DARK PARADISE

losing grip on reality seems familiar 

losing grip on reality seems familiar 

You can’t measure its success with data and numbers. You can’t just replicate the product that came before it and expect it to also perform well. Products like toasters work that way; if my toaster breaks and I need to go buy a new one, I do in fact go looking for something that does all the exact same things as my previous toaster. 

But with art the audience is looking to experience an original and authentic emotional connection. They want to experience stories because stories are about the human condition and we see ourselves in them and that moves us and speaks to us. That is what makes art mean something to them. That is what gives it value to the audience. You can’t fake authentic emotional connection by running numbers and checking boxes and following formulas. You can not make films the way you make toasters. 

Yes there will always be a business side of filmmaking, but the act of making a film should not be treating like the act of creating any other kind of product. It needs to be in the hands of the creatives and the storytellers and it needs to come from their passion and their hearts and the producers can be there to tell them, no, they can not rent out the Taj Mahal just because they believe it’s necessary to the story, they’re going to have to find a cheaper option. There is an important place for business-minded studio heads and producers in filmmaking; it’s just not in the pilot seat.