The Power of Fans (Good or Evil?)
If you keep up with entertainment “geek” news, I’m sure you’ve heard about the Fanboys controversy (If not, read this). The groundswell of fans calling for the head of “Darth Weinstein” is both amazing and frightening to me. As both a hearty Star Wars fan and a filmmaker working with the Weinstein Company on many projects, this has popped up on my radar, bigtime.
Fans, I am troubled. And I’ll tell you why.
We have entered an incredibly interactive age of entertainment. Never before have the fans had such direct access to filmmakers. Never before have audiences been able to communicate their concerns so immediately that they can literally influence the product overnight. This has changed the business, for better and for worse. On one hand, filmmakers and studios know exactly what fans think, and can adjust almost daily to those whims. And fans love being heard. But a dangerous shift is happening. Now fans do not feel this interaction is a blessing or a bonus… they feel they are entitled to be heard; that it is their God-given right.
All artists want to know what their audience thinks. All filmmakers want to meet an audience’s expectations and learn from their reactions. But the artist must still serve the art, not the direct orders of the audience.
I am not defending Harvey Weinstein or coming down on the dedication and passion of Star Wars fans. The truth is, I have not seen the old cut of Fanboys or the new cut. The fans may be right. Weinstein may be right. But there are very, very, very few people who have ALL the information. Very few people have seen the final cut of both versions. And very few people have been in the rooms where hard decisions have to be made about a film to get it released.
How many films get recut or reworked this way? More than you can possibly imagine. Hoodwinked was recast, recut, and remixed to address studio concerns. This is filmmaking. A film has to constantly evolve until it hits the theater. If it doesn’t, it may never hit theaters at all.
These fights happen all the time on films. You just don’t hear about them. Directors and producers usually have to address studio concerns privately, in the normal give-and-take with the “suits.” But the Fanboys fans have dragged this fight out into the streets, making it a public, messy, PR nightmare. That has not only prolonged the two-year release of the film, but it may threaten the release of ANY version. Harvey has killed films for less, guys. I’d hate to see that happen, so be careful.
Just because fans now have the ability to voice concerns about films doesn’t mean the filmmaker or studio has to bow to their whims or take orders from them. I kind of miss the days when movies were mysterious and you encountered them for the first time on opening night. That goes for TV, too. I can’t imagine how the creators of Lost do it, hearing from zealous fans a thousand times a week. They can’t just write the show. They have to manage the weekly barrage of opinions about their every move. And I think I understand why George Lucas doesn’t even have email. After birthing a veritable pop culture religion, the flack he gets from his own “disciples” blows my mind.
I’m not saying the fans are wrong. I’m saying stop the hate, folks. Stop the rage. It’s just entertainment, for Pete’s sake. I’m really not sure campaigns like the Fanboys outcry will accomplish anything.
If you think you know what’s wrong with movies, then please, PLEASE, go get a camera and start making your own. Funnel those frustrations into creativity. Then your life will begin to revolve a whole lot LESS around someone else’s work, and what they should or shouldn’t do with it.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I feel slightly admonished because I had been one who was “worried” about the Fanboys movie. I found myself muttering “so true” to many of your points. Good words.
March 28th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Amen, brother. I especially agree with the concept of the artist serving the art and not the audience. To haul out the old saw, one wonders what people first thought of Picasso’s cubism, and perhaps suggested that it should look a little more naturalistic.
In the case of “Fanboys,” I think part of the backlash (if I may be allowed to use that fast-becoming-annoying buzzword) has to do with Harvey Weinstein’s reputation as a giant, emotionless, cash-grabbing pair of scissors. Stories of his editing/tampering abound, and I would wager that, to many people, this picture is merely the straw that broke the camel’s back.
But hey, who knows whether his cuts made the picture better or worse. It’s all up to interpretation anyway–thus is the beauty of art. And the timeless tug-of-war between art and commerce.
One more thing: people are protesting the cuts of “Fanboys” by boycotting “Superhero Movie”? Really? That is….. some kind of sacrifice, you guys. Seriously. I don’t know how you can do it.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:58 am
That made me LOL… to use another annoying buzzword.
March 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Cory, right on.
BTW Adam, I’m choosing to boycott “Earth Hour” instead.
April 12th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
There’s a Fanboy brouhaha? Did the Wired article go to someone’s head or something? I didn’t realize there was trouble till I read this post.
Actually, I just wanted to use the word “brouhaha” somewhere…