Are Fans to Blame for Crappy Films?
“Vox Populi, Vox Dei” C’mon we all know what that means, and while not necessarily true in all fronts, i.e. democracy. It does however, for all intents and purposes, do it’s job to some extent. And as with all things in the world, doing the right job can only work for so long. Case in point, the most likely biggest victim of this proverb, the entertainment industry. Specifically, the people the industry wants, nay, needs to serve.
With the story of the (unsurprising) departure of Sam Raimi from the Spider-Man movie franchise and the subsequent reboot making it’s way to the blogosphere a week ago. Many are left with the question, Who pissed off who? Let’s take a closer look at the behind the scenes of the last Spider-Man movie. Sam Raimi himself said that he wanted TWO villains for Spider-Man 3, but he wanted the Sandman and The Vulture. Two villains that may not be the antitheses of Spidey but two villains that fit in with the overall arc that Raimi wanted. Everything was going well until Avi Arad stepped in and told him what the fans wanted. And they only wanted one thing: Venom. The symbiote costume could and would have work in the third film if Venom wasn’t forced into the movie like skinny jeans on a fat girl.
Venom.
Instead what we got was Emo Parker (apparently Peter is such a good guy that the worst kind of asshole he can be is an emo one) an obviously rushed storyline where he becomes “bad”. This so-called Emo Parker would have been handled much better if the concept had been allowed to play out for the majority of the film. Raimi could have taken a cue from Christopher Nolan and merely teased Venom as the villain for the now defunct fourth film. But alas, the fans wanted Venom and the fans were treated to the fecal hot tub that was Spider-Man 3. And because of that, and because of Sony Columbia’s insistence to once again follow the fans, Mr Raimi had no choice but to leave the project. But hey, The fans just got Marc Webb, director of the 2009 favorite 500 Days of Summer and this. Aren’t we lucky?
But it’s not always the studio’s fault. In 1999 a little movie known as Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace hit the big screen. And wow, if Spider-Man 3 was a fecal hot tub then this is a fecal hailstorm of 2012 proportions. George Lucas knew that he had a rabid fanbase and the 1997 re-release all but confirmed it. He had a tight grip on his sweaty, nerdy fans. But those fans were teenagers and adults, they knew too much. And the one demographic he hasn’t really tapped was the children. The kids knew of star wars because of the toys. Yes, TOYS. Okay, maybe some were exposed to the original trilogy but still, they were kids. And he wanted to make his new trilogy accessible to that audience. So he did. In return, the older fans, those who have been loyal to him, those who followed him for 22 years were so joyfully rewarded with this.
Like the body and blood of Jesus Christ, only not.
Thankfully, Georgie Boy learned his lesson. But by the time the second film was out in theaters the fans took it with a grain of salt. The damage was done, The geek denial invested in the first film had taken it’s toll and the second and third parts of the prequels were met with apprehension. Financially, the new trilogy was an astounding success, but the mythology had been tainted by a racist caricature, a whiny, emo (again?) Jedi prodigy and an internet meme, Okay so the third one wasn’t his fault.
Surely by now we can safely say that fans aren’t always right, So why do studios and directors cater to the fans? Directors may be on an altruistic path when they provide fan service. Like George Lucas, they could have merely wanted to reward an audience. But hey, not all good intentions fall on the greener grass. Money will always be a factor but I’m willing to assume that on a creative point of view, it will take a backseat to pleasing the fans. On the studio side we can always assume that it will always be about one thing and once again it’s money. Promise the fans a favorite and they will flock to the cinemas. Studios are not willing to take that many risks, especially with established franchises. Spider-Man isn’t the only suspect, James Bond, Batman and The X-Men are just a number of franchises ruined by demand. But studios technically aren’t always the bad guys. Studios are a business and as a business they will need revenue to survive. In the end though, both directors and studios, painters and canvasses can rely on one thing. Fans = Profit.
