Kevin Smith and M. Night Shyamalan going the self financing route

[klauswhereareyou]

I find it interesting that both directors who were born just days apart got burnt out on the big budget Hollywood machine and have gone back to self-financing their own projects. It looks like it has really helped M. Night get his cinematic groove back, but its kind of debatable with Smith.

[Monterey Jack]

That's because no one will give them money anymore.

[imsounoriginal]

People will always give Shyamalan money, especially since his last two movies have actually been both financially successful and critically well-received. I've never been a big Smith fan but the Shyamalan comeback is great news and I don't care if he ever makes a studio movie again, as long as his movies are good and make money.

[MifuneFan]

After Split, I don't think he'll have probs securing his next film.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

People will always give Shyamalan money, especially since his last two movies have actually been both financially successful and critically well-received. I've never been a big Smith fan but the Shyamalan comeback is great news and I don't care if he ever makes a studio movie again, as long as his movies are good and make money.

The confusing thing is people not giving Smith money for the films people actually want to see him make. Clerks 3 is having a hard time getting financed? Like... what? Come on. Even if it flops in theaters, streaming and blu sales would easily make it money. Same with Mallrats.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

After Split, I don't think he'll have probs securing his next film.

I hope not. Shyamalan has been hitting his stride now that he's been stripped of studio ego stroking.

[ThatOneGuy]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I hope not. Shyamalan has been hitting his stride now that he's been stripped of studio ego stroking.

That is what screwed him up. He let all the praise get to his head and get even worse when everyone turned on him.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I hope not. Shyamalan has been hitting his stride now that he's been stripped of studio ego stroking.

Is that what the problem was? I know he has an ego but it's funny that his last two movies have been self-financed and have done well, while his last several studio-backed projects were crap.

I haven't seen his Avatar movie but I've heard/read that the studio probably messed that one up, just from people who saw it. IIRC even Dev Patel said later that the final movie is not what he signed up to make.

[ThatOneGuy]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Is that what the problem was? I know he has an ego but it's funny that his last two movies have been self-financed and have done well, while his last several studio-backed projects were crap.

I haven't seen his Avatar movie but I've heard/read that the studio probably messed that one up, just from people who saw it. IIRC even Dev Patel said later that the final movie is not what he signed up to make.

No, I know full well M. Night messed up Avatar. He purposely mispronounced the characters' names because how the show pronounces them isn't how he does.

[Shingster]

The Visit is every bit as insufferable as Lady in the Water. He might be having some success at the box office but he's hardly got his groove back! I should be checking out Split later this week, but I expect nothing but a laughably exploitative depiction of DID with ludicrous twists and pathetic characterisation.

[octagon]

I'm far from an M. Night fan but I thought The Visit was very good. I've only seen it once so who knows what the future might bring but I was very pleasantly surprised when the positive buzz turned out to be warranted.

[Lastyear]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

I find it interesting that both directors who were born just days apart got burnt out on the big budget Hollywood machine and have gone back to self-financing their own projects. It looks like it has really helped M. Night get his cinematic groove back, but its kind of debatable with Smith.

Smith hasn't done a decent movie in over a decade. He just gets worse. After all this time he still doesn't seem to know what to do with a camera.

[Shingster]

What's worse is that nowadays he's taking his incompetent hackery out on people with poor mental health, reducing dementia and DID down to silly "monster" movie plot devices. It's completely pathetic.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Shingster

What's worse is that nowadays he's taking his incompetent hackery out on people with poor mental health, reducing dementia and DID down to silly "monster" movie plot devices. It's completely pathetic.

It reminds me of that hack who directed that film years ago who stabbed women in showers dressed as his mum. Way to exploit the mental ill, Alfred Hackcock.

[Shingster]

Depicting psychopaths as OTT deranged psychopaths in 1960 is one thing, depicting people with dementia/DID as weird, supernatural creatures to be feared in 2015/2017 is entirely another. Like I say, The Visit is utter shite and if a single second of it was even remotely grounded I probably wouldn't have so much of a problem with it.

Filmmakers can get away with a lot of things that are in bad taste or exploitative if the film is good enough to gloss over the insensitivity, but I can assure you Foggy, The Visit and no doubt Split are not in the same league as the likes of Psycho.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Foggy

It reminds me of that hack who directed that film years ago who stabbed women in showers dressed as his mum. Way to exploit the mental ill, Alfred Hackcock.

So we're comparing Kevin Smith to the possible GOAT?

[Rodney-2187]

I can only imagine the hate filled reviews every highly regarded classic would have received if the internet was around when they debuted.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by rodneyfaile

I can only imagine the hate filled reviews every highly regarded classic would have received if the internet was around when they debuted.

Heh, Psycho would've been run out of town by any number of 'activist' groups.

[Shingster]

Many of today's classics were shat on plenty enough by the critics of their day, shat like The Happening, Lady of the Water, The Visit and everything else M. Night has done since Signs will never be viewed as classics though.

[Rodney-2187]

There's just an entirely different atmosphere of abundant hate when it comes to the internet and movies.

Disparaging movies is the default position it seems.