Why Does America HATE GOOD Movies?

There Will Be Blood is one of the most talked about films of this year. The film was written and directed by the Oscar Nominated director Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, Boogie Nights) and stars the Oscar Winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Every entertainment magazine I've read, every movie related section of almost any newspaper has mentioned "There Will Be Blood" as a top contender for this years award season. Just do a simple a google search and you're bound to come up with nothing but praise from all critics alike. The disappointing truth to this post is that most people won't get to see the film. For starters, the film premiered on the 26th to TWO theaters. Today that release expands to maybe hundred more. It's not playing in my state, if I want to go see it, I'll have to go to New York City. Forget not wanting to see the movie, for some it will literally be impossible.

My question is, why doesn't America like good movies. Well in the case of "There Will.." it's a two and a half hour movie, about oil, religion and greed-sensitive topics in todays society. One could argue that any movie over two hours is boring; most movie goers enjoy films that range between 100-120 minutes in length. Also, although P.T Anderson is a very accomplished director, he's never had much commercial success with his films, nor has Day-Lewis.

So am I being to harsh on America, maybe? I shouldn't say all good movies do poorly at the box office. No Country For Old Men has grossed over 30 million dollars. Juno is seeing moderate success based upon the number of screens it's being shown at. There's also the business of DVD's. Most consumers wait for the DVD's to come out before they see the flick anyway. I would say the problem is 30% the studios fault and 70% the consumer (rough numbers). I can't expect a studio to loose money on a film just because it's a "good" production. The real issue is that American's live such dull lives, the only way for them to get excited is by watching Nicholas Cage solve some bullshit mystery. We don't like to think to much at the movie theaters either. We want a film like The Departed-straight to the point, no character development, no moral ambiguity, just action and comedy. When I see the trailer for "There Will Be Blood" I cringe, it's that powerful of a film.

I'm ranting, time to take my medicine,



POPGURU