Saturday December 27, 2008
Don’t blame it on Hollywood
JUST when you thought The Men in Suits could surprise us no more, they surprise us again.
This time? The suggestion to increase the ticket prices of Hollywood movies so the fare for local films is cheaper, so as to “attract” movie-goers to local films and to “preserve” the local film industry.
Now, I think the problem here is the lack of understanding of the problem. Taking on Hollywood should not be the priority of local film-makers. Raising prices of foreign films will not push movie-goers to local films, because local films and foreign films aren’t in the same league.
Here’s a similar concept: Football fans won’t start flocking to the Conference League games should the price of Premiership games ticket increase. This is because consumers are attracted by the quality of the product, which is what the Men In Suits should be working on.
The local film industry is suffering from sub-par writing, directing, acting, promoting and everything else that is associated with film-making.
Maybe instead of trying to take on Hollywood, local film-makers should take note of Hollywood and record the growth of their industry. Don’t go so far, just take a look at Hong Kong.
The local film industry lacks creativity. Even then, the execution in terms of writing or directing is sub-par. It’s the same with the ridiculous titles and the lack of proper promotion.
There are gems that have been churned out by the local industry, but it’s not enough.
We should stop complaining about “lack of budget” or “lack of talent.” Many film-makers from all over the world have done wonders with small budgets. With good direction, they have turned dusty talents into shining stars.
It’s time to get creative with the film-making and not get ridiculous with problem-solving. Raising the prices will only mean cinemas going bust.
Pirated VCD/DVD pedlars will be throwing parties every day, and file-sharing programmes will become the most-used service in the country.
D.S. MAAN,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
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