On July 2, it became known that Greta Gerwigfavorite actress/director behind Lady Bird, Small womanand upcoming Barbie configured to guide at least two The Chronicles of Narnia movies for netflix. Many have been excited or at least intrigued by the prospect: after all, Gerwig has always been preoccupied with tales of self-discovery and growing up, fantastical or not, and her feminist worldview suggests there might be justice for Susan Pevensie. finally. Others, however, greeted the announcement with pathetic desperation. Charlton Heston falls to his knees on the beach at the end planet of the apes.
Lady Bird And Small woman both became hits, combining critical and commercial success and proving that in an age of blockbuster dominance there is room for smaller stories. In addition, although Barbie not yet released, various interviews (not to mention some recommendations for Margot Robbiesecret account Letterboxd) show Gerwig’s typical thoughtful cinephile approach; oh, and it’s also predicted to make a ton of money. In a healthy world, she would SpielbergA size sized license to do whatever the hell she wanted for the next ten years. And now she has joined another exercise in squeezing pennies out of a moth-eaten IC - for Netflix? You are maniacs! You blew it!
The relationship between the director and IS is distorted
But in the discussions that followed—on the idea of ”one for them, one for me,” whether such an approach is even possible in our time, the rocky politics of “selling out,” and whether Gerwig’s gender influences backlash—little attention was paid to what Gerwig herself (or her agent acting on her behalf) said about this. According to her talent agent Jeremy Barber, Gerwig’s goal is to “go beyond… small scale dramas” and become “a big studio director”. Such a statement may sound tasteless to some indie movie fans in the audience (this author included, at first); take a closer look, though, and it suggests it’s not the familiar power dynamics of the franchise’s era.
You can roll your eyes at Film Twitter performances all you want, but when it comes to franchises and other IP movies, a certain amount of skepticism is always warranted. We have seen this ritual many times before. Young filmmakers fresh out of Sundance get paid $100 million to make a Marvel movie and spend the next decade painstakingly painting details instead of developing their own creative vision. Instead of their passionate projects, new Oscar-nominated talents are getting the keys to a traditional sequel. (Did you love Lee Isaac Changgentle, evocative Minari? It’s a pity! Is there some more twister!) Even when the results are good, something is lost in the rush to capitalize on a recognizable property: Radio Silence scream movies are fun, but not as fun as the new, original films from the guys who brought us Ready or Not would.
This does not mean that there are no good IP films or that every IP film director is a powerless puppet. But there is something terribly backward in the whole state of affairs. Instead of repurposing the property to serve the director’s vision, the director is expected to serve the property, its fans, and the studio executives who get a good check. This is why every Marvel movie seems to be a variation on a theme, and why otherwise well-adjusted people go into a snarling, feral rage at the mention of a name.”Ryan Johnson”. Hollywood has always been something of a factory, but right now it’s like one of those cautionary tales of the tech revolution: the only people around are those who service the cars (and then go to a press conference to talk about how they the last round of maintenance was inspired Alan J. Pakula.)
Will Greta Gerwig be able to handle a big budget IP project? Of course she can!
So what makes Greta Gerwig different? On the one hand, apart from Barbie, she has experience working with big budgets and everything that comes with it, from detailed set design to negotiations with executives. There’s also the fact that, having gone from low budget to medium to big budget for her first three solo films, Gerwig enjoyed the natural career path of many New Hollywood auteurs such as Spielberg and George Lucasalso liked it. (Compare with John Wattswho went from making an indie thriller called cop car 5 million dollars to do Spider-Man: Homecoming for $175 million.) In addition, Gerwig has always paid attention to populist appeal: Lady Bird And Small woman will appeal to both middle-aged moms and their daughters working at the Alamo Drafthouse, not to mention entering Barbie Juggernaut.
And, of course, the obvious truth: Greta Gerwig is a rare talent, and she more than deserves to be questioned. After two films, she has already established herself as one of the most gifted acting directors in the American mainstream; a director capable of making a familiar genre like a high school coming-of-age story fresh, lively and concrete; a writer who not only adapted a beloved American classic, but also improved it. (Joe ends his famous “feminine” monologue with an agonizing, half-sobbing “but I lonely!was Gerwig’s idea; Amy’s monologue about marriage was written by Gerwig at the suggestion Meryl Streep.) Interviews with Gerwig paint an image of a deeply passionate, extraordinarily attentive to detail director, a connoisseur of classic cinema, striving to make his sets as warm and inviting as possible. If more directors like Gerwig were in charge of Hollywood blockbusters, the industry wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.
Netflix and IP Need Greta Gerwig More Than Ever
It may be some time before the era of IP is over, but there are encouraging signs that the era lazy IP may end sooner than we feared. Flashshameless fanservice and a nasty cameo parade couldn’t save him from becoming one of the biggest bombshells in movie history; Indiana Jones and the Dial of Doom things got better, but she couldn’t get over the tepid word of mouth and fell victim to a comically inflated budget. Movies that made a splash Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse And Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III, had something to offer viewers, whether it was stunning animation or heartbreaking catharsis. (Even Movie Super Mario Bros.indulgent as it was, offered a novelty to see Mario’s world in all its animated splendor, with a bit of Jack Black.) A franchise can only sustain itself for so long only by inertia, and the same goes for IP in general; after all, audiences will demand something new, something better, or both.
It makes new narnia adaptation for Netflix is an inconvenient proposal. After all, Netflix has played a major role in shaping today’s cinematic landscape, for better or worse: they spearheaded the streaming boom, turned mid-budget and non-genre films into an endangered species, dealt a major blow to theaters, and continued to spend huge amounts of money making films. shall we say, variable quality. If they did glossy, by the numbers narnia remake with a few moments of fanservice - I can vividly imagine some kind of executive text”Tilda Swinton = Mr Tumnus?” on the Post-It sticker and circling it will definitely not help with IP fatigue. But that wouldn’t help Netflix’s cinematic reputation either, as memories of Irishman replaced by the sea Red notifications. As the streaming bubble shows signs of bursting, there must be some twist: if there was ever a time to prove that Netflix is capable of making really great movies with populist appeal, it’s now.
Greta Gerwig doesn’t need narnia, and she definitely doesn’t need Netflix. She is clearly wants do narnia, and Netflix is the way to make it possible. But back to the statement her agent made on her behalf. Her goal is to become a “big Studio director”. Not a big Marvel director, not a big one star Wars director, not big transformers director. Studio filmmaking these days is synonymous with this kind of intellectual property, but it hasn’t always been that way: the business has always been ugly, but it can create wonderful things. And if I trust anyone to get big-budget movies back on track, it’s her.
Source: Collider
I have worked as a journalist for over 7 years and have written for many different publications. I currently work as an author at Daily News Hack, where I mostly cover entertainment news. I have a great deal of experience in the industry and am always looking to learn more. I am a highly motivated individual who is always looking to improve my skills. I am also a very friendly and personable person, which makes me easy to work with.
