Raoul’s 2 Cents. August 21, 2026
Hollywood Blues
A few months ago, Ben Affleck gave an interview where he said the movie industry was in deep financial trouble. He said (on the average) a good movie costs at least 25 million dollars to produce. They need another $25M for marketing. Then $50 million goes to the outlets like movie houses and streaming platforms (like Amazon Prime, Apple +, Disney +, YouTube, Netflix). That’s 100 million dollars just for a movie to break even. Very few movies make that much. Many Hollywood movies currently operate in the negative.
My take: The Good the Bad and the downright Ugly
My first inclination was to save the Hollywood industry that we all grew up with: remembering the wonderful fairy tales that inspired our young minds … stories that made us fall off our seats with laughter … stories that made us afraid of the dark … stories that dug up conspiracy theories and made us aware of social injustice. Sadly, this same institution also influenced our taste for violence, illegal drugs, pornography and other addictions. There was good and bad.
Hollywood propped up screen idols to be worshiped. Despite their many intellectual and moral deficiencies, just because they identified with our emotions, we thought we knew them. They dictated what was cool and what was beautiful. We valued their opinions about the silliest things. When they said this soda pop was the “real thing” we just had to taste it in “real life.” The egos got the better some of them. When they threaten to leave America if their political candidate loses … shouldn’t we just insist that they do leave us alone?
Remind me again why we need to preserve the movie industry? Is it worth rescuing the royal infrastructure of filmdom? If you find yourself flipping through a gazillion movie choices streaming online, perhaps not. Are you frustrated with the explosion of low creativity and formulaic productions brought to you by a committee of businessmen? How many Star Wars episodes do we really need? Good movies are hidden like needles in a haystack. Even award-winning movies have lost their glitter.
I recently watched the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi, Total Recall and boy, did I have a total recoil at the terrible acting and laughable special effects — “Git aut! Git aut of hear!” You could tell when the plastic faces replaced human skin. Eyes popping out and stop-motion animated bodies melting into bones were downright amateurish. But thirty six years ago, we believed it and it won Best Visual Effects. We wanted to believe it just as the audience of the 30s wanted to believe in King Kong climbing up the Empire State building. Simple effects for simple times. Film making is constantly changing.
The reasons for the fall
I already mentioned streaming platforms like Netflix. That’s one big factor. Humongous TV screens with their souped-up audios make eating popcorn and watching at home more comfortable and convenient than going to the movies. Plus, if the movie sucks, you don’t have to agonize until the end. You can simply switch to another movie. Don’t think Paramount gets paid enough when you rent their movie. Keep in mind they still have to pay a percentage to Netflix to compete with the same movie currently showing at the movie house.
Good or bad, ABC/Disney tried to sell the WOKE mentality to us. It didn’t work. They lost millions. The president was replaced. They now know we are not a captive audience. They are not as powerful as they thought.
Today’s technology has allowed the couch potato (yes, that one!) to create his own movies in the living room. We all know it’s nearly impossible to distinguish AI from actual footage. Sorry celebrities, sorry studio set designers, sorry miniature prop men, sorry stunt men, sorry makeup artists, sorry movie theme musicians, sorry extras … we don’t need your services anymore.
“You mean we actors, don’t need to ‘kiss up’ to the movie moguls anymore?”
“Nope!”
“Doesn’t the union protect us?”
“Who needs the Union? They don’t have the monopoly anymore.”
“But I’m unique! My voice, my looks, my …”
“Nah! AI can mimic all of that. You can’t copyright your talents. And, even if you can, we’ll just create a BETTER you.”
When you see the big stars advertising for small companies, you know they are desperate for a job. When you see the Hollywood reporters hype innocuous scandals, you know the reps are struggling for relevance … to survive.
Time to let the horse go
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” — Henry Ford (allegedly)
Although Ben Affleck and I may paint a dark picture of Hollywood, I believe there is a Yellow Brick Road to the MODE of storytelling. The old factories will soon die but the imagination among millions of new creators will eventually replace and improve exponentially as AI technology matures. That one amazing movie done by a little kid is waiting ’round the corner. Indeed, when you wish to become a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you.
Hollywood served its purpose but it’s time to grow up. Let the creativity begin!
Of course, this is just me.
TGIF people!
Quotes of the Week
“We need Storytelling. Otherwise, life just goes on and on like the number Pi.”
— Ang Lee
“Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”
— Jean-Luc Godard (French film director)
“The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder”
— Alfred Hitchcock
“We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies.”
— Walt Disney
“LA, the city where everyone’s constantly waiting for their phone to ring, and I’m part of it.”
— Daniel Ruczko
“A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end… but not necessarily in that order.”
— Jean-Luc Godard (French film director)
“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”
— Proverbs 22:9
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
— Collosians 3:23-24
Memes of the Week
Send me your jokes & memes so I could share them with the rest of our TGIF family. This week, we thank Norm of Encino CA, Barbara of Colorado, Brian of San Francisco, Ben of Georgia and Wally of Colorado..
I found these:
I collaborated with my friend and jokester,Terry Cassel for these below.
