In a recent article in the New York Times, Alan Horn (president of Warner Brothers Entertainment) says Warner Brothers will concentrate on making only 18-22 films a year and focus on making more of them blockbusters. Recent “flops” like Superman Returns which cost about $270 million to make and so far has netted $200 million domestically and $190 million overseas and Poseidon which cost $160 million to make and has netted $60 million domestically and $121 million overseas, have left Warner Bros. scratching their heads and banging their fists. Batman Begins and Harry Potter’s done well, why not those other two? Horn claims you can’t predict a “safe” movie. Maybe you can or you can’t but you can predict a good movie.

Superman Returns was a really good film. I can’t imagine how annoying, typical and unimagined it would have been if Brian Singer did not direct it and someone like Joel Schumaker did. It didn’t appeal to young men, their target audience, ’cause they marketed a Bryan Singer directed film to a young male audience which is not a Bryan Singer demographic though his audience does include, but not encompass young men. Poseidon was a stupid film ’cause those types of disaster films are out of date, pure and simple. M. Night Shymalan’s Lady in the Water could have been a more interesting film but it has no real marketability like Sixth Sense did.

Warner Bros. took admirable risks having Christopher Nolan (Memento) direct Batman Begins, Tim Burton direct Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien) direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban instead of choosing the usual big named directors. To tuck their tales between their legs and slink away back to the safe abyss of blockbusters is a cop out pure and simple. The industry’s changing. Blockbusters are not the way to go with lesser known (and better) directors directing “bigger films”, more well known (and not necessarily better) directors directing “smaller films”, stars in smaller roles, foreign stars in American films and American stars in foreign films, and unknown actors in all types of films. I keep seeing the word “safe” pop up here and there when these film execs try and explain what films they put out, wished they’d put, can’t put out etc. as if “safe” were possible in the current film climate.

Despite Warner Brothers being Warner Brothers, they’re film output these days is more impressive. Martin Scorsese’s The Departed looks very interesting and has received positive critical reviews. Blood Diamond’s (Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Honsou) is getting some Oscar buzz along with The Good German with Cate Blachett and George Clooney and which I’m really looking forward to seeing. Frank Miller’s 300 will be a hit, I predict. These big studios need to stop looking for “safe” and big and start looking for good. Of course money is a concern. That’s what keeps a business going and ahead of their competitors. But, more than anything, a good product keeps customers coming back for more…which means, they’ll spend more.