I saw JULIE & JULIA yesterday. Amazing film. I went primarily because I will watch Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in ANYTHING, and this film had them both. I was stunned that at a 1:45 matinee in a suburb in the South that there was actually a line waiting to get into the theatre. We were in a large space and there were very few seats remaining when the movie started. I had never experienced this before unless aliens were attacking earth and humans with supernatural abilities were flexing in their spandex. Granted, there were only a hand full of us not on Medicare but that is beside the point, yet one of the points.
Cec and Desist thinking that anyone above the age of 35 is comatose and doesn't go to the movies. They just need a reason to go... I did not anticipate this. I see a lot of matinees because they are convenient, less crowded and if the random film actually inspires me I still have daylight to go and out and try to change the world. Well, yesterday, I left the movies feeling good, life affirmed, and proud to be in the industry that created this film. It struck me during these wonderful two hours that my generation has to have everything NOW, we can't wait. There is a movie or three opening every weekend and we want to see it first. We have grown up in a microwave society, everything now. And movies are a testament to that. Schlock is sold 52 weekends a year because we continually pay for schlock. Here is what I suggest:
Let's make movies and only go to movies that WE want to see!!! Let's tell stories. Let us inspire again. Let us transport one another into that willing suspension of disbelief, key word - willing.
Once upon a time there was a place called the movie theatre where events happened. Not midnight showings of Harry Potter, Twilight and Transformers (events in their own right), but events that were a demarcation between work and play, life and fantasy, and something we want to do rather than something to do. People got dressed up, actually made plans in advance, had water cooler talk before the film even came out. There weren't 16 choices starting every 15 minutes. Nowadays we call them blockbusters. Nowadays a blockbuster equals money. But in the good old Halcyon days, a blockbuster was something that was overwhelmingly impressive, effective, or influential. I like their definition better.
Actually, I think I like "them" better. The mature folks I shared an afternoon with yesterday. We might not have had a lot in common if we had sat down for coffee, but for two hours we allowed ourselves to be entertained by the story of two women who vastly different in life were very similar when you boiled them down to their main ingredients.
While I am tempted to continue down another rabbit hole, I will circle the wagons and get back to the point. Instead of 50 movies a year with a couple of blockbusters thrown in, let's spend our time finding blockbuster stories and telling them well. Let's not release a film a week just because we think motion is forward motion. I would be perfectly content to only go to the theatre 4 or 5 times a year but have a real experience each time. Gather my friends together on my new free weekends and actually do stuff that might save a child or a relationship or maybe even the earth. Let's make movies that matter and spend more time mattering than "movieing."
Whew, I had no idea blogging would be so random! I guess I am the perfect blogger. I think I have a lot to say and I think there are a lot of you who want to hear it. How's that for the willing suspension of disbelief!
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