USA Today Finally Catches Up…
LIBERTAS
— Dirty Harry @ 7:36 am
Thanks to the readers who forwarded me this USA Today story. usatoday.com I agree with everyone's opinion of this rag. Not only do I only read it when its plopped free-of-charge in front of my hotel door, but for nearly a decade me and my office cohorts would chip in a nickel a piece to buy a single paper and pass it around throughout the day.
But I love that the USA Today and other publications are just starting to catch on to this "new phenomenon" of audiences rejecting Hollywood's liberal films when we've been talking about it here for months. Also of note is how the USA Today calls it a rejection of "political" films as opposed a rejection of "liberal" films:
At a time when political movies could not seem more important, audiences could not seem less interested. This year has been a box-office graveyard for Hollywood dramas that broach war and terrorism — even with A-list stars on screen.
Rendition, starring Reese Witherspoon, managed just $9 million. Tommy Lee Jones' In the Valley of Elah took in $7 million. Even the action-heavy The Kingdom, with Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, fell below its $70 million budget with $47 million.
A USA TODAY analysis of the 26 wide-release movies released over the past 20 years with significant political themes finds that, even when adjusted for inflation, only four did more than $100 million. Nearly two-thirds did less than $50 million.
Another issue avoided in this piece is the fact that these films would be doing much better if they didn't suck. The Kingdom was far from great, but didn't suck, is the least didactic, and has made more money than all the anti-war films put together.
People don't care about a film's politics. Liberal, conservative — doesn't matter. They want good movies (though some of us would appreciate a conservative point of view for a change). But the bottom line will always be good films.
Of the many hours of insufferable polemics I've suffered through this season only the first thirty-minutes of In The Valley of Elah showed any greatness whatsoever. After, it crashed and burned in a collision with its agenda, as did its brethren.
libertyfilmfestival.com |
