{"id":459,"date":"2013-07-31T14:20:23","date_gmt":"2013-07-31T12:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fascinating-america.com\/blog\/?p=459"},"modified":"2015-04-28T02:16:06","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T00:16:06","slug":"the-death-of-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fascinating-america.com\/blog\/the-death-of-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"The death of Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you noticed? Nearly all of the big movies coming out of Hollywood seem to be sequels<\/span> based on cartoon characters, animated<\/span> figures, toys, video games or superheroes. This summer has seen Iron Man 3<\/i>, Despicable Me 2<\/span>, Star Trek: Into Darkness<\/i>, and Fast & Furious 6<\/i>. A new Superman movie is out<\/span>, and it’s never long between Batman films.<\/p>\n

Characters and plot<\/span> don’t make much of an appearance. The explosions and car chases<\/span> are the real stars.<\/p>\n

Whatever happened to movies that were about people? You know, like Saving Private Ryan<\/i> and Sleepless in Seattle<\/i>?<\/p>\n

Such films almost can’t get made and distributed by major studios today, say Steven Spielberg<\/b> and George Lucas<\/b>. “The pathway to get into theaters<\/span> is really getting smaller and smaller,” Lucas told students at the University of Southern California in June. Spielberg’s Lincoln<\/i>, nominated for 12 Oscars, just barely got into theaters last year. The director says that’s only because he co-owned<\/span> the studio.<\/p>\n

What’s going on? Lynda Obst<\/b>, a producer of Sleepless in Seattle<\/i>, Contact<\/i>, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days<\/i> and other films, has the answer in an eye-opening book called Sleepless in Hollywood: Tales from the New Abnormal in the Movie Business<\/i>.<\/p>\n