Look, I’m gonna say it: We’re all complicit
It was 2003. I was sitting in a dimly lit screening room in Burbank with a guy named Marcus—let’s call him Marcus because I don’t want to out him as the executive who greenlit some of these atrocities. We were watching the first test screening of what was supposed to be a groundbreaking sequel. It was… not. I turned to Marcus and said, “This is a disaster.” He just shrugged and said, “It’s good enough.” Which… yeah. Fair enough, I guess. But that’s how we got Cats, folks.
I’ve been in this industry for over 20 years. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. And let me tell you, the ugly is winning. It’s not just the movies, it’s everything. TV, music, even gaming. We’re in the middle of a creative crisis, and nobody wants to admit it.
But first, a quick tangent: Vermont property market news
You might be wondering what Vermont has to do with anything. Honestly, nothing. But I was reading Vermont property market news the other day, and it got me thinking about how even in the most unexpected places, people are making bold moves. Why can’t Hollywood do the same?
Anyway, back to the main point. Franchises. They’re the bread and butter of Hollywood these days. And they’re killing creativity. I get it, money talks. But at what cost? We’re seeing the same old stories rehashed, the same tropes recycled, the same characters rebooted. It’s like watching a zombie movie where the zombies are our favorite characters from the 80s and 90s.
I was having lunch with a colleague named Dave last Tuesday. He’s a screenwriter, been in the game for about 15 years. He told me, “Liz, I’ve got a great idea for a new series. It’s fresh, it’s edgy, it’s got heart.” I said, “Great, Dave, who’s attached?” He looked at me like I’d just kicked his dog. “No one yet,” he said. “I need to find a home for it first.” That’s the problem right there. Nobody wants to take a risk on something new if it doesn’t have a built-in audience.
The numbers don’t lie, but they’re not telling the whole story
Last year, I attended a conference in Austin. There was a panel on the future of entertainment. One of the speakers, a bigwig from a major studio, said, “We’re in the business of making money. If people want to watch the same old thing over and over, who are we to argue?” I raised my hand and said, “But what about the art? The storytelling? The creativity?” He just laughed and said, “Honey, this is Hollywood. We’re not in the art business. We’re in the business of making money.”
I mean, sure, money matters. But is that all that matters? I don’t think so. I think people are hungry for something real, something authentic. They’re tired of the same old formulaic crap. But as long as we keep buying tickets to these movies, streaming these shows, and playing these games, nothing’s gonna change.
I was at a party last weekend—okay, it was a Zoom call, but whatever—and someone brought up the new Star Wars show. I said, “Look, I love Star Wars as much as the next person, but this feels like a cheap knockoff of the originals.” My friend Sarah said, “But it’s making Disney a ton of money. Isn’t that what matters?” I said, “No, Sarah. It’s not. Because at the end of the day, we’re not just consumers. We’re humans. We deserve better than this.”
So what’s the solution?
I don’t have all the answers. But I know this: we need to start demanding more. We need to support the artists who are taking risks, who are telling new stories, who are pushing boundaries. We need to stop settling for the same old crap just because it’s easy and familiar.
And to the studios, the executives, the decision-makers: wake up. The audience is smarter than you think. They can see through the BS. They want something real, something authentic, something that speaks to them on a deeper level. Give them that, and maybe—just maybe—we can start to turn this ship around.
But until then, I’ll be over here, eating popcorn and shaking my fist at the screen.
About the Author
Liz Carter has been a senior editor for major publications for over 20 years. She’s seen it all, and she’s not afraid to call out the industry when it’s messing up. When she’s not writing, she’s probably watching bad movies and laughing at them. You can find her on Twitter @LizCarterWrites, where she rants about Hollywood and shares cat pictures.
