“Dismal fate may await ‘State of Play’”
This article in the LA Times is depressing:
He makes $20 million a movie, won the best actor Oscar for “Gladiator” and enjoys his pick of Hollywood’s choicest roles. But there’s one thing that Russell Crowe can’t do right now: sell movie tickets.
The actor’s conspiracy thriller “State of Play” lands in theaters Friday and all indications suggest it will perform as poorly as (and possibly worse than) Crowe’s previous film: last October’s box-office bust “Body of Lies,” which opened to $12.9 million and topped out at $39.4 million. Audience-tracking surveys show that “State of Play,” which costars Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, will be trounced this weekend by Zac Efron.
I’m not depressed about Efron winning via TKO over Crowe. I’m depressed about this:
While some of “State of Play’s” likely lackluster performance will be blamed on Crowe, the 45-year-old Australian — who is overweight and disheveled in the film’s lead role as an investigative newspaper reporter — is hardly the sole issue. Equally problematic is “State of Play’s” genre: the highbrow adult drama, which is quickly becoming a big-studio relic.
Fans of sophisticated storytelling complain that hardly anyone makes smart dramas anymore, but the problem rests with the audience itself: It isn’t supporting them.
Where are my fellow “highbrow adult drama people?” C’mon! It’s says right there that we’re smart! How smart can we be if we allow adult dramas to shrivel and die?
“You are going to find every studio saying, ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it,’ “ Donna Langley, Universal’s production chief, says of the near-term prospects for dramas. “It will be awhile until there are a lot of really smart dramas.”
In the last few months, the General Electric-owned studio has put the brakes on some of its most acclaimed dramatic projects, including writer-director Gary Ross’ “The Free State of Jones,” Spike Lee’s “L.A. Riots,” an adaptation of the Claire Messud novel “The Emperor’s Children” and the AIDS drama “The Dallas Buyer’s Club.”
As recently as 10 years ago, smart dramas were a staple for the major studios. Now they’re on the verge of being relegated to independent fare. Which means lower budgets. Which means less adult dramas. Which means I’m depressed.
Okay, people, who’s going to talk me off the ledge? It’s just a phase, right? In five years, when every nominated movie for Best Picture is an adult drama, we’ll all laugh as we remember all our wailing and gnashing of teeth — although I may still be paying my dental bills.
Let’s do everyone a favor. Let’s go see State of Play this weekend. Here’s the trailer: