What could Hollywood do to make it's films even better?

I think the attachment to celebrities is good for business but bad for the art form - why do all the stories ever thought up need to be acted out by the same 20 actors?

Also, Hollywood should give its audience more credit: perhaps people want more interesting and less formulaic films on the scale that only Hollywood can provide. Just think about the great work done in the 1970s with challenging and relevant films like Apocalypse Now.

Hi Greg.

I haven't read all of the other comments yet and like them I'm not sure if mine will ever make a difference as I feel that this is all for show so that the moguls will simply want to be seen to be doing something about the slog that's being created over the last few decades (assuming this is the reason why you're posting this).

But for what it's worth, it's definitely the problem in terms of the attitude towards the writing talent that obviously no longer exists. What do I mean? All the writing talent that Hollywood once had have all dissipated back to the theaters, journalism, television, literature, etc, etc. These are the places where writers were originally sourced in their craft before making it to Hollywood. But the way in which they have been treated these past few decades is it any wonder why they no longer exist and why CGI is a very poor method of covering up the fact that nothing is being produced any more? You know the "cause-and-effect" score, and it also applies here. What's being produced now are CGI-laden video games masquerading as films; it's really not convincing, terribly lame and obvious that there are no more great and original ideas.

Product placement is also a problem. Every film I watch nowadays (especially typically poor efforts with Will Smith in it) have nothing but a barrage of insulting advertisements being bombarded onto the screen in the most shallow and shameless fashion. I get enough of that on TV. When I go to the cinema all I ask is for art made by a team effort of artists...NOT idiots interested in nothing more than lining their own pockets.

Yes, people are willing to pay to see shallow gimmicky films, but I take it that ticket sales for all types of films recently still must be depleting more and more in recent decades?

I find it funny that it is said that the theater is a writers' medium, the TV a producer's and cinema the director's. I doubt this would be the case if there were no talented writers at all. It starts with them and everything else falls into line. Let's get that back and put some dignity back into Hollywood!

It was a force to be reckoned with......once.

Be a bit daring. Choose original scripts. Some films seem to be made to dumb people now. Some of my favourite films are the ones that make you think. For example, the Matrix was beautifully done and I'm sorry that the sequels didnt match up. A much better film with a similiar theme and made around the same time (Existenz) was even better and really made you think! I think that's why I love Total Recall. It has such an open ending and plot that you can't help but wonder what's real and what's not. The US has allinated the film industry and everything that comes out from hollywood has a bitter taste of americanism and some of it an anti-muslim propaganda that changes depending on the enemy of the moment. In the 50's the japanese and germans, in the 60's to 80's the russians, now the muslims, I think is time to look to independent films and foreign films to really appreciate new proposals as hollywood is sinking slowly like the country they represent.

Some films seem to be made to dumb people now. Some of my favourite films are the ones that make you think. For example, the Matrix was beautifully done and I'm sorry that the sequels didnt match up. A much better film with a similiar theme and made around the same time (Existenz) was even better and really made you think! I think that's why I love Total Recall. It has such an open ending and plot that you can't help but wonder what's real and what's not. The US has allinated the film industry and everything that comes out from hollywood has a bitter taste of americanism and some of it an anti-muslim propaganda that changes depending on the enemy of the moment. In the 50's the japanese and germans, in the 60's to 80's the russians, now the muslims, I think is time to look to independent films and foreign films to really appreciate new proposals as hollywood is sinking slowly like the country they represent.

the Matrix was beautifully done and I'm sorry that the sequels didnt match up. A much better film with a similiar theme and made around the same time (Existenz) was even better and really made you think! I think that's why I love Total Recall. It has such an open ending and plot that you can't help but wonder what's real and what's not. The US has allinated the film industry and everything that comes out from hollywood has a bitter taste of americanism and some of it an anti-muslim propaganda that changes depending on the enemy of the moment. In the 50's the japanese and germans, in the 60's to 80's the russians, now the muslims, I think is time to look to independent films and foreign films to really appreciate new proposals as hollywood is sinking slowly like the country they represent.

A. Not go over the top with stunts which are unrealistic. The story has to be real to life. You might fluke a few dodgy manouvres in one car chase but don't take the mickey.

B. Create characters you care about, played by actors who are appropiate for the role, not picked just because they are big names.

C. Be a bit more picky about what films you make, enough of these stupid blonde high school cheerleader type rubbish, where the actors are clearly older or possibly much older than the characters they are playing.

D. Make originals. Not copies of other films or blatantly using the same scenes from another film into a new one.

Also don't use too much computer animation, i.e 300 where the background was just so fake. Would have been really good film otherwise, but the crap effects ruined it.

On a different subject, in regards to pirate films etc why not make the cost of Dvds cheaper in the first place? If you had to pay say £5 for a fake but could buy the original for say £6/7 pound which would you buy? You would probably sell a lot more into the bargain and make more money than if you sold less dvds at a high price..

That's actually a really difficult question to answer. While I would agree with what most people have said so far that the best films in the past have always been more focussed on characters end emotion than CGI and big blasts, sometimes all you really want from a film is to just sit there and let it entertain you without having to put any effort in. I don't think advances such as CGI and special effects automatically make a film bad - sometimes they make it so much better but they have to be used in the right way. On paper, the technical advances we've made in the film industry should really be to our advantage, and can certainly be used that way.

I also agree that one of the most frustrating aspects of film production at the moment is the tendency to churn out sequels of films. I know it's an easy money-spinner to use an idea and characters that are already in place and people are familiar with, but it's quite a saddening thought that hollywood, which used to have the reputation for the place to go for quality film, is now more consumed with the quest for money than the desire to make a truly excellent film. I think a good example of this is the Pirates of the Caribbean films. The first one I thought was brilliant - original idea, fantastic characters and very entertaining. But the credibility of the whole franchise has since been diminished by the production of sequels that didn't quite match up. The same thing happened with the Matrix films. The first one is a wonderful example of how special effects can be used with amazing results - it was clever, engaging and really got the brain working. The special effects only made it better.

On the whole, I would probably say the best idea is to get a more diverse selection of scripts, look in international markets as well, and focus on telling a story that either people will get emotionally involved in, or a clever one that will really get the brain going. My favourite films are the ones that have me leaving the cinema and engaging in a discussion that lasts hours over the implications of it. Don't be afraid to offend, don't be afraid to say something that may cause controversy. Swearing can add emphasis to the occasional line, but dialogues which just consist of strings of expletives are just evidence that the writer can't be bothered. Bloodbaths aren't clever or cool, sometimes the fate of a character is more effective if its left to the imagination. Comedy is about timing, not insults and fart jokes.

Obviously, this is just my opinion. Sorry for the long answer, but as I said it's a hard question!

People like it raw and real even if some of the content shocks. I'm not talking about using sexually explicit scenes or scenes of gratuitous violence. The human imagination is one of the most powerful yet unexplained areas that should be used more. Hence scenes can be filmed that would both satisfy the censors but leave the audience to complete the scene with imagination. Think of it like reading a really good book. It's only words but we all visualise the story as we read it. Another respondent made the point that not all film-goers are 15 year olds - so true. A lot of the current audience might fit into the 14 - 20 year old demographic, but maybe that's because there aren't enough quality productions being released to cater for perhaps a more discerning audience? The production of better quality, more challenging films might result in an overall increase in audiences and commercial returns as this often neglected audience returns to the cinema.

I don't bother with Hollywood, if I watch anything it's a DVD from the library or maybe something on the television. That way I can turn it off if it proves to be repetitive drivel.

As far as I'm concerned the formula has ruined Hollywood. Take Notting Hill, a trivial but sweet enough movie. We had the perfect ending when she shows up in the bookstore. But NO, we have to have the emergency car chase before she leaves the country AND the embarrassing public proclamation AND the trite happily ever denouement.

I'll stick with independents and films from the rest of the world. The Irish have a real way with a story and a deft touch with humour. If Americans told the same story, they'd make it all saccharine and Feel Sad NOW music.

Then there's Chinese drama. No explosions and the fight scenes are about physical skill and well thought out choreography, not overwhelming noise and CGI.

You all have hundreds of models of how to make a truly great film? Why doesn't Hollywood use them anymore?

Of course you are asking a biased question there; you're making the assumption that Hollywood's pictures can be improved. Each movie is individual and different. Good and bad are just opinions (okay, it's a problem when the opinion is shared by everyone but you...) The medium exists as a form of entertainment, and it entertains. You get your great thinkers, dumb comedies, action-filled violence-and-effects fests, your child-friendly films, cheesy horror, documentaries, musicals and many more genres than I've probably had hot dinners. Each tailored to a certain, specific audience. Each entertaining to that audience.

Even the turkeys have an audience somewhere.

So how do you make things better? Technically, theoretically; how can I answer? I'm no film maker, I've not attended "moving pictures 101" or any sort of elementary movie course which I'm sure would hold all the "how to make better films" answers.

I know what I like when I see it, but that changes from day to day depending on my frame of mind. But I'm okay with that.

So long as everyone works to put out "the best film they can" - then that's the most we can ask for, isn't it? The second they start putting out any old thing without caring about the medium, then we all lose. We all lose and people start asking questions like "how do we make the films better?"; ask yourself "why am I doing this?" ... I hope to goodness not for the money.

Some of the answers I read here have been pretty good, ie. more historical accuracy, new ideas, new scripts and writers, new actors (instead of recycling the same ones) and not every film needs to include car chasing, gunshots and an American super-hero like Jack Bauer.

To this list I would also like to add: more credibility and a story that the audience can actually relate to. Sure, action films are good and sci-fi films. In fact, I myself enjoy them the most. But there is something missing from most movies: the link to the audience. Picture this scene: The sun is rising, the birds are singing, sun rays start floating through the open window and a light breeze awakens the heroine of the story - Angelina Jolie. She opens her eyes, smiles and it's the most beuatiful sight anyone has ever seen... Wrong!

This is how it could be: The sun is rising but it's so cloudy, you can't see it. It starts pouring down rain. The heroine opens her eyes. She scratches them. She yawns. Gets up, trips over the bed-side. She walks to the toilet. She pees - maybe even farts! She washes her face. She needs to wash her face, because she looks like a mess! She just woke up! No-one wakes up wearing make up or lipstick. Her hair is supposed to be all over the place. She might even have to shave her armpits! But oh no, she doesn't have time! She is running late! Wears something that doesn't match, grabs a semi-burned slice of toast and steps outside - in the mud! She swears but rushes to work anyway.

Also, what was said about historical accuracy: A film cannot be made where Cleopatra hooks up with Hitler, just because they would make an interesting couple. In a war (see Troy - and don't even get me started on the mistakes in that!) not everything is black and white. One side cannot be the "bad guys" and the other the "good guys" all the time. The audience can actually be made to sympathise with both sides.

Which also brings back credibility. A movie about a divorce for example: Not one of the two has to be the victim, so that he/she can find justice in the end. And not all movies where both sides are wrong, have to be treated with humour! Real life often teaches us that both sides can be at fault. Or, like someone else mentioned, not all stories have a happy ending.

A movie I watched recently was "Vantage Point". I enjoyed the action, the twists, the variability of characters and the interaction and sequence of the different scenes. I even enjoyed the part were Matthew Fox is a traitor! But the ending... Ah, the ending... Typical American movie ending! The President, his bodyguard/hero, the family-guy/american-dad and the little girl, all survive! And all the good guys are killed! And the emphasis is given on that! Another hero of the story who was completely innocent (the cop) but gets killed, or the two brothers, are completely forgotten by the end of the movie. The audience is left with the feeling that justice is served... If only that was the case in real life too...