"That's a watch, James"
Jul. 25th, 2010 12:22 amIn every secret agent movie ever made to date, or so it seems, there's a snippet of a scene that goes like this:
Agent: What's this [watch]?
Gadgetmaster: That's a [concealed neutronium plasma gun]. Be careful with it!
Agent: And what's this?
Gadgetmaster: That's a tie pin, James.
Audience: *laugh*
If you're making a kids movie, or a heist movie, or any other genre of movie, you have to decide. Will this be the best heist movie possible, as compared fairly with all others? Or the best heist movie possible, for people who have already watched many other heist movies?
All works of art have to go one way or the other, and generally find some middle ground, appealing to both audiences. Indeed, people often disagree very very angrily about how good a movie is, because Person A says "oh my god, it was the CLEVEREST THING I'VE EVER SEEN ANYONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE IT DOESN'T APPRECIATE GOOD WRITING" and Person B says "Yawn. It was stylish, but it has EXACTLY THE SAME PLOT AS EVERY OTHER HEIST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN, so it was kind of boring because I knew what was going to happen all the time", and these people naturally feel very insecure about the other's opinion[1].
This is in fact probably the only sensible solution. Typically the most favourite movies are ones that do well in both categories: fresh and accessible to new viewers, but intriguing to old viewers as well.
But even though it makes sense, it doesn't mean I'm not tired of hearing that SAME joke told AGAIN and AGAIN in every movie!
[1] Hmmm. I wonder, if movies are getting bigger and bigger budget, they should start providing alternate takes on DVD, like deleted scenes or alternative endings but more so, not in a "choose where the plot goes" way but in a "show the default scenes" or "show the extra character development" or "cut the slapstick" etc. Probably a stupid idea, given how dire commercial interactive movies tend to be, but it occurred to me.
Agent: What's this [watch]?
Gadgetmaster: That's a [concealed neutronium plasma gun]. Be careful with it!
Agent: And what's this?
Gadgetmaster: That's a tie pin, James.
Audience: *laugh*
If you're making a kids movie, or a heist movie, or any other genre of movie, you have to decide. Will this be the best heist movie possible, as compared fairly with all others? Or the best heist movie possible, for people who have already watched many other heist movies?
All works of art have to go one way or the other, and generally find some middle ground, appealing to both audiences. Indeed, people often disagree very very angrily about how good a movie is, because Person A says "oh my god, it was the CLEVEREST THING I'VE EVER SEEN ANYONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE IT DOESN'T APPRECIATE GOOD WRITING" and Person B says "Yawn. It was stylish, but it has EXACTLY THE SAME PLOT AS EVERY OTHER HEIST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN, so it was kind of boring because I knew what was going to happen all the time", and these people naturally feel very insecure about the other's opinion[1].
This is in fact probably the only sensible solution. Typically the most favourite movies are ones that do well in both categories: fresh and accessible to new viewers, but intriguing to old viewers as well.
But even though it makes sense, it doesn't mean I'm not tired of hearing that SAME joke told AGAIN and AGAIN in every movie!
[1] Hmmm. I wonder, if movies are getting bigger and bigger budget, they should start providing alternate takes on DVD, like deleted scenes or alternative endings but more so, not in a "choose where the plot goes" way but in a "show the default scenes" or "show the extra character development" or "cut the slapstick" etc. Probably a stupid idea, given how dire commercial interactive movies tend to be, but it occurred to me.