Running Head: THE SECRET BEHIND GOOD MOVIES

The Secret Behind Good Movies

Wayne Li

University of California, Berkeley

College Writing R1A

The Secret Behind Good Movies

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Films, as an art form, but also a product that is financed, created, and sold, inevitably

creates a complex relationship between the investors and the filmmakers. Investors look to

guarantee profit through putting in certain factors but there are no formulas. Instead, investors

need to just let filmmakers do their job create content that people care. Sydney Pollack, a

famous Hollywood director and producer who won Oscar in 1985, broke down this relationship

and thereby demonstrating his opinion on the film industry in his book The Way We Are.

In The Way We Are, Pollack provides viewpoints from both investors and actual

filmmakers on the film industry, and what the purpose behind films should be. Since most

current movies are financed before creation, they must show some potential value to investors.

The purpose of most investors, if not all of them, is to succeed in the market and make more

money. As Pollack says, "The business of film is to reach as many people as possible." As a

result, inevitably, investors are always hoping to gather as much factors as possible to make their

movie popular. There are many studies and research showing the influence of different film

sectors in films, and sometimes theres a ranking. For example, a study in UC Davis showed that

the top three factors that makes a film profitable are Scary/tense music, Frightening/tense scenes,

and violence Many investors really believe in the studies and naively think that as long as they

can have the most welcomed factors in their product, they will make a profit.

However, although somehow statistically true, the studies cannot be a guidance leading

filmmakers to guaranteed success. Since the market is extremely unpredictable, due to the

difference in audiences preference across time and region, one can never predict the box-office

income. In 1940s, when a lot of people are in poverty and hunger, the most profitable movie

thread is comedy and love. Many famous movies were created at that time, such as The Great

Dictator, and Roman Holiday. However, in around 2010s, when a global-wise technology
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enthusiasm occurred, movies such as Iron Man and Revengers series dominated in box offices

[BBC, 2014]. Thus, if one uses improper factors in a film, for example, containing intense

violence after the world just suffered from terrorists, it is very likely that the filmmakers won

get good feedback. Moreover, Standing by the side of the audience, we can also see that

audience aesthetic regrading films are different by regions, which kills many possibilities of

trying to make a globally welcomed film as an accumulation of factors. The market for the film

industry is different all over the world. That difference affects the film producers mostly by

showing different audience's tastes and preferences [The Economist, 2011].

For example, there are various types of presentation methods and movie styles. Some

films are more fancy-driven, using huge amount of computer graphics; some pays more attention

on the consistency of the main story, like many classic movies such as A Beautiful Mind and The

Shawshank Redemption; and some just do flat presentation just like the documentaries [WIPO,

2016]. Rarely a film can collect all above attributes. Those which did are always appreciated as

the classics.

As a result, it is always encouraged to make something truly good rather than be over

ambitious. For example, American aesthetic, different from others, is more narrative-

driven.[The Economist, 2011] Thus, the main idea for investors should be to build an interesting

story. In this case, anything without a proper storyline, no matter how much one invested or how

great the actors are, may not work in real market. Moreover, reversely, corresponding to the

previous opinion about the movie factors, it is never about if a violence content can make the

film more attractive, but if the scene will develop the story.

Obviously, it is not a good choice for the investors to create film contents. This explains

why financiers will sometimes rather just let the filmmakers do their own art. Not affected by too
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much business factors, the nature of filmmaking as an art restricts its capability of exerting too

much control on profitability or shaping social values. Thus, a filmmaker will consider more

about producing a masterpiece rather than moneypieces. If a film becomes successful, it must

tell something that makes people care., said Pollack. For filmmakers, their product should not

only show great story, but also pure emotional involvement.

Nowadays, over thousands of movies are made each year, but only very few of them can

eventually succeed and make some influence. How should filmmaker do to make a successful

work? After interviewing many filmmakers, Va Sonyka shows us that a good story is the most

important factor in a film, and everything filmmakers work on should be around that topic [Va

Sonyka, 2017]. When Sarah Lotfi, a young award-winning writer, director, and producer, was

interviewed about how she got involved in her film, all she talked about was around the storyline

and her communication with the actor/actress. None of her words mentioned box-office profit

nor added some special scenes on purpose. "Film is a very powerful form of communication and

as much about empowerment as entertainment," said Sarah. She takes the art of films as a way to

present, to communicate, but not to argue, nor to ingratiate [WIPO, 2016]. Even for large

filmmaking companies, keeping their work less business involved is still a very important rule.

Warner Bros, founder of one of the most successful movies making companies in the world,

always tell themselves that they cannot fail on the purpose of the movies, which is to present a

story. And for the many inevitable sexual, violence, or horror scenes, Jacquie Jordan, a

Hollywood film and television producer, explains that filmmaker will not use the scenes for any

other purpose than developing the storyline [Independent Magazine, 2008.]. Thus, we can see

that as a pure form of art, films are defined during the process of their creation and development
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as something narrative standing, with their only purpose of telling a story and entertaining the

audience.

Pollack defines the films as an industry to entertain people. In order to make a movie

entertaining, both investors and filmmakers share different responsibilities. Investors must have

be clear what do people care, and filmmakers must use their artistic charm to invoke chemical

reactions deep in the audiences heart. This is Pollacks secret to make a masterpiece.

]
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Reference

Angie Boss, 2010. The psychology of releasing anger. Retrieved from:

http://psychologydegreeguide.org/anger-psychology/

Independent Magazine, 2008. The Mysterious power of attraction. Retrieved from:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/attraction/the-mysterious-power-

of-attraction-926687.html

Melena Ryzik, 2008. Shooting Film and TV Sex Scenes: What Really Goes On. Retrieved from:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/movies/shooting-film-and-tv-sex-scenes-what-

really-goes-on.html

Va Sonyka, 2017. Good story makes good movie, filmmakers say. Retrieved from:

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/34384/good-story-makes-good-movie--

filmmakers-say/

WIPO(World Intellectual Property Organization), 2016. Making Movies: An Independent

Filmmakers Perspective. Retrieved from:

http://www.wipo.int/ip-outreach/en/ipday/2014/lotfi_interview.html

Independent Magazine, 2008. Been there, seen that: Does sex still sell movies? Retrieved from:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/been-there-seen-

that-does-sex-still-sell-movies-2164707.html

The Economist, 2011. Hollywood goes global-Bigger Abroad. Retrieved from:

http://www.economist.com/node/18178291

Brain Barrett, 2016. Netflix isnt made for the US anymore-Its for the whole world. Retrieved

from:

https://www.wired.com/2016/01/in-the-us-were-now-watching-the-worlds-netflix/
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BBC, 2014. How the Global Box Office is Change Hollywood. Retrieved from:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130620-is-china-hollywoods-future