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Of the ten cash films of the beginning of the year in the United States, four are independent, low -budget films. Practically speaking with the usual language, art house. At the same time, one of them - the western of the Cooen brothers “iron grip” - has already collected more than 100 million in the cinema. Three more - “fighter”, “the king says” and “black swan” - if they don’t even take the treasured bar, they certainly come close to it.

There is a huge temptation to roll up a lengthy column on the topic "Spectators are tired of the consumer goods in 3D ." To do this, believe me, is quite simple. Moreover, rolling results would miraculously illustrate such a statement. But this would not be true, but such a pure demagogy, like the one that all kinds of venerable critics love so much, with pathos tearing vests on his chest and telling about the sunset of cinema.

Large studios and serious producers (as well as people who give serious producers money for cinema) spend a lot of time, effort and money, trying to calculate the possible potential of the picture at the stage of the scenario application. For whom are we shooting? Why will the target audience want to watch this? Before the film is given a green light, especially to the studio film, it should pass nine circles of bureaucratic hell. At the same time, all participants in the process are well aware that nothing can guarantee success. It doesn’t matter how many conclusions are written on the script, how successfully the casting was held, how exactly the topic is guessed - all these factors affecting success, but not a guarantee.

Ivan Filippov

He worked in NG-Religions, on Newsru.com, in the journal "Company". Then he wrote about the film business in the newspaper Vedomosti. He talked with the sharks of the industry: the leaders of Disney, DreamWorks, Fox Filmed Entertainment, producer Jerry Brookheimer. Their ideas were so carried away by the journalist that Ivan turned to the other side of the barricades - he works in Ar Films Alexander Rodnyansky.

Take at least an outstanding, truly good film “The King says”. If the producers and financiers of the film from the British company Prescience were not so smart and experienced, then I could easily imagine how exactly they would walk along the studios. “You know, we want to make a film about the king-king. To tell a story about how a simple Australian guy, a self-taught speech therapist, cured the king a speech defect. ” "Great! Wonderful story, guys! Seven feet under your keel, the door is there. ” I just suppose that. In fact, the producers themselves decided not to contact the studios, the American rights of the Winstein brothers company resold, and today, probably, I feel just kings.

But I know about the Black Swan for sure. I know that before getting money for the film, Aranofsky bypassed many investors, studios and funds, and everywhere he was politely refused. This, do not forget, we are talking about the outstanding director, the holder of Oscar. But the story about the perfectionist ballerina for some reason seemed too narrow for the mass audience. Probably, it is right. In theory.

In practice, it turned out completely wrong. Both films collect incredible money at the American box office, crowding from the first places large -budget studio productions. The Cohen brothers so unexpectedly revived the Western genre unexpectedly for everyone. This has been this over the past ten years. At first, the “gladiator” revived the genre of Peplum films, then the “Pirates of the Caribbean” returned the studios to the pirate films, now, apparently, the time has come to Westerns. The latter, after all, the truly popular western was removed almost 20 years ago and was called "good, bad, evil." Since then, there was nothing outstanding or at least popular. There was every trash, like a “wild, wild West” or “John Hax”.

I repeat. On paper, none of these films looks like a blockbuster. Not one. Like Critical Darlings, as possible winners of numerous serious festivals - yes, of course. If you made serious money one such film, one could say an anomaly. Two is a serious anomaly, exceptions to the rules. But here are four at once?

And after all, the hand itself is drawn to write about the shirportreb and 3D. But that would be categorically wrong. It's not about format and not in shape. It's not even the subject. Just all four films are very good. It’s just that once again we all became convinced that no one can ever guess what the audience wants. But we all love to speculate about it so much. For example, close to us and his native “Russian viewer is tired of, he is waiting ...” or “The Russian viewer wants to watch films about ..”

In fact, no one knows what the viewer awaits. He himself does not know this. He just wants good films. The problem is that even such an outstanding performance of the author’s cinema on the big screen will not change the situation. And when the next time serious directors will go in a circle to ask for money for their serious cinema, they will face the same problems.

The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors of gzt.ru