Hollywood is missing the point

Was I dreaming all year as people complained about the horrible quality of movies? Was I imagining the Hollywood studios whining about the sagging performances at the box office?

Then I read this story and was left to laugh.

Hollywood has always worn its liberal politics on its sleeve, from 1976's "All the President's Men" and 1979's "Norma Rae" to 2002's "Bowling for Columbine." With Tuesday's crop of Oscar contenders, though, politics have never been more front and centre.

Yep, that is a fact, Jack. And that is their perrogative. Pity they scream bloody murder if they get evicted from any event because of their politics (Tim Robbins, Hall of Fame and the Bull Durham event comes to mind...you know, the "cold chill sweeping America" pulp) but cannot allow other's to have their politics infused into Hollywood (how they treated Mel Gibson after Passion comes to mind; Disney's disdain for religion also comes to mind).

But that is not what made me laugh. What made me laugh was this:

"What all these films have in common is they're about the human condition," said Oscar-nominated "Crash" co-writer Bobby Moresco. "The pendulum has swung back to movies about politics. People want films that have something to say; they're tired of fluff."

Uh, not really. 2005 represents the first time since 1998 that there were less than 20 $100 million grossing films. Translation: fewer box offices biggies. That number, btw, is the second down year in that regard.

2005 also represents a decrease in total domestic gross for films. That is saying something since the average cost of tickets went up from $6.25 to $6.40. So let's look at the number of ticket sales. Total ticket sales in 2005 were DOWN 8.4% from 2004, which was down 1.1% from 2003 which was down 3.5% from 2002. 2002 was a great year, but look at the films that year. Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings 2, Star Wars 2, Harry Potter 2...hard to not have a big year then.

Ticket sales in 2005, the year that people proved they wanted films about politics, were the lowest since 1996 (and 1996 had 13% fewer movies released). Hardly a ringing endorsement for "films that have something to say."

In fact, look at the top grossing films in that span. Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars I & III, The Grinch, Harry Potter I, Spider Man, Lord of the Rings III and Shrek II.

Even look at the top grossing movies of 2005 to see the folly of Moresco's statement. They were Star Wars III, Harry Potter IV, Chronicles of Narnia, War of the Worlds, King Kong, Wedding Crashers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, Madagascar and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The Hollywood elite have absolutely no connection to the real world or the common person.

Why is it that Hollywood and their politics will fail? Because they cannot look at the facts and face them. They think we all want to hear their politics. We don't. Most of us go to the movies for entertainment...not indoctrination and slighted points of view.

And this is why I had to laugh at that quote:

"What all these films have in common is they're about the human condition," said Oscar-nominated "Crash" co-writer Bobby Moresco. "The pendulum has swung back to movies about politics. People want films that have something to say; they're tired of fluff."

Simply hilarious.