"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On Sun, 05 Mar 2006 09:31:20 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
"As of last weekend, 36.4 million people had seen this year's five
best-picture nominees in theaters, compared to 173.8 million the year
of "Titanic.""

Then, just to prove a point, which I'm not exactly sure what point was
being made, there is this.

"Tom O'Neil of the awards Web site, theenvelope.com says this year's
Oscar show will probably be the lowest rated ever, but it shouldn't
matter.

"If we judge the success of the Oscars by the number of people who
watch them, then we're as guilty as Hollywood studios who judge the
success of movies by how many people see them," he said."

Um...excuse me, but I thought the whole idea of making a movie is to
entertain the maximum number of people possible in order to make the
maximum amount of money or, as we capitalists put is, ROI.

Honest to pete - these people can't be that stupid - or can they?
No, that's not *the* purpose of making a movie, although that certainly
has been the motivation of most of the "Hollywood type" movie for
decades. Many of the best movies ever made were not necessarily produced
or directed for the widest possible appeal and biggest possible box
office, but for the sake of art.

Name one.

Citizen Kane, considered the best American movie. Also, many of the
"greatest movies" didn't have a wide release in the United States and
therefore aren't well known. Have you seen Jean Renoir's "The River"?
How about Fellini's 8-1/2? Jules Dassin's "Phaedra"? Have you seen "Z" by
Costa-Gavras? It won an Academy Award for best foreign film. It wasn't a
great money make.



That does not dismiss the fact that the original intentions of making those
films was for the hope for a big box office hit.

Like Tom, I would not say Citizen Kane is considered the best American
movie.



There are higher callings than huge profits.

Really? Then why do people make films - say, oh couple of million
dollars to produce a small indy film.

What's the motivation?


Art, creativity, making a statement, all sorts of reasons.

But making money remains the number one intention................always.