Dear Hollywood,
It's been an eventful year and it feels like the status quo is changing quickly. I'm absolutely thrilled with the gains in diversity that the cinema world has made this year, and hope we keep on this path for a while longer. The progression of the #Metoo movement is encouraging, if occasionally contentious. The broader American political climate remains volatile, and I remain alternately enraged and despairing over the state of the country. If I start talking about Washington, it's going to take over this entire list, so I'm just going to put those thoughts aside for now, until they percolate enough for a separate post. This year, I'm going to try to stick to more frivolous stuff.
So, this year for Christmas I want…
For Netflix and the Academy to bury the hatchet. There has to be some middle ground here. The Academy cannot keep ignoring that Netflix is one of the few places still willing to fund a prestige picture, and has been turning out more impressive films every year. Netflix, meanwhile, can't keep riling up nervous theater owners and expect to have the red carpet rolled out for them. Token limited theatrical releases in a couple of markets would make everyone happy. Besides, wouldn't having more nominees available on Netflix help with the problem of the Oscar ceremony's declining ratings?
For lessons to be learned from the Moviepass flameout. I'm still a little sad that I never got the opportunity to use Moviepass during it's wildest promotional stretch, and I'm disappointed to see it essentially dead at this point. At least it proved that there is still a healthy audience out there for theatrical exhibition, and that a subscription service is feasible with some tweaks. Competitors like Sinemia, Stubs, and Movie Club are still active and got a nice bump in subscribers as Moviepass users jumped ship. It was a pretty good year for the movies in general, with mid-size films making a comeback, so we can all stop worrying about movie theaters becoming extinct. Exhibitors just need to think outside the box a bit more to keep them profitable.
For active moderation on social media to become more of a priority. Putting aside all the political furor, it's become pretty clear that Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Youtube can't simply rely on automated systems and tiny crews of human referees in order to moderate the flow of content on their sites. I expect that we're going to continue to see these sites only make incremental improvements, only really taking major action when a high profile blow-up like the Alex Jones situation happens. Fortunately, enough of these blow-ups have happened that social media has come under much higher scrutiny.
For Disney to see some better competition. Between the launch of their new streaming service and a massive film slate for 2019, the Mouse House is poised to dominate our cultural landscape, especially when it comes to content aimed at younger audiences. The acquisition of Fox's entertainment holdings is going to make them even more ubiquitous. I want to see the other studios step up and push back a bit. As much as I enjoy Disney's IP, they're showing increasing signs of creative stagnation. There are four live action remakes of their animated films coming out next year. Four!
For more television and web series to know when to call it quits… or at least take a break. If the revival trend has taught us anything, it's that sometimes a cancelled series should stay cancelled. Also, there are so many great shows vying for out attention these days, it's much easier to spot the ones that have worn out their welcome. Looking at you, "The Walking Dead."
For the incoming flood of projects about the Trump administration (and we all know they're coming) to give us a breather before descending upon us en masse. Seriously, folks. Let's wait for current events to play out a little more before the dramatizations force us to relive all the madness. And I can't help feeling wistful that Philip Seymour Hoffman isn't here to play Trump. He would have been a magnificent Trump.
For all the new films and television shows coming out this winter and next year to exceed my expectations, and for those that didn't to improve.
Happy holidays!
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