Why Hollywood won't gamble on good summer movies

2010's "Inception" was an anomaly, says Mark Harris in GQ. More typically, the concepts of "creative ambition" and "summer movie" just don't mesh in Hollywood

Andrew Garfield will star in the upcoming "Spider-Man 3D" -- the "reboot of an adaptation of a comic book," says Mark Harris at GQ.
(Image credit: Facebook)

The summer tent-pole movie season is coming soon, but don't expect another quality thriller like Inception at the multiplex, says Mark Harris in GQ. Both this summer and next will, instead, see a glut of comic-book adaptations, sequels, and prequels. Indeed, movie studios are "trying very hard not to notice" the Academy-Award-nominated precedent set by Inception, afraid of the risks similar projects might entail. "It's really bad news," says Harris, "when the industry essentially rejects a success, when a movie that should have spawned two dozen taste-based gambles on passion projects is instead greeted as an unanswerable anomaly." Here, an excerpt:

For the studios, a good new idea has become just too scary a road to travel. Inception, they will tell you, is an exceptional movie. And movies that need to be exceptional to succeed are bad business. "The scab you're picking at is called execution," says legendary producer Scott Rudin (The Social Network, True Grit). "Studios are hardwired not to bet on execution, and the terrible thing is, they're right. Because in terms of execution, most movies disappoint."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us