Monday, July 15, 2013

Does a name matter in regards to quality?

Hi there dear reader (assuming this is even being read, i currently am not even reading what im typing),

So having recently woken up, at least by the way my hair is currently sitting, i decided to have a look at the daily news. And by news, i mean log on to IGN.

On of the feature articles was about Pacific Rim being considered a flop by studios for raking in, somewhere in the ballpark of $35,000,000.00 on opening w/e in the US, and people having harsh things to say about the IGN reviewer and the quality of the talent behind the film. This got me thinking, does big budget equal quality? more so, does a name equal quality?

The answer is no by the way. So here i was, sitting there at 4am and came to the conclusion that a name means more in entertainment than quality. In this case Del Toro. He made some great movies, ill admit ive only seen Hellboy 1 and 2 and Pans Labyrinth, and that spanish horror movie in the house that came out years ago (orphanage? which he produced), so having seen these, im sure it would have been easy for the studios to invest the $200m it took to make this "flop" and it would have also been easier to see why people would like it.

If your curious, these are the main reasons PR works and fails according to everyone (ive yet to see it):

the Cons: acting, story  and character. Apparently it wasn't good across the board.

the Pros: Big robots smashing Big monsters. A big WIN.

So how does a directors name matter to a production? Well the answer to that is simple, Star power.
for examply Steven Speilberg's name alone will make sure the movie makes its monies back. Sudios and producers bank on a given artists name (in this case, directors or writers), because it will simply make money. Kind of like Nintendos seal of quality from the NES - SNES era of gaming.

If you put a bankable name on a project, you will have 2 things, a bigger budget and a way to easily market your project. In most cases its well deserved, you cant argue Speilberg's mark on cinematic history, in others, not so much.

Which leads me in a round about and pointless way to my little rant on names and quality. I think its dumb and almost redundant. But you cant argue the results. Take transformers as an example, Michael Bay's name gave that movie enough power to be what it is, had he not directed  it, the budget would have been less, thats garanteed, does this mean it was quality? well, hat depends who you ask,i like the movies solely for the pretty pictures, so for me they are a huge WIN, others call it a loud pointless explosion movie.

People put so much faith on a name, that they loose sight of the bigger picture. Im a glass full kinda guy, as much as i love The Mummy, i am well aware that its a simple popcorn flick, and those that know me know my stance on Jurassic Park (greatest movie ever made, BTW).

I guess before i continue ranting or typing, im just going to say this, a NAME does not matter, RESULTS matter. So next time you get excited about something, whether it be a movie or a game, think back on the pedigree of results from a particular person or studio and dont ridicule people for actually having an informed opinion.

Ill end this post by saying that, i have yet to see the film, and can almost garantee based of the trailer that i will like it. And here is the link for the ign review.

http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/07/09/pacific-rim-review

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