Hollywood Infected - Part 1

There is a sickness spreading throughout the movie industry in America, aka Hollywood. It begins with a lack of creative energy and nepotism. Then the virus multiplies itself with business minded studios and marketing departments. Where will it end? It cannot end with the destruction of Hollywood, the dismantling of a conglomerate enterprise into smaller, more manageable parts. Why? Because Hollywood is a thought, an idea. It is no more tangible than the World Wide Web or the Easter Bunny. Thus, this article, which will be broken up into multiple parts, is about diagnosing the illness and offering some possible cures: no more no less.

In Hollywood, incest is best. No joke here. Nepotism and favoring opinions bring misguided and under-qualified people into power (e.g. George W. Bush). Sons and daughters of Hollywood elite, and definitely, the not so elite, walk the hallways of agencies, marketing departments, production companies all over town looking for the next back to scratch in order to move up. Come on, let’s get real: If your child is a C+ student in America and got into her undergrad with a letter of rec from her parents, they probably do not belong in a position that is responsible for seven to eight figure deals. That should be a no brainer. Let them party with your hard earned thousands, but do not let them burn millions on their weak decision making powers.

New ideas come from new people, new places, new thoughts. Hollywood gives its fair chances to first time directors; but what about producers, marketing heads, writers, editors, cinematographers, actors? Let’s base the rise of any new player on her or his talent, hard work, and chutzpah; not whether their religion matches yours, or who she seems to be connected with, or the most popular one now, who he or she slept with. No matter how many ‘rags to riches’ stories you hear about Hollywood [think Billy Bob Thornton], there are many more Paris Hilton stories. [What does she really do and why are people still fascinated with her?]

Of course, this problem of nepotism is not new and almost any 3rd world corrupt government is an example of this trend. There might not be many cures for such an issue. Hell, maybe diagnosing the problem would be enough. Then again, if I was in a position of power in the industry, every new hire would have do three things in order to get into my company:

1. literally RUN a marathon without walking
2. work minimum wage for half a year at a Best Buy or Blockbuster
3. and most importantly, write one feature length screenplay

They would run the marathon to show that their heart and body are strong enough to handle the work. This film business is not for the weak of heart. Secondly, if they could handle Best Buy or Blockbuster for half a year, they have most definitely learned what ‘normal’ people prefer in film and what they are willing to buy and spend money on. In fact, if any high end producer wants to check their film barometer and get their compass set, they should spend a couple weeks in a Blockbuster or a Best Buy. And of course, I would make a new hire write a feature because then they would understand the pain and loneliness involved with the genesis of all films.

In fact, if they did these three things and did them well, they would have learned that before any movie gets made there is a desire behind it (the marathon), a marketplace for it (the Blockbuster), and then paperwork that outlines how it will be completed (the script). Now, that all of that is done and over with, the new hire would definitely be ready for the mail room and must work their way up from there.

Nepotism is a big problem in the industry, but I still feel the biggest problem is the Lalaland Bubble complex that most film people share and are infected with. This will be discussed more in depth in Part II of this article. Hopefully, coming soon.

www.neverendinglight.com