Most of the films from the last decade that are being regarded as the best have come from independent and foreign cinema as opposed to Hollywood cinema. In the 90s, this wasn't so; Forrest Gump, Schindler's List, Braveheart, Titanic and Gladiator were among the landmark movies of that decade. However, the last ten years have, instead, seen movies like Memento, Pan's Labyrinth, Lost In Translation, Slumdog Millionaire, There Will Be Blood and Juno become some of the films that people will look back on in years to come and call 'the cinema of the noughties'.
It seems that many producers in Hollywood have begun to notice the undeniable quality of independent and foreign cinema in recent years. Especially in contrast to some of their latest blockbuster films. I mean, I'm sure there aren't many film lovers who'd say that Michael Bay's $200 million dollar Transformers franchise is anywhere near as good as the aforementioned Memento or Pan's Labyrinth. Even despite being produced with only a fraction of Bay's budget. Therefore, these Hollywood producers have begun to approach filmmakers in indie and foreign cinema to direct their big budget releases in, apparently, an attempt to make them better.
For example, only last month it was announced that, after having a hit with the quirky indie comedy 500 Days Of Summer, the film's director, Marc Webb, would now be behind the reboot of the Spider Man franchise. Moreover, director of the breathtakingly good German thriller The Lives Of Others, Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck, was approached last year about making the action film, The 28th Amendment, with Tom Cruise in the lead. Also, let's not forget that Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind's Michel Gondry will be behind the upcoming Green Hornet film.
This seems to show that Hollywood is running low on creativity and is fairly incapable of making a truly amazing movie like the ones listed above anymore. And where Hollywood is falling short, indie and foreign cinema is picking up the slack. The box office and DVD intakes still show that blockbusters are more popular, but they aren't getting the good reviews and the awards recognition that films such as Sideways, City Of God, Capote, Little Miss Sunshine, Good Night And Good Luck and The Diving Bell And The Butterfly are getting. These films are intelligent, creative, powerful, well made and are filled with a heart and soul that doesn't seem to exist in Hollywood any more.
But why does Hollywood suddenly care about hiring indie and foreign filmmakers to back the big budget releases and making good quality film again? After all, Spider Man 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean 3 both made enough money for any producer to retire on and they weren't good quality. There are 3 words that, in my opinion, answer this question:
The Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight showed Hollywood what can really be achieved if you mix the blockbuster approach to a film with the quality that independent cinema has reached in the last few years: It can make a film become a phenomenon. While there are plenty of people who haven't seen Iron Man or Twilight, there aren't many people who haven't seen The Dark Knight. Why is this? Because not only was it the perfect film to draw a large audience with a romance story, spectacular action scenes and a few moments of laugh out loud humour, it was also an incredible crime drama that takes it's place alongside the very best. Therefore, it was able to sweep the box office, receive good reviews, bag a handful of awards, and most of all, and become one of the biggest selling movies of all time.
Oh, and can you guess who was the man behind it all? Christopher Nolan. The British director of the independent neo-noir Memento.
In summary, it seems apparent to me that Hollywood seeking independent and foreign directors to back the big releases to breathe new life into blockbuster films. Not only because are they are running out of creativity, but also because, in my opinion, every producer in America is aspiring to have a hit on the same level as The Dark Knight.
