I'm sure most of you have seen at this point, but Columbine has officially revealed its box-office numbers and critic reviews. To put it simply, it didn't go well. In fact, it's almost certain to be one of the worst-reviewed, if not the worst-reviewed movie this season. With that said, I almost feel glad that this was released. There's been a few things I've been coming to realize since the release of Mask of the Phantom and I think now is the time I discuss it with you. Unfortunately, I will have to bring up one of our colleagues. However, I believe it's for a good cause. If at any point it feels like I am being too harsh, I apologize.
I made sure to get in contact with Alex after the box-office was revealed. Let me stress this now, Alex has made significant improvements since he first arrived in Last Resort Films. Watching him go from Hippies from New York and Theatre Kids to The Vegan Movie, Haunted and Suburban (and to an extent Heights and Kurt and Courtney: All Apologies) has been a treat to watch and he should be praised. With that said, we all have to strive for improvement. And there were two lessons I can take away from Columbine.
1. If an idea feels unnecessary, chances are it is.
This isn't to say unnecessary ideas are all bad. Some ideas may feel derivative or serve little purpose to exist at first glance, but with the right amount of effort and passion, you can turn them into good (even great) movies. More often than not, however, if an idea feels like it doesn't need to be a movie, the chances of it succeeding are less likely than it otherwise would be.
This is something you occasionally see with rookie or amateur writers that are just starting out. We all have these ideas running through our mind that it can be hard to determine whether or not these movies would actually succeed. What I've done to try and filter these ideas out is create a Google Document (or Microsoft Word if you prefer that) detailing every movie idea I have and let them rest while I think about how they could be written. Then, after some time has passed, I'll take an idea and if it seems like it will work, I'll make it into a movie.
But even with all the effort and talent in the world, sometimes it may not even matter. Why is that? That leads to the other lesson we should take from Columbine.
2. Some ideas are just not meant to be movies
Unfortunately, this is a reality writers must face at some point. We all have these big exciting ideas and good intentions, but sometimes no matter how much we put in, it just won't work out. Maybe it's the subject matter or the source material but at the end of the day, there are some concepts that just don't lend themselves to films. It's no one's fault. Even if you cast everyone perfectly, written it like a pro or you got all the right parts, there are some ideas that just aren't meant to be. And that's okay.
Even if the idea doesn't work as a film however, I wouldn't throw it away. There are plenty of avenues for your concept to work. Musicals, novels, short stories, poems, there's a medium for everything and anything. Eventually, every idea will find its rightful place.
What about you, Jacob?
So by this point. you may be asking yourself "Where does Mask of the Phantom fit into this?". Allow me to explain. As some of you have noticed, I haven't had the best luck with films recently. Don't get me wrong, Kiss Me Katie turned out to be a success with critics, The Crow: Resurrected is getting a sequel and Whammy somehow turned out okay. But the two big flops have been Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 and Mask of the Phantom, and those aren't easy to ignore.
These two ideas are very similar in style. They're both big-budget musicals with a noticeable director and cast that both failed in the box-office and with critics. What went wrong? There are a multitude of reasons as to why and I'll be happy to list them out.
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812's biggest issues were its unusual casting choices, lack of stand-out musical number and unique style while Mask of the Phantom failed because the characters (specifically The Phantom himself) acted nothing like the original. But thinking about them now, especially given what happened with Columbine, I understand now that even if everything had been handled just right, it still would have been a hard sell because Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 doesn't lend itself to a movie and Mask of the Phantom doesn't feel like a movie that should be made.
Conclusion
I know this post feels last-minute but before it ends, I want to tell a story about how I first came to realize this philosophy. It was a little after Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 was released. I was disappointed with how things turned out and posted something in the Latest Releases thread. Not long after, I noticed LRF stalwart and all-around excellent writer Dwight Gallo commented. I won't go over everything he said, but the general gist is that the idea was interesting but didn't really work as a cinematic film. And I agreed. I didn't realize it back then, but that was the moment I first realized that certain concepts don't work as well for film.
So in a way, you have Dwight to thank for helping inspire this blog post.
Comments
Post a Comment