A Declaration

[John]

>WAIT A MINUTE!!! The 90s gave us.......well.......uh.......

Terminator II
Jurassic Park
Candyman

[Scottie]

I HATE THE 80's WITH A PASSION ONLY MATCHED BY MY HATRED FOR HYPOCRITES!!!!

THE 80's MUST DIE!!!!

-Scott*

"Anything which is anti-80's is my new favorite thing"

[AndyC]

Exactly what I was thinking. The movie industry has become more exclusive. In the 80s, you could go to the theatre and see the likes of Eliminators, for example. If it were made today, you'd probably find a single copy of it sitting in your local Blockbuster, to be noticed only by genre fans and the extremely curious. It probably wouldn't be made as well, either - crappy CGI and all.

I think by the 80s, technology had begun to make it easier to make a halfway decent independent film, and there were quite a few out there. But the industry was changing by that time. By the late 80s, a lot of that stuff was getting very limited release, if it went to theatres at all. Today, I don't think it's possible for a would-be filmmaker  to go on his own and get much recognition or success. Perhaps if it's art films, but not if he's only out to entertain.

[Funk, E]

I think the 20's were the best movie making era. Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Fritz Lang, Those were the days ;-)

[J.R.]

<>

Could Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson make it today? Hell no! I think the elimination of theatrical releases for B movies coincides with the death of the drive-in, and also of privately-run theaters. Schlock films could turn a buck with releases primarily in Southern theaters or something, whereas now almost all theaters belong to chains and only run big Hollywood films. That sucks.

[Vermin Boy]

The problem is that (I think) Reagan reversed the ruling from the 30s or 40s that the studios couldn't own theater chains. Now that they own the playing field, they get to standardize the theaters and keep any threats to the system out. Something definitely needs to be done about this.

[JohnL]

>Today, I don't think it's possible for a would-be filmmaker to go on his own and
>get much recognition or success.

Three words: Blair Witch Project

Whether you like it or not, the movie was a success made by a handful of people for a shoestring budget that wouldn't pay the catering bill on a Hollywood film.