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| Say 'flop' to my face one more time bitch! |
I believe that when mainstream media get on a large enough bandwagon and shout in unison that a film flopped, it does tarnish, if just slightly, a film's cred in luring audiences to go see it. It's almost akin to an orchestrated bullying tactic employed to discredit a film that has sincere Oscar hopes. Thankfully, Steve Jobs has an important A- Cinemascore, and an 85% Rotten Tomatoes. As the sensible film reviewers/bloggers/critics have mentioned, Steve Jobs is a prestige film, it's not its fault that it doesn't appeal to the lowest common denominator movie going patron. Perhaps Universal should have released the film to just 1,000 screens. Anyone who really wanted to see the film, would have driven to see it (like I did two weeks ago). And as nomination time comes around, expand it to a few more theaters. But just because Steve Jobs fell short of its US box office target, should not reflect on the quality of this excellent film. Keep in mind that box office earned in the US is not the holy grail to measure the true success of a film. Steve Jobs will open over the next couple of months throughout Europe, and don't forget about China/Japan. The film will earn back its production and marketing costs - just not on US receipts alone, and that's OK, considering the state of mind of most Americans.
In Brad Lee's article, here are a few excellent points he made:
I mean seriously, answer this question I have been asking myself for a long time now. How is it that films like Transformers: Rise of the Fallen, the Twilight Saga or Jack and Jill seemingly can get you into the seats but an actual fun movie like John Carter or Pacific Rim that is not retarded and outdated toilet humor is unworthy of your attention? Well, in America, anyway…
And here he goes with calling out the over inflated importance of the American market. Hey America, we aren't that smart!
The mentality is that the American market is the be all and end all to a movie’s success, regardless of any and all critical acclaim or derision. Okay, so in that case, Grown Ups 2 and Movie 43 should be held in much higher esteem than say, Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Blade Runner or Fight Club. Or don’t forget that other flop that is currently sitting atop the IMDB list of greatest ever films: The Shawshank Redemption.
People, you need to understand this: Critics, news agencies (those bitches at Variety, for instance) and bloggers always have agendas*. Hello! (get it? see Steve Jobs)
It is also time for you, the cinema going public, to stop listening to critics who obviously have an agenda nowadays (Newscorp anyone? They are never going to promote a rival company’s film with an unbiased opinion) to make sure certain films “flop” regardless of how good the finished product is. Don’t just follow like mindless sheep on the way to the abattoir and jump on the hate bandwagon because the powers that be tell you to.
Make up your own mind and if you do enjoy a film: shout it from the rooftops. Don’t let misguided and biased media sway you from your opinion. I thought John Carter and The Lone Ranger were both fabulous movies that a lot of families missed out on purely because of the negative rhetoric.
I love Steve Jobs and I love Michael Fassbender's performance and I'm shouting from the rooftops, the Fassinating Fassbender social media channels, and Twitter, my support for this film! Oh, and go watch John Carter, it was excellent!
*even I have an agenda, duh!