There’s no accountability for hype.
I’ll admit that I troll the movie web sites and post, now and again.
Did you ever notice how sometimes things just sort of disappear? Like, you’re reading a paper about some offensive in Iraq with “hundreds of coalition forces” and then… you don’t hear any more. Why is that? I guess it’s sort of in our MTV nature that if it isn’t really really interesting, no sense in going back to see how that turned out. Want a specific example? Operation Phantom Fury aka “The Battle of Fallujah” aka ”The Second Battle of Fallujah” – 100 marines killed. 1200 insurgents killed. Sort of a big deal, no? You heard about it starting… saw it on CNN… right? And then… well. Then nothing.
On that same line — did you ever notice how some fan-boy web sites will hype the living crap outta some half-ass summer blockbuster. Then, when it comes out, and everyone agrees that it 1) didn’t live up to the hype; and 2) in fact, it flat out sucked. Just this year, you can cram Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, and POTC 3 into the mix.
There’s no accountability for hype. That’s the problem. Nobody’s going back and saying “hey, you were wrong about” such and such and now, here you are, doing the same damn thing you did before, and, well, guess what — I’ll take a bite of your shit sandwich one more time! Sure! Why not?!
For months. MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS the fan boy web sites have told us how [INSERT SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER HERE] will be the equivalent of the 2nd coming of Christ. And — time after time after time — they’re wrong.
Not only are the people that run the sites wrong, but they never admit after the fact that they were wrong (again) and nobody ever seems to call them on it. Ever. It’s like a damn cult. As if — by wishing REALLY HARD you can somehow help the studio take a 5 minute idea, stretch it into a bloated 150 minute idea, and shove it down everyone’s throat via a 60 million dollar marketing blitz.
I’m not against a sfx extravaganza. I like stuff blowing up just like the next guy. But if the story is hollow, it just doesn’t work. That’s the reason — like him not — The Bearded One consistently delivers. His movies are about PEOPLE in fantastical situations, NOT about the fantastical situations.
You have to wonder when the fan boys will wake up. How many summers will it take for them to snap out of their stupor and realize that they’re being screwed — yet again — by hype. I could list out all of the movies I’m referring to. You probably have a list of your own.
If the studios tell you which films are going to be “summer blockbusters” — then those are the films that will always fall short of the hype. Of course, we snap up tickets like they’re going out of style, somehow legitimizing their efforts and ensuring a repeat next summer.
What’s better — going to a movie and being disappointed that it didn’t live up to the hype or going to a non-hyped movie and being thrilled by how great it is?
If a movie’s great, it doesn’t need pre-hype. It just doesn’t need it.
M A R K