they tend to accentuate the action packed parts (and in somce cases, add many more) and leave out some of the essential story and character progression. And I honestly think its becuase of the kinds of films that have come out over the past 10 years, and the moviegoers who have become dumber as a result.

So now that you've dumbed down the demographic and intelligence of the everyday moviegoer (seeing as most intelligent folks refuse to go to the comemrcial cinemas anymore), really interesting films (such as foreign films) are either not making it at all, or are being remade for audiences with far less of an attetnion span, nor an appreciation for good cinema.

I can sit a watch a Japanese or Korean horror film and be dragged to the edge of my seat simply becuase of the amount of eerie nothingness. But I guess most Americans are used to so much action and they simply cannot stand to not be visually or aurally stimulated all the time.

Comparing The Eye again, based on what I've seen from the American trailer, it looks like they have reduced the amount of slow suspense, in favour of quick a loud jumpiness. Which I think is no where near as scary, and leaves very little to the imagination.

And on subtitles, I don't know if I am stepping on sensitive ground here, so shoot me down if you will, but I think the reason why the industry has a problem with releasing films with subtitles is becuase they fear that a lot of American audiences just would not be able to keep up with reading (if able at all). Mind you, I have yet to meet an american who does not know how to read well, but I think the industry is not giving Americans enough credit. Becuase ever since I was 6, I was watching films with subtitles and keeping up well enough to understand exactly what was going on, without even having to distract from the visuals.

I don't know, it seems like a combination of the dumbing down of the average movie goer, the lack of faith American destributors have in their audiences and the attention span of the viewers that contribute to such bastardisation of great cinema.

-Cub. =o)

I have to agree with the Cub here. Americanization of other countries' movies has gone way out of control, and the end product blows donkey. This shoudldn't be.

End of rant.

-Fred

That's because we have VERY FEW People who can come up with Their OWN Ideas, so they steal it from overseas and just redo it...

I agree with you all on that, if we can't come up with something ourselves then we should just sit back and enjoy what others have come up with, not steal it and try to remake it...

Okay, representing the common denominator of average intelligence is Malloy.

Let me provide a little bit of a counter point, although it'll probably be easily shot down...

I love remakes. I eat them up. I'm an American who loves all the whiz bang pyrotechnics, and state of the art what have you in films. I certainly see a place for these films, and a lot of the people who go to the movies, with average intelligence do to. They wouldn't make them if they didn't sell, and that's what it all boils down to.

Does that mean I won't watch a subtitled film. Not really. I have seen a few, Das Boot being my favorite, but when it comes to subtitles here is my problem. I'm reading the words, when I should be watching the screen, and seeing the subtle performances of the actors. When I read the text, but miss the eyebrow raising, I might just miss what the actor or actress was trying to get across.

Does that mean I won't watch an independent film? Not at all. Some of my favorite movies were indies, but when compared with a big budget, salivating at the mouth, Hollywood blockbuster there just is no comparison in my eyes. I, along with a lot of other people in America are why you keep getting these movies. We just ... love them. Especially sequels. Or remakes. You know, anything part two, where the first part was pretty kick ass. I know it sounds stupid, and maybe a bit childish, and hey, maybe it even is. The movie going experience is different things to different people. And to sell a movie to an American crowd you have to appeal to what they like. You could release a movie with subtitles about some guy who is struggling with his girlfriend, and job, so he builds a plane to fly away from it all ... But you know... who'd pay to see that when Terminator four is playing too ...

I know that sucks for movie buffs who appreciate different things about their movies, but you know ... there it is.

<Malloy ... sticking his neck out to be flamed!>

As you may expect, I have my own two-cents to put in here.

I gotta start by saying that there were a lot of bigoted remarks in Cubs two posts, although I am pleased that he made some meager efforts to redeem himself on one or two.

That being said, I was young once, and very much like Cub. I was a young film student and film maker, and I only attended classic or foreign films. I never went to the "movies." Only "Films." I was probably even more snobbish than Cub, when it came to films and I completely rejected most American films. I didn't even go to see Star Wars until six years later when Return of the Jedi came out. And reluctantly, even then.

So, on the one hand, I know where Cub is coming from. On the other hand, I also know that that kind of snobbishness is a dead end. It limits one's ability to see beyond one's own biases, and you will fail to grasp much that you can learn from.

For one thing, the production quality of American films are on a whole other level than most foreign productions. Fortunately, many American-produced films are shot in other countries, and this has done a great deal to raise the production quality of foreign films. (I use the term 'foreign' here to mean non-American, although it may be home some of you.)

Like it or not, there are intrinsic problems with subtitles. Especially in European films which tend to feature a lot of dialog and many characters. While the eye is diverted, to read the subtitles, one can very easily lose track of who said what in a particular scene, which can sometimes throw the entire plot into confusion. And, of course, one also misses the body language that may change the meaning of the words that were said. Subtitles also make a two hour movie seem like three hours because the eye has to work much harder, dancing around the screen.

Usually, when I learn that a movie was based on a foreign original, I try to find the original and check it out. Many times I indeed do like the foreign version better. But just as often I may find the remake to be superior. Of foreign films, the one country who's films I am most consistently impressed with is France. For action, romance and romantic comedy, they do a d--med good job. They are always better than the remake and the production quality is usually first class.

My biggest complaints with most foreign films (especially English films) is the sound quality. The background track and the music track often overpowers the voice track. Plus, the voice track often seems to lack higher-harmonics, making the dialog difficult to resolve. The print quality also tends to be grainier and the color less vibrant.

Anyway, I've been an avid movie-goer all my life, and I've been a hard-core goer for over forty years and that's my perspective.

That's a very interesting perspective Doc.

But I might add that you are probably mis-interpreting my snobiness slightly:

My frustration is not with the everday American viewer in this particular case, so much as it is with the American film producer. And so I should probably point out a little more clearly that when I am having my rant, I am angry at the viewers (particularly younger ones) mainly for not waking up to the fact that the industry is so terrible, and that there is a world outside Hollywood films, and no so much for lacking in anything mentally or culturally.

I too, am not one to shun the indsutry all together snobbishly in favour of indie films, considering Jurassic Park is still one of my favs, and I thoroughly enjoyed Transformers, and other Hollywood blockbusters. But it is frustrating when you have other countries doing so well, and the only way to break into the biggest market is to have their work pretty much stolen and bastardised becuase the US viewers lack the interest in anything that is not made in the USA.

I shall give you some more food for thought:

According to Wikipedia, the literacy rate in the US in July 2007 was still within the 95-100% range, which is roughly on par with the rest of the developed world. However, the literacy rate has been declining (slightly) since 1975. This is mainly due to cultural changes, and of course the decline of reading in favour of games and other forms of entertainment (particularly among children).

And so I would like to point out that there is a distinct level of laziness with viewers when it comes to reading, seeing as most young people would rather play a game than pick up a book. And as a result, the film industry probably feels that America just does not like, or can't stand reading. I would go so far as saying that they don't have faith in their own viewers literacy level, mistaking laziness for incompetence.

As I said before, I have yet to meet an American who cannot read and write enough to get by. But I do come across many lazy people when it comes to SMS-speak and online language, and more often as time goes by.

I am almost certain it's a cultural thing, and most Americans seem as if they don't like taking the time to decipher or understand a foreign concept... they would rather have some s**t blown up, and hottie parading around in their underwear, and whatever other bright shiny things to keep a mind occupied (yet hardly intelectually stimulated) for 2 hours.

Now, a slight level of ignorace like that is an injustice to the original arists, but it is a combination of the producers and the viewers responsible...

Leaving you with a final thought, The Kion King, probably one of Disney's most successful films was stolen. the original was a Japanese animation from the 60s called 'Kimba The White Lion'... some scenes and images were even copied SHOT BY SHOT (not the mention Simba > Kimba)... but of course, the distributors and their millions of dollars managed to win the case saying they were totally different.

The situation has remained a controversy due to the Disney Company's statement that no one in the company had heard of Kimba until after The Lion King was released — in spite of the fact that people related to the production of The Lion King had referred to "Kimba" as the main character of The Lion King.

...frustrated I am. But I would not flat out refuse a Hollywood films. But shockingly enough I have never seen any of the Star Wars films... not becuase I refuse to, I am just not interested enough (I might become one of "those" Star Wars fans lol!).

-Cub. =o)

Forget the new trilogy Cub. It sucks. Jar Jar Binks is the antichrist and that's all I have to say. But the original trilogy is pretty pimp.

-Fred

the literacy rate in the US in July 2007 was still within the 95-100% range, which is roughly on par with the rest of the developed world. However, the literacy rate has been declining (slightly) since 1975. This is mainly due to cultural changes, and of course the decline of reading in favour of games and other forms of entertainment (particularly among children).

Chewing on your food for thought, it might interest you to know that the foreign-born population in the U.S. was about five percent in 1975 and is now more than 12 percent. And that is just the legal immigrants. We also have more than ten million illegal immigrants here right now. That's another three percent. Do you think there's a chance that might have something to do with a 'slightly' declining literacy rate, rather than accusing a whole country of being lazy?

A lot of your complaint seems to center around the U.S. audience's lack of enthusiasm for subtitles. Don't blame the viewer! Subtitles are not the way films (talkies, anyway) were intended to be seen (with the possible exception of Mel Gibson's "The Passion.") Subtitles greatly detract from a film's presentation.

On a related subject, I b-tch around here quite a bit because of the general lack of enthusiasm for text adventures. You guys all seem to only want graphic games because text-adventures are too hard. If I'm not mistaken, I think you are one of those in the anti-text-adverture camp. How do you square that with your criticism of the lazy U.S. audience? I don't mean to be confrontational here. I'm just trying to make a point about preferences with text and entertainment.

But it is frustrating when you have other countries doing so well, and the only way to break into the biggest market is to have their work pretty much stolen and bastardised becuase the US viewers lack the interest in anything that is not made in the USA.

Well, it's our market, isn't it? I understand your frustration. Believe me, I do. But the solution is not to blame the customer. If you want to compete in the American Market, you have to cater to the American customer. It's as simple as that.

For instance, an American producer sees a foreign film that has that something special. A new idea, a new twist, a great plot. You could bring it here for a limited distribution and *maybe* make some profit - if you're lucky. Or you can spend a few million bucks on a remake, and make 50 million. Let's see...make a little money?...make millions?...duh?

Movies cost a lot to make and they also cost a lot to distribute. The U.S. market is huge and it expects to be catered to.

Why? Because they can.

I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.

All these production companies think it's going to sell because The Ring made money. Kind of like Spiderman was to every single comic book movie that came after that. I have to agree, the Japanese originals are always better.

With the exception of Ringu versus the Ring. I prefer the American version.

Cubase wrote:
As I said before, I have yet to meet an American who cannot read and write enough to get by. But I do come across many lazy people when it comes to SMS-speak and online language, and more often as time goes by.

OMG!! WTF!?! STFU!!! Pwned ...

Mr. Thomas Malloy wrote:

Cubase wrote:
As I said before, I have yet to meet an American who cannot read and write enough to get by. But I do come across many lazy people when it comes to SMS-speak and online language, and more often as time goes by.

OMG!! WTF!?! STFU!!! Pwned ...

4h@45 \/\/h@4 1/\/\ 4@LI<1|\|g @b0ut /\/\@110\/. 1 c@|\|4 h31|D 14 1f \/0ur ju54 n00bz0rz cub.

For me, the only good things to come out of the new Star Wars movies that came out was Darth Maul and Qui Gon Jinn....That 3 way fight scene at the end of Phantom Menace was epic!