How I'd fix Star Wars

[Inukai]

They should allow fandom to show they type of fiction these would like.

The fandom continually shows the studios what type of fiction they would like, mainly by purchasing product. If no one buys it, the studio no longer makes it. Case in point is the Midichlorians: the fans blasted it and they were never heard of again

 

[MarkB]

The fandom continually shows the studios what type of fiction they would like, mainly by purchasing product. If no one buys it, the studio no longer makes it. Case in point is the Midichlorians: the fans blasted it and they were never heard of again

Also, there is no one fandom, as this thread handily demonstrates. No one product is ever going to meet everybody's wants and expectations.

 

[ART!]

Well, we had Halo on TV and it was pretty meh. And ideally, a new franchise shouldn't be too tied up on "military". There are a wide variety of stories that can be told in space.

But the issue is cost. People forget that the original Star Wars was low budget, and therefore could be risky. If it had flopped, little harm done. But it's unlikely a low budget movie could achieve blockbuster status these days, because of the cost of advertising and audience expectations with regard to FX.

Out of curiosity, I found an "adjusted for inflation" calculator, and in 2023 dollars ANH cost $51 million. Imagine a movie made for that now becoming the hit that ANH was, leading to the cultural phenomenon that Star Wars is.

It's hard to wrap your head around, but things were so different back then that you would need to adjust for other factors; for instance, back then a hit movie would just stay in theaters for months and months and months. Now you're lucky if a movie is around for two months, partly because there's a theatrical release, then blu-ray and video-on-demand, them streaming, and that all on a pretty strict schedule for the most part.

 

[Ryujin]

Out of curiosity, I found an "adjusted for inflation" calculator, and in 2023 dollars ANH cost $51 million. Imagine a movie made for that now becoming the hit that ANH was, leading to the cultural phenomenon that Star Wars is.

It's hard to wrap your head around, but things were so different back then that you would need to adjust for other factors; for instance, back then a hit movie would just stay in theaters for months and months and months. Now you're lucky if a movie is around for two months, partly because there's a theatrical release, then blu-ray and video-on-demand, them streaming, and that all on a pretty strict schedule for the most part.

I knew people who saw ANH 20+ times, during its very long run in theatres.

 

[MGibster]

But the issue is cost. People forget that the original Star Wars was low budget, and therefore could be risky. If it had flopped, little harm done. But it's unlikely a low budget movie could achieve blockbuster status these days, because of the cost of advertising and audience expectations with regard to FX.

Star Wars cost $11,000,000 to produce in 1977. To put that in perspective, here's how much it cost to produce some other notable movies from 1977.

Smokey and the Bandit - $4,300,000 (#2 highest grossing movie of 1977)
A Bridge Too Far - $25,000,000
The Spy Who Loved Me - $13,500,000
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - $19,400,000

And just for fun, let's include Jaws and Empire.

Jaws (1975) - $9,000,000
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - $30,500,000

The average budget for a Hollywood movie in the 1970s was about $5,000,000.

 

[Zardnaar]

Star Wars cost $11,000,000 to produce in 1977. To put that in perspective, here's how much it cost to produce some other notable movies from 1977.

Smokey and the Bandit - $4,300,000 (#2 highest grossing movie of 1977)
A Bridge Too Far - $25,000,000
The Spy Who Loved Me - $13,500,000
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - $19,400,000

And just for fun, let's include Jaws and Empire.

Jaws (1975) - $9,000,000
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - $30,500,000

The average budget for a Hollywood movie in the 1970s was about $5,000,000.

Alot of 80s hit movies cost around 30 million.

Terminator 2 hitting 88 million in 91 was newsworthy.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Also, there is no one fandom, as this thread handily demonstrates. No one product is ever going to meet everybody's wants and expectations.

When they refer to the fandom, its implied to be the majority of the fandom, not all of it.

 

[MarkB]

When they refer to the fandom, its implied to be the majority of the fandom, not all of it.

You honestly think there's a majority consensus within Star Wars fandom?

 

[MGibster]

You honestly think there's a majority consensus within Star Wars fandom?

We all like Star Wars?

 

[Velderan]

We all like Star Wars?

But only the parts that real fans know are actually Star Wars. The parts I don't like? That's not Star Wars.