"Studios have decided to make
tentpole movies about action heroes and they've veered away from serious drama to the detriment of the cinema-going population.
That hasn't historically been a huge deal, because Hollywood tends not to release
tentpole movies during that window, and the Chinese box office has been both financially significant and open to Western filmmakers for only a few years.
"We've learned that these
tentpole movies are most desired all around the world.
"Actors and directors are not working as much as Hollywood is focussing on big
tentpole movies with fewer releases each year.
Surprises are tough to pull off--for very practical reasons ranging from the timing of individual industry trade shows to retail planning and sales cycles to lead times for
tentpole movies, and so on.
A very smart piece of counterprogramming in a summer dominated by lily-white
tentpole movies, Universal's Aug.
He has written and recorded, back-to-back, the scores for three summer
tentpole movies, all being released within four weeks of each other.
"We're starting to see it in
tentpole movies and one-hour dramas," he says.
"We will continue to make big
tentpole movies with our studio partners," says Davis, explaining that on smaller pictures, Hasbro can have more control over budget and marketing.
Studios, which still show their costly
tentpole movies through exhibitors, will have to proceed carefully.
Tactics so far have been primarily focused on
tentpole movies and other major releases that already have massive public awareness, which leaves little room for experimentation.
Stillman, whose company has provided services or co-produced a host of international
tentpole movies, says: "We are currently completing 'Mission: Impossible 4'; we will soon start production on 'Missing' with Ashley Judd for ABC and 'Snow White' for Universal."
"In addition to the
tentpole movies, studios are putting grown-up films in the mix," says producer Scott Rudin.
The same critics who can be remarkably forgiving in their assessments of summer
tentpole movies show tough love come awards time.
"When you're marketing big
tentpole movies, there's a lot of discussion of what goes when.