19 May 2008
Off-Hollywood?
Posted by Colin Mitchell under: ponderings .
In continuing this discussion, reader, Stewart Skeleton makes a good point here:
“The studios will never pay for the simple reason that there are so many actors and other theatre makers who will foot the bill for them. We’re doing it every day with every waiver production.”
It’s true. We are already nuturing the artists that will pay dividends in Hollywood. So how does one entice the Hollywood monolith?
I know just how far-fetched and “pie-in-the-sky” this idea sounds, but it still seems like there is something workable here. True, even if the studios didn’t subsidize theatre it would still continue - the key is to actually BEGIN such a project somewhere - create a working Off-Hollywood group of theatres or THEATRE - and then over a SHORT period of time (Hollywood, as we all know, has a very short attention span) you would have to quantifiably show that this actor, or this director, or this writer, or this play, went on to make millions and millions of dollars in film. In this way the Studio would suddenly have created its own niche, it’s own farm system where they could test the players and projects for future endeavors while contributing to the “culture” of LA. And you know how much Studios like to think of themselves as “cultured”…
It’s actually already happened, the justification - on hundreds and hundreds of occasions, with numerous stars and directors and writers - but this would be an opportunity to focus, control and measure. Sounds awfully anti-creative I know - but the most important factor - for us - would be maintaining our autonomy as artists. Any good producer understands that most of their work occurs before the project begins - then they should just get the hell outta the way.
So how does one appeal to both the profiteering and altruistic sides of Hollywood? Well, first, by realizing that they don’t have an altruistic side. But I think another key is for those who started in theatre to keep a foot in the place where they were born. Some still do this, obviously, Tim Robbins, Noah Wylie to name a couple. But most once-theatre actors rarely give back - they simply show up for the glory role (not to be confuse with a “glory hole) on Broadway.
That’s enough ramblings for now. More to come later.