2006 is over, and it was an exciting year for film fans. While big money was made by “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, and Oscars will probably go to “Dreamgirls”, there are 12 items that should have a big impact beyond 2006.
Robert Altman, RIP:
A director who made many films, some great, some terrible, but always pushing for something new. His final film, “A Prairie Home Companion,” was far from great, but was certainly fitting in its themes of death and celebration of the last show. What could be worse than no more Altman? No more Altman films.
Self Distribution:
It seemed to be a perfect storm for independent filmmakers this year, as many utilized festival and online networks to get their films seen. Some, like the filmmakers of “Four Eyed Monsters,” generated support through video podcasts on their website. They then booked theatres around the country by proving that there was interest on a particular city. Hopefully more barriers will come down as filmmakers learn the distribution system, and continue to push their films out there.
Spike Lee’s Return to Commercial Relevance:
He’s made great movies in the last few years, including “25th hour” and “He Got Game”, but not had a financial success in quite a while. “Inside Man” proved he could inject a twisty heist film with commentary on race, New York, and selling out. The performances were another standout, including star turns by Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster, sly support from Christopher Plummer, and real menace and mystery from Clive Owen. This success should give Lee the ability to make a big budget biopic of his choice, whether it is on James Brown of Joe Louis.
HD and Blue Ray Discs:
The two new formats for viewing movies at home both debuted with a thud, with a reminder of the Betamax - VHS format war of the 80s. Most consumers adopted a wait and see approach, especially since the difference between DVD’s and HD is not as pronounced as the gap between DVD and Cassettes. The industry’s major players are to blame with not coming to an agreement on one format, which may drag out this conflict for years.
More Documentary Successes:
Of course there was “An Inconvenient Truth”, but there were also other fantastic docs this year such as “49 Up”, “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party”, and “Neil Young: Heart of Gold.” All three docs were about the humanity of their subjects, and came from three directors who also make features (Michael Apted, Michel Gondry, and Jonathan Demme). Michael Moore is set for a return in 2007 with “Sicko”, let’s hope there are other interesting docs released as well.
Another Big Budget Success from Martin Scorsese:
Critics patronized the achievement by celebrating his return to gangster movies by recommending he should have never left the genre. Still, “The Departed” was a lot of fun, with a perfectly modulated cast of stars. Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, and Alec Baldwin have the most fun, while Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon stay on the edge, mentally and physically. Scorsese fits all the pieces together with his editing, sometimes cutting between scenes, sometimes jumping past exposition, and, as always, marrying great songs to vivid images.
More Experiments from Richard Linklater and Steven Soderbergh:
While “The Good German”, “Bubble”, “Fast Food Nation”, and “A Scanner Darkly” never quite worked completely, they all showed two filmmakers willing to experiment and push the boundaries of current cinema. The last time they pushed the medum like this, they followed it up with masterpieces (“Traffic” and “Before Sunset”). Let’s hope they repeat the trend.
“Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”:
One of the funniest movies of the year, Sasha Baron Cohen’s creation followed the mockumentary tradition to create a satire on America, religion, road trips, bigotry, among many others. Will Cohen continue the Borat character, or start making movies based off his other characters?
YouTube:
YouTube exploded in 2006, finally being bought by Google for 1.6 billion at the end of the year. Amateur videos and professionally produced TV series shared the same space, giving a glimpse into the future. In 2007, Apple will release ITV, which may further bridge the gap between TV’s and computers, and professional and amateur content producers.
Big Budget Science Fiction:
“The Fountain” and “Children of Men”, two films that presented worlds far into the future, and spent the money to do so. They both avoided computer generated effects to create unique visions that felt more real because of it. While not big financial earners, they were both huge steps forward for the filmmakers, Darren Aronofsky and Alfonso Cuarón.
Day and Date Releases:
“Bubble” started the year as the first release to open on theatre screens and premiere on TV on the same day. Returns weren’t huge, but once the kinks are figured out, more films will go this route. Theatre chains don’t like it, some filmmakers don’t like it, but if the money is there, there will be no stopping it. And if it can give people access to films they might never have seen, then the experiment will be worth it.
The Return of Bond:
While Pierce Brosnan was jettisoned a film too soon, Daniel Craig was able to create a new kind of Bond. With the director of the best Brosnan Bond film, “Goldeneye”, returning, “Casino Royale” was a tough and thrilling reboot of the series. Hopefully Bond will continue on this route, instead of descending into camp, as it seems to with each new Bond actor.
Let’s look forward to 2007, when there should be just as many steps forward in the world of film. Who knows what there is to come, but it should be exciting because of the filmmakers, technologists and businessmen that continue to push the envelope.
• Alex Mechlin writes about the movie industry monthly, exclusively in Lumino Magazine. E-mail Alex at alex.mechlin@luminomagazine.com.
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great comments
Written by Guest on 2007-01-12 08:26:39
you contiue to look at all the facets of the industry, culture, etc. your commentary is so much mor interesting and fun than what the mainstream media writes about!! |
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