LOS ANGELES: Two of Hollywood’s most famous and iconic directors Steven Spielberg (‘Jaws’, ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘Lincoln’) and George Lucas (‘Star Wars’) feel that Hollywood will one day implode upon itself after “three or four or maybe even a half-dozen” mega-budget movies flop terribly.
The two directors, famous for bringing characters like Indiana Jones and Darth Vader to us, faced problems in in the past few years trying to get their movies into theaters. Steven Spielberg admitted that his Academy-Award winning ‘Lincoln’ almost did not make it to the big screen, but went to television. He said, “This close – ask HBO – this close.”
Steven Spielberg predicted that if this implosion did happen then movies could possibly adopt a Broadway style of payment where “You’re gonna have to pay $25 for the next ‘Iron Man’, you’re probably only going to have to pay $7 to see ‘Lincoln’.” George Lucas also added that if this does happen, then bigger movies would play in theaters for longer while smaller movies could shift to television which he also called “more adventurous”.
How genuine are Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ comments though? They were instrumental in starting the trend of summer blockbusters back in the day with Star Wars, Jaws and Indiana Jones. Is it just karma hitting back?
And would this trend impact India too? That does not look probable. India’s movie season is not divided into the Summer Blockbusters and the Fall Oscar Contenders the way Hollywood does it. Besides, India’s television strength is nowhere close to America’s with regards to content. Meanwhile, the number of theaters and the people going to them continues to grow annually, and so does television.
Steven Spielberg will next be seen directing Bradley Cooper in ‘American Sniper’, while George Lucas advises JJ Abrams on ‘Star Wars VII’.
