Posted 8:06 AM by Blah blah

American TV/Movies ARE Getting Better

I am an optimist. I am also a big TV/movie buff, having studied the medium since I was a kid. So it surprised me that some people on RBJ were saying that American TV/movies have gotten worse, that more people are selling out, etc. They seriously forget history when they say this. Actually the opposite has happened. That's one of the great happy stories in the entertainment business. It relates to the RBJ discussion I started about Russell Wong in Black Sash. Here's my reply:

Let's tackle your points about the quality of American TV/movies.

I understand your cynicism about Hollywood, guys, but I totally disagree that the quality of TV/movies has gotten worse. Actually writing on TV has dramatically IMPROVED in the last few years:

24, ER, Alias, Dark Angel, Boston Public, The Practice, The Simpsons, CSI, Law and Order, The West Wing, Frasier, Drew Carey Show, The Guardian, etc. etc.

Hello? These are all quality network TV shows. And you got cable: Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, the Sopranos, Oz, etc. Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg produced the acclaimed HBO miniseries Band of Brothers last year too.

All of these are AMERICAN TV shows. All quality.

And look at all these fantastic movies released last year: Chicago (Miramax), The Hours (Miramax/Paramount), Gangs of New York (Miramax), Minority Report (20th Century Fox), The Bourne Identity (Universal Pictures), Adaptation (Sony), etc.

Last time I checked, all of these are AMERICAN studios.

Yes the movie/TV business mainly revolves on money, like any other business. But the actors/producers/writers/directors tend to care PASSIONATELY about quality and about their creative vision, if you see them in long interviews. They fight extremely hard for the art and for their ideals, believe me.

Yes we have and always will have junk TV and movies strictly for financial reasons. Yes, Ben Affleck is being cast in movies he does not deserve to be in. But look at the CHANGE from the 1980s or the early 1990s, folks. I remember how back then Hollywood was more stereotypical and conservative and the shows were more lamebrained. I remember shows from the late 1970s too, before some of you were born.

Trust me. Good writing and good writers have much more power on TV nowadays. People like Aaron Sorkin and David Kelly rule their TV-doms. The competition and standards are high and intense. In movies, the writer is still at the mercy of the director and studio, but mainstream studios have taken a lot more chances with "artsy" and "ethnic" off-the-path films. That's why Sony and other studios created smaller divisions like Sony Pictures Classics that SPECIFICALLY focus on making quality, limited-release films that they hope will eventually develop a wider audience. That's why Miramax tries to get the rights to release foreign films like Hero here in the U.S. That's why George Clooney took financial risks with movies like Solaris. Because people DO passionately care about making more complex films with artistic integrity.