Little Miss Sunhine

This has not been the summer for movies.  Perhaps if the studios would release all movies on every medium possible at the same time, such as DVD, Internet, movie theater, etc. it would change the content.  They would surely find a new way to create revenues but change is hard for people who are entrenched in their own industries.  They have been writing the same balance sheets and using the same techniques to create revenues around the movies for so long, it is really  hard to think out of the box.  Too bad.

I actually believe if they attempted a whole different strategy it would force studios to put out better content.  People aren’t going to the movies this summer because the films suck.  Coming up with answers such as more people are renting DVD’s is just analytical crap.  The movies are god awful and aren’t worth spending $6.50 a ticket plus popcorn plus whatever you need such as a babysitter to go see a movie that is awful.  If all movies were released at the same time, the consumer would truly make the decision to see them in their medium of choice and the content would have to be better to get people to actually want to watch them.  Unfortunately we aren’t there yet. 

I believe that consumer driven content on the Internet and the viral explosion of MySpace and YouTube has confirmed my beliefs.  New artists (not that I am saying that studios shouldn’t continue to make films but figure out a better way of distributing them) have become over night sensations because consumers have said "i like them and am going to listen to them".  It isn’t a music executive or a TV executive deciding if the content is good enough to create an audience around it.  The audiences are finding the content and creating communities around it.  Interesting change is afoot. 

Yet there is always a bright spot among the bad movies this summer.  Little Miss Sunshine is one of the best films I have seen in years.  Clever, funny, smart, great performances, etc.  Truthfully there isn’t a bad scene in the entire film.  I don’t think I have laughed so hard at a movie in years.  I walked out feeling wonderful.  I can’t stop thinking about the film.  Brilliant writing.  A true gem. 

Little Miss Sunshine was the favorite at Sundance Film Festival last year.  I’d love to see the Film Festivals around the country put the films on line during the actual festival and let a bigger audience see the films and get consumer driven feedback from companies who could monitor the information such as Tacoda.  Then maybe more studios would pick up more gems like Little Miss Sunshine than the crap that has been green lighted by the studios for summer viewing.