So in the first part, we discussed the opus to box office with novels, but why the new rise of comics, graphic novels, and game adaptations, because they are popular. The new platforms are tapping into the market of gamers and consumers of obscured genres because it sells. Case in point the adaptation of The Witcher series. The Witcher is a novel series so I am including it here only because I think it classifies as ‘obscure’ in that not a huge swath of people heard of it, but it was famous. The novels are currently out of print [although I am certain we can expect them to resurface], Netflix found itself with a huge consumable genre of fantasy, and took a huge shot at HBO, with an “I see your Game of Thrones, and I raise you The Witcher” stance, and I think they will do well with it. The series is amazing so far, its imagery is awesome and the commitment to maintaining mythology is just spectacular. Also, the fact that the novels are complete means they won’t be scrambling to write an ending that will rage fans. Well, I suppose we can’t know that for sure, I am certain anything can be messed up if people try to, but hopefully, they don’t and leave it alone.
Another great example of a spectacular film based on a novel, and in this case, graphic novel, I Kill Giants is a must to watch. The adaptation is bang on and matches the novel perfectly. I think that the addition of a fan base that is into subgenres allows indies to feed the need for films based on what they like. We have a huge influence of anime as well that has always been there, but now seems to be rising in adaptations, you have Ghost in the Shell for example, and Netflix includes a huge section from anime and International films that it truly pushes the boundaries of what box offices can ‘do’.
Actors seem to be able to live in corners of the world that they didn’t realize where there and it’s good to see. I don’t get the detracting comments about these platforms and it seems those are changing as box office is now seen as a sort of not ‘as’ vital. The Irishman for example, straight to Netflix. We see this happening a lot and I love it!
I find movie theaters, not the palaces they used to be. The seating is often very confining and it’s expensive! If I can watch it inside my home, in my pajamas with whatever snacks I want, all the better! It’s fun to do that and honestly, you can get away with binge-watching entire collections and pause it to go to the bathroom without asking someone in the theater “What did I miss?”. It’s amazing as a parent too, because when I was a mother with a young child (she is now 11), going to a theater was not that easy. This was before they started those Infant movie hours, you felt like you could not go with your kids, because of potential issues like potty access, tantrums, disruptions, etc.
So, home movie watching is vital to helping you have new content, it also gives us a new nostalgic genre in which we can introduce things we once loved to our little budding minis. HBO has an entire kids section with Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Fraggle Rock. Netflix has a separate login for your kids, so they can go online without fear of them seeing the rated R stuff, and on there you will find everything from Sesame Street to Disney. Disney+ adds to the wonder, and now we can all watch and recall our memories of The Wonderful World of Disney with Old Yeller, Apple Dumplin Gang, and other classics as well as some very unique content [Jeff Goldblum].
New platforms like Apple+ are adding to this pile, giving us more things to watch, and I appreciate the work these platforms are doing in giving us new writers, Apple+ is giving us an amazing performance by Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell in The Morning Show and Jason Momoa in SEE [which despite the comments, is very good, you just have to suspend a lot of belief to watch it].
Hulu as well as a kid’s area, and some classic movies from old school cinema, as well as classic 90’s and 80’s films. They have a lot of really good indie series like Harlots, and odd films that should be watched. Same with Amazon Prime. The indies they put out like Late Night are very good and have a lot of star power in them. Amazingly, we have so many options and so many places in which to meet and discover new genres.
To circle back to our main point here, the opus is being expanded to more than just writing that was religated to notable, and now expanding to screenwriters who are willing to take a chance on things. They are willing to break the rules, make films that don’t follow traditional guidelines, allowing authors to have new life in new arenas, allowing authors to represent themselves as producers, allowing authors to have more stake in a film, allowing the birth of new directors.
They are breathing life into the world of art and that to me is a welcomed breath that we need. Everything we knew or thought we knew about the magnum opus is evolving to allow the community at large to expand the minds of others, to have a voice in what is ‘good’ and not just rely on the marquee of the cinema to dictate what is worthy of our dollars, so keep it up platforms, your doing great!