Posted by Isis at 132.236.35.61 on February 26, 2002 at 11:51:15:
In Reply to: Thoughts for discussion..buying board movies... posted by Duffless on February 26, 2002 at 10:53:08:
All my spare money goes towards drugs and strippers, so I know where you're coming from. I'm damn particular about the films I subject myself to seeing; so much is terrible these days, and that's two hours of your valuable life. It's hard to scrape together the bucks to buy a zillion DVDs that you haven't seen, and personally -- no offense to anyone -- I'd take the reviews you hear from uber-fans with a grain of salt.
There's a couple of ways to look at it. By buying these movies, you're supporting these guys, and they're all pretty damn cool people, so why not help them out, even if their movies don't end up being your cup of tea?
On the other hand, I'm not sure if it doesn't actually do the filmmakers a disservice to hype their work among a crowd of rabid fans whom will undoubtedly do nothing but heap praise upon it. It's not constructive, and it doesn't represent how the open public will react to their films. I'm not sure if the automatic fanbase doesn't actually LIMIT the careers of Pereira, Lynch, Malcolm, etc. Will they always be seen as just another Kevin Smith protege, a guy whose films sell to a limited audience of fans? Will they be taken seriously by others in the biz?
I don't know. My personal feeling is that if you can't afford it, don't buy the movies. I'm sorry if that's sacrilige, but a lot of us are poorer than the VA staff, so let's face facts. Borrow them from someone else, or suck it up -- A Better Place should at least be on IFC again at some point. And if you can't contribute monetarily, once having seen these films -- ADVERTISE THEM to others! Word of mouth is invaluable. And honestly? If people gave sincere, constructively critical reviews instead of just doing the whole "it's great! so funny! i love you Malcolm marry me and have my children", I think more people would take them seriously and perhaps be willing to lay out the buckage.
Of course, if Daddy IS paying all the bills, and you've got more money than you can wipe your ass with, by all means, buy all these movies, buy me a copy, go to the Stash and empty out your ATM. After all, money can't buy you love, but it will buy Harley the special edition "Return to Neverland", you dig?
: I am a fan of Kevin Smiths films, and after having seen some films at the V3 I am also a fan of some of the view askew films...One thing I have noticed since being on this board is that many people are rabid fans of all things viewaskew & related, despite not having seen them personally. People often buy VA and related movies based solely on recommendation, ie. Tail Lights Fade, A Better Place, Drawing Flies etc...now maybe I don't have as much disposable income as some, but it seems to me a bit weird to buy these sight unseen, as they say. I wonder how many of you have purchased said movies only to then be disappointed, or if you would have liked the movie as much had you not been referred to it from this board? This is not meant to bash anyone, but not all movies are for all people, for instance BHD was ok, but not quite my movie, had I purchased it I would have felt my money would have been better spent, it wasn't a movie for me. I am glad I saw it, but wouldn't want to own it.
: Discuss or flame, whatever, but this has been something that has been on my mind for a while.