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08/02/2006
Film industry woes?Industry insiders discuss pros and cons of Hollywood's business practices
Audience members study their programs as they wait for the start of the panel discussion. TRAVERSE CITY — Bringing five film industry insiders to the City Opera House stage, "What's Up Hollywood?" would seem an appropriate title for the first panel discussion of this week's festival. But "What's Up Doc?" might have fit better, as moderator Michael Moore and his four panelists spent the majority of Tuesday's two-hour discussion attempting to diagnose and offer treatments for the ailments they see plaguing the movie business. About 300 people filled the Opera House at 10 a.m. for the first of six daily panels scheduled this week. The serious tone of the discussion was tempered with the laughter of the capacity crowd, as the panelists' antics kept the mood light. Moore; his agent, Ari Emanuel; his friend and director Terry George; fellow Michigan native Jeff Daniels; and the star of festival film "A Clockwork Orange," Malcolm McDowell, seemed at ease cracking jokes, fielding questions from the audience and slamming Hollywood studios. "I believe that selling movies is like selling corn flakes to the studio," George said. "Quite often, there's nothing in the box at all." Moore argued Hollywood pushes mediocre, "cookie-cutter" movies, but his agent disagreed. "I don't think anybody goes out with any intention to make a bad movie," Emanuel said. "I do believe, cream does rise to the top." While Emanuel defended Hollywood's capitalist structure, Moore, George, McDowell and Daniels took turns denouncing the distribution system and emphasis on marketability. "I think marketing is killing the good films," said Daniels, who recalled giving 500 interviews during the course of a two-month press junket for "101 Dalmations." Daniels spent five months promoting 2005's indie flick "The Squid and the Whale" — but that was just to get the film distributed. Malcolm McDowell singled out inflated actors' salaries as a major part of the problem, lambasting the millions raked in by the likes of Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks in language often unfit for print. But George blamed the public's obsession with stars for their bloated salaries. "We're fascinated as much as anybody because we're talking about it," George said. "The public is to blame. Don't blame the actors, you're the ones that watch them." Afterward, George said it was encouraging to see a large crowd turn out for the panel, but he's not convinced they're evidence the mainstream audience is itching for better movies. "This crowd's representative of the people that want to see independent film," he said. "The bulk of the movie-going crowd is kids who want to see 'Mission: Impossible III.'" But the 300-odd people at Tuesday's talk were genuinely excited about seeing thought-provoking movies. Interlochen resident Jaime Delp, who asked for George's advice to aspiring filmmakers during the panel's question-and-answer period, said the last movie she saw at the theater was the light-hearted comedy "You, Me and Dupree." She found Tuesday's discussion "without question" more entertaining. Seth Galligan of Grand Rapids walked out of the last movie he saw — "Superman Returns" — before it ended. "I don't think there's one film at this week's festival that would move me to walk out," he said. See related blog:
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