The 2015 Summer Movie Wager: Results

The 2015 Summer Movie Wager was quite a surprise. So many films surprised us. So many films bombed, unexpectedly. We can hope these results will give Hollywood the proper direction to improve, but this hardly ever happens. The fact is, money in Hollywood speaks the loudest. That is the purpose in itself, not to make films... much less good ones. 

For example, I found Jurassic World to be a less than stellar film. Not much there of any real value to chew on. Just nostalgic flim flam. Much of the world was intoduced to two new stars... Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. And some new CG creations. Not much else to see here. 

However, because this film blew away box office records, nothing any of us predicted, Hollywood may assume that we want to see big CGI dinosaurs and ever more reboots, rehashes, sequels, etc. At least the 'rebootitis' that Hollywood has acquired (transforming into 'franchisitis') seems to be working for them. But the belief that we want to see more dinosaurs may be misguided.

So, every year I participate in the Summer Movie Wager to see if my predictions can get close to the reality. I think I did much better last year. But, first lets look at my predictions.

My 2015 Summer Movie Wager

1. Avengers: Age of Ultron

2. Minions

3. Jurassic World

4. Ant-Man

5. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

6. Mad Max: Fury Road

7. Ted 2

8. Magic Mike XXL

9. Inside Out

10. Tomorrowland

Dark horses:

Terminator Genisys

Fantastic Four

Man from UNCLE

Dark Horses are for the purpose of hedging your bets. Hoping at least that one of these films may make it if your predictions didnt quite pan out. None of my Dark Horses made ANY progress. Surprisingly, All Dark Horses did badly in the USA, but at least Terminator did well internationally. But the Fantastic Four is one of the biggest upsets this year. And I have been surprised at how poorly Man from UNCLE has performed. It was a really fun film!

So, lets look at the REAL results of what occurred this summer. Here are the top ten films by domestic box office for May-Early Sept (Labor day weekend) 2015:

Domestic Box Office May-Early Sept 2015:

1. Jurassic World 

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron 

3. Inside Out 

4. Minions 

5. Pitch Perfect 2 

6. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 

7. Ant-Man 

8. San Andreas 

9. Mad Max: Fury Road 

10. Straight Outta Compton 

--------------------

Other films of note (in order of DBO performance):

11. Spy

12. Trainwreck

13. Tomorrowland

14. Terminator Genisys 

15. Ted 2 

16. Pixels

17. Magic Mike XXL  

18. Vacation

19. Fantastic Four

20. Man From U.N.C.L.E.

I was, of course, surprised by Jurassic World's performance, as well as Inside Out, Pitch Perfect 2, San Andreas, Straight Outta Compton. Movies I was dissapointed by include: Tomorrowland, Terminator Genisys, Ted 2, Fantastic Four, Man From U.N.C.L.E..

Here's how they score the wager:

• Getting number 1 or number 10 dead-on gets you 13 points (each).

The rest of the scoring goes like this:

• 10 points for numbers 2-9 dead-on
• 7 points if your pick was only one spot away from where it ended up
• 5 points if it was two spots away
• 3 points if your pick is anywhere in the Top 10
• 1 point for each dark horse that makes it into the Top 10

The scoring is tabulated so that you get the SINGLE HIGHEST point value for each pick- that is, if you get number ten right, you don’t get 13+3, you only get 13.

So, dissappointingly, this gave me these points... 

7 points each for Avengers and for Mission Impossible (1 place away)=14
5 points each for Jurassic World and for Minions (2 places away)=10 
3 points each for Inside Out, Ant-Man, and Mad Max: Fury Road (on the list)=9

14+10+9=33 points. This is HALF the score I made last year. Ooooops! ;)

I guess the results this year were NOT as easily predicted as I thought. There were so many wildcards like Pitch Perfect and Ted 2 and Magic Mike. Not to mention, no one expected "Straight Outta Compton" or films like "Spy" to do so well!

Did you participate? What were YOUR results??

Discovering the Phases of Successful Crowdfunding for Indy Filmmakers

So, in my journey to make a feature film I've been noticing all the different types of projects that get crowdfunded and seem to grow. As it comes to indy, no budget-to-low budget projects, the ones that seem to grow are the ones that do so through multiple PHASES. In other words, start small. Don't try to make a feature right away- but instead put something online- anything. Ask for money at a certain point- or get support to help you with SPECIFIC goals. These goals are one puzzle piece in a larger, bigger project. But each piece is what you focus on NOW. If you have a snag, either you change how you relate to the bigger project or you change projects, at least temporarily.

One puzzle piece at a time.

So, Ive been learning this lately trying to apply it to my currently germinating projects. As a result, here's the theory...

1. Write a treatment for a FEATURE.
2. Begin to write the feature script. (Right now I'm working on "The Good Grief" primarily)
3. Write a PROMO TRAILER script for the feature project.
4. Shoot the promo trailer.
5. In process of writing the feature- write a SHORT which is a snippet, a distillation, or a powerful scene in the feature, (but doesn't give away the ending).
6. Use promo trailer to help fundraising for the short.
7. Shoot the short.
8. Finish the feature script.
9. Use short to help fundraising for the feature.
10. Shoot the feature.

You can see that each phase is about rolling any support for your smaller project into a larger project.

As a filmmaker, you must make sure that this initial IDEA is interesting and good enough to build this amount of hype and prolonged interest. Otherwise, someone like me would get bored and want to move on after the first project.

What is your feeling about this? Do you think its a good idea to 'break up' a larger project into numerous smaller ones? Or does this make it seem even more complicated to you?

The 2015 Summer Movie Wager

Hi everybody! It is a tradition two years in the making for me to participate in the Summer Movie Wager which happens every year beginning on May 1 and finishing at the end of August. Just like last year, I am participating in the wager to predict the 10 biggest blockbuster films by their domestic gross!

The rules for the wager are posted here. Slashfilm.com is also participating in the wager. Here is their article and their wagers.

Here are my top ten movies including my three darkhorse films.
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron
2. Minions
3. Jurassic World
4. Ant-Man
5. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
7. Ted 2
8. Magic Mike XXL
9. Inside Out
10. Tomorrowland

Darkhorses
1. Terminator: Genisys
2. The Fantastic Four
3. Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Last year I made 66 points out of a possible 106 points! Not too shabby! Not good but not shabby. We will see how well I do this year.

What will be YOUR wager?? You should post it quickly or else you may be influenced by the box office results of currently screening films. So what are you waiting for? Make your best guesses!!

Developing My First Feature: Part 1

The Current State of the Writing
Since writing my first feature script "Blood Covenant" I have played with almost ten different ideas for a new feature script. This time I am working on a "producible" feature, since filming "Blood Covenant" would take probably over $2.5 million to make after all the stunts, gun play, SFX, VFX and locations took their toll on the budget. This may be something I will be able to tackle after a few smaller-budget features and more diverse funding can be acquired.

So, looking back, let's see... what were some of these feature ideas? Beach Baby, Bad Day, Perla, The Logical Diary, Mirum Lux, The Awakening, Redshift, The Light Princess, Caterwauling for the Prize, Traveling Without Moving, etc. There are probably others I have forgotten about since then. Other grains of ideas that did not even get working titles. Most of these are still being developed and written but many of them are also not producible for me now.

I really enjoy working on adaptations as well, (mostly for fun) like "The Light Princess" a classic fairy tale by George MacDonald and "Out of the Silent Planet," the first of a series of sci-fi novels by author C.S. Lewis. I really wish these projects would get made and have a unique vision for them. So, what's the best way to ensure that I enjoy these but to write my own versions? And if they are not to be made, at least this can be done for my own enjoyment. These would obviously be large, expensive, popular projects, especially in the Christian Sci-Fi/Fantasy market. The same market that ate up the Narnia films and possibly many of the YA book-to-film properties that are popular now.

What Is It About?
Well anyway... back to this "producible" feature project. Right now we are in the very beginning stages. I am a few days away from solidifying the beats of the film. I mostly use Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet for this. But, as soon as we start collaborating it will, no doubt, experience many changes.

This latest idea deals with a college student going through a journey of self-discovery to become an artist. She gets no support from her family, teachers and friends, accepting one faithful friend. Everyone assumes she is on a foolish ego trip to try to become rich and famous. No one is willing to listen to her doubts and perspectives about her life or career, except for this one friend. This sounds dire and depressing- I'm sure, but actually, this is a light comedy. This is basically about my own stupid life. Yep. ;)

But these kinds of stories work in real life. This isn't really about me, you see. If you can see the comedy in life's cruelties you can accomplish much and speak to people in a universal language. Comedies don't often accomplish this cross-cultural impact, but all artists, I believe, have a common experience in how they became artists. There are, I believe, very common, understandable feelings about why and how they became artists. And often, they are profound and humorous. At least I find that they are.

Style and Genre
Attaching myself to the American Micro-budget "Mumblecore" film movement may be a helpful thing. Since much of the inspiration for the film are Noah Baumbach and Joe Swanberg films, this may be achievable. Baumbach is not necessarily a mumblecore filmmaker, but his oft-utilized muse Greta Gerwig is a mumblecore regular. Exhibiting much of the ethos of a mumblecore filmmaker herself, Gerwig remains ensconced in the current American Independent film market.

Noah Baumbach

And as the lead character, "Elizabeth" is inspired by Gerwig's seminal creative and fun yet aimless and youthful persona. Gerwig has become one of my muses as well, apparently. But, uncharacteristically, as a Tampa Bay filmmaker, I am one of the few indie filmmakers here to attach myself to this movement. Typically, the local fare is action, horror, family & mainstream comedy. Rarely have I seen a successful attempt at art house comedy or drama in this local market. I find this surprising since these films are much easier to produce with little to no budget- which is exactly what we have here in the Tampa Bay film market.

Instead we are trying to make action, even sci-fi with little to no success. This is not for lack of trying or lack of talent. But they may be mostly unsuccessful because it costs $ to make good action/sci-fi. Believe me, I want to make these genres as well. And if i have a choice, sci-fi/fantasy would be my genres of choice. But every genre has something to appreciate and enjoy. Each has its own challenges as well. And, if I ever make sci-fi/fantasy, my primary objective is to build it atop a substantial foundation of good drama, character development and story-telling, not VFX, choreography, stunt work and other technical concerns. So, this light drama is my initial play ground for acheiving that goal.

Research
So, some films to watch to prepare for making this film. "Frances Ha", "Happy Christmas", "Tiny Furniture",  "Damsels in Distress", "Drinking Buddies", "The Squid and the Whale", "The Art of Getting By", "Lola Versus", "Nights & Weekends", "The Dish and the Spoon", "Kicking and Screaming", "Hannah Takes the Stairs", "Mistress America", etc. And I have seen the first five of these so far. Admittedly, Woody Allen, Dogme 95 and New Wave films are a bit of an inspiration for much of the mumblecore movement as well. So, some of these can be referred to for inspiration as well. And possibly, some JIm Jarmusch may be in there as well.

Current Budget and Team
Again, Mumblecore is unique in it's strong collaborative and micro-budget ethic. This works for a beginning filmmaker like myself. It brings great things within reach. Remaining consistent with this ethos, I am forming a collaborative team with my wife, Rebecca Croft, Luke Sokolewicz, Linda Roser, Davina Reid & a few other people. I am hoping a few more people will get on board too- Daryn Murphy, Lynne Hansen, John Borland and Andrew Durliat just to name a few.

This movie will be starring Linda Roser and Davina Reid with plenty of room for guest actors to come in and make their mark. It is initially inspired by a short script my wife was working on a few years ago called "Antisocial Butterfly." But we had to fill out the story into feature film length and we want to involve Linda and Luke in the writing process along with me and my wife. This should make it very dynamic and enjoyable to create.

Revisiting the Style and Inspiration
I have been inspired lately by movies like "Frances Ha" and "Happy Christmas". Especially in their art house and elegant minimalism. American high school/college self-discovery films are especially engaging in their characters and plots as well. In tone and visuals- the French New Wave as well as American Indie films have great impact. This should contribute a great pacing, a light airy retreat from our troubles.

I love the natural light with black and white to bring a very classic, elegant, and yet a minimalist feel to it- almost an impressionistic eye to balance the emotional, expressionist and honest intellectual dialogue and themes of the film. Yet, I also wish to make a "Floridian Christmas" film. Visually there is plenty of things to dig up there. At least that is an exceptional location. So, this necessitates color for the Christmas lights and sunsets you get here in Florida- bringing more life into the colorful characters as well. B&W may be revisited in the future, as it is a great inspiration for me.

Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha

The Plot?
But, what happens in the film? That is what we are trying to work out. I have my ideas, but as soon as I am finished editing my short "Golden Foot" we will be able to do more writing. We really want to make a fun, inspiring and engaging film for the local market here- and hopefully it will be cheap to produce. Wish us luck.

Is this the kind of film you'd like to see from us- or do you have any different ideas for films for us to produce?

How to Achieve While Others Are Trouncing All Over Your Silly Shoes

Our short "Golden Foot" has been really great to shoot despite some of the issues we had in pre-production. Those things are past now and I am happy I tried and succeeded in resolving disputes as quickly as possible. This has really been an invaluable experience for me. Believe me, this doesn't mean I'm soft on people when my vision is at stake. Especially, if I can cull together a consensus about how to achieve that vision with other key players. After all, a director's job is to have vision- often a strong one- and then know how to achieve that vision.

Hopefully, I can use my experiences here to help cooperate better with producers in the future though. I know what difficulties producers have to go through because I am a producer as well. Achieving consensus on the most important aspects of the story and on potentially the most expensive parts of production are essential. Making sure the director has a strong ethic and is trustworthy is just as important. These are things I care about greatly and I strive to tirelessly maintain this ethic.

Making sure you are there because you are 'right' for this project should be the first thing that gets realized, or you might end up fighting a losing battle. And being 'right' for a project doesn't mean you are getting a paycheck that you like- it means that your vision is communicable and achievable in this environment. The environment that needs to be present for this to happen is a budget and the key players which will enable your vision to come to life. Without this, a discordant note may always plague meetings and collaboration- even if you don't notice it at first.

If you notice these weaknesses in time- all is not lost. But, realize that a lot of work is forthcoming. The great thing is that a budget is always something you can work towards together, but if you don't have those key players you need, a worthy budget will only further accentuate the failure of your key collaborative relationships.

Once I have a good idea of what is achievable and what it will take to make this film, maintaining my cool and sticking to my guns becomes more important, whether I'm facing criticism from my most trusted confidants or from any level of business associate. But, also, you must learn how to choose your battles strategically. As they say, "...If you're moaning because your feet keep getting stepped on, maybe you need to take off the clown shoes."

...This means that maybe you are taking too many things seriously or being unrealistic- which can only give off the impression to others that you are being melodramatic- even, ridiculous about non-essentials. So, have some priorities that make sense to your cohorts. At least clowns know that they are ridiculous- their job is to be ridiculous. But, yours is to know your limitations- know what's important and know what can be unloaded for the sake of making a better film. Because it's actually not about you ...it's about actually making the film. After all, making a product is REALLY what will earn you more respect in the future. Then, if you wear clown shoes to work, people will assume you have some sort of method to what you are doing and they will question your quirks much less. They may even assume brilliance!

And, of course, this goes without saying, but- know when to seek guidance or when to listen to advice. You're going to get plenty so- get used to it. Of course, we must always listen to others. This is essential! And I'm not talking about standing there while others talk- I'm talking about actually hearing and considering what others say in a conscientious manner. It is the heart of collaborative filmmaking in my view.

All these things that they don't teach you in school- how to be kind and how to actually work with people while other people aren't actually being kind to you. These things are essential to being a professional in the business. But lots of people just get told that they are "great," so they accept it ...until it really matters. Then they wonder why nobody will give them the time of day. Because we are paying attention to the lies and niceties instead of the reality. The reality is you must prove yourself FIRST... and do it while smiling and getting kicked in the rumpus at the same time. That isn't actually unfair. It's actually the way it works. When someone congratulates you or is nice to you- it doesn't mean they really think you are the best, it just means they are being nice. And others being nice says more about who they are instead of who you are... Remember that.

Jon Croft - Shameless Self-Promoter?

"Advertisement with theme music"

Short "Golden Foot" Currently In Production

"Golden Foot" is now shooting! Yes, it is January and, so, that means our film was postponed. The consequences of working with a large organization can be- it doesn't know your needs and so, it can't always know how to provide for them. Choice words get spoken by people. Innocent, honest needs get misinterpreted by those who pay the bills, etc.

But, all in all, this film is a very low risk labor of love- going from a mini-budget to micro-budget in no time for the sake of keeping the script intact. 'Everything else' is provided for by me and the writer/producer Luke Sokolewicz.

Having good producers on board is definitely a must- just like having a good director. I know this having mostly been a producer- that it is a thankless role that most people do not understand. People think of producers as "Mr. Money Bags" and out-of-touch ego-maniacs- but generally it is quite the opposite. Often, behind the "Mr. Money Bags" image is really an innocent risk-taker who believes in the arts and the story-telling above all else. And they are willing, more than others, to go out on a limb to provide for this honest story-telling to take place without interruption.

But, with that said, a new partnership was forged with "The Sunscreen Film Society" as a result. And we are so honored to have them as our sponsor!

Shooting will continue through weekends in January and we have already wrapped a few actors.

Here's some of our great crew...


The key players:

Jon Croft - Director, Producer - IMDb
This is about me so I will try to keep it short and sweet. But I am very honored to be blessed with this role here on "Golden Foot". Before I became a filmmaker, I was obsessed with concept albums, so I did songwriting, made music, wrote stories, I delivered medical supplies for cash... then I started doing video production, wedding videography, and then eventually... started participating in making short films in whatever position I could find. I produced a feature in 2009. Then I wrote a feature. Now, I'm a director of shorts "Death Do Us Part" (2012) and "Golden Foot" (2015). I can't believe I am where I am today!

Luke Sokolewicz - Writer, Producer - IMDb
Copywriter by day. Award-winning screenwriter by night. He was recently awarded “Semi-Finalist in the Sundance Table Read My Screenplay Contest for his sitcom pilot, “My Polish Family.” His short, “Max’s Floor Waxes” was also an official selection at the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival. His writing is fueled by a passion to make hilarious films with an uplifting message.




Joe Davison - Producer - IMDb
Producer/Director/Actor Joe Davison's award winning films "100 Tears", "As Night Falls", and "Experiment 7" have all been released over seas in various markets. His films "Mr. Engagement" and "Frost Bite" are set to be released very soon. Having also written five books, created the show "Nerd Shuttle" and the Game App "Poofender" he stays very busy, but this doesn't stop him from being charitable and working with non-profits, having founded "Robots for the Cure" (seeking a cure for Lupus, Crohn's and Barth's Syndrome) as well as the 4200 member-strong organization Florida Film Network. Joe is a powerhouse of creativity and ingenuity and a great addition to any team.

John Borland - Producer, Actor
John is a lawyer, legal consultant, writer, and filmmaker, living and working in St. Petersburg, Florida. He decided to get fit before and during 40. He loves the outdoors, swimming, horseback riding, and natural living. He is an occasional vegetarian and loves life. 




Crew:

Daryn Murphy - Director of Photography - IMDb
Daryn is an independent filmmaker living in Largo, Florida. He was born in Long Island, New York before moving with his family to Florida in 1988. Science Fiction and Fantasy stories are a passion that drives him through all of his creative endeavors whether it be writing novels or screenplays, shooting and editing film, directing and working with actors to make projects come alive. His current focus is producing an award winning web series called Time Keeper, which took home Best Fantasy/Sci Fi Series from Miami Web Fest, separately received nominations for Best Actor and Best Cinematography and just started the festival circuit.

Raffiel Newsome - Assistant Director - IMDb
Currently Raffi is finishing up his Associates in Film Post-Production at the International Academy of Design & Technology. Ever since he was young he had a fascination with every aspect of filmmaking. He strives to daily to achieve more, work in the industry, and hopefully become an innovative Music Video Director and Independent Filmmaker.

Andrew Durliat - Location Manager - IMDb
Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio and moved to Florida after college to pursue acting, Andrew then took a break to work on houses. He then got back into acting after his 2yr old daughter Ellah wanted in on acting as well. He currently manages her and has worked on 5 short films of his own in 2014.




Keep us in mind. Next week we will showcase our amazing Cast!!! These guys have powered through a tough shoot and made us so proud!!! And after the shoot we will be editing for a good few months- so we will have updates coming on all our progress!!!

May the Foot be with you my friends!
~Jon

Jon's Top Fourteen of 2014

First of all- you may notice that my list does not exclude any sort of genre entirely except ones that are pornographic, including sexuality, body horror, torture porn and incredibly violent films. These are far out of the mainstream in any case, but I do not include films like Nymphomaniac and many horror films for this reason. I never see these kinds of films because I am not interested in them at all.

Secondly- I will provide a list of warnings for those of you who are still squeamish about seeing certain things in films, like horror, violence, sexuality and drug use. 

And thirdly- I really enjoyed a lot of films this year so I included films that didn't quite make my top 14. I even list them from worst to best- so you can make a complete list from "OK" to "GOOD" to my 14 best films and I order them down from "OK" to #1.

So, I categorized my films in three sections: "OK", "GOOD" and "AMAZING" (films that made my top 14). "OK" films are acceptable. They were enjoyable to watch in places and didn't have huge, glaring mistakes. If they did have mistakes- the good outweighed the bad for me and made it watchable. "GOOD" films might have been good enough to be in my top 14 but they just weren't good enough to be AMAZING. I REALLY enjoyed these films. Some of them had superior structure, tone, characters, themes and sequences. But the "AMAZING" section is my 14 BEST films of 2014.

How I Judge Films

You may read a past article I wrote about "How I Judge Films" to fully understand this- but to sum it up- I recognize that judging films is entirely subjective. It is up to the viewer to determine what a great film is for THEM. You can't say what a good film would be for ME and I can't REALLY say what makes a good film for YOU. We simply learn, as we watch more films, what MOST makes us happy and enlightened in films. 

There are certainly the generally common things 99.9% of people will agree on- like good audio or good acting. It can be debated I'm sure (as most anything can be) that this isn't true but MOST people don't enjoy films that are just made badly. I am not going to include any films like that in this post. I am really interested in professional work that is not just acceptable but is amazing.

What IS notably different about my top films list of 2014 compared to most every other list out there is that I don't exclude any other genres from my favorite films- because I don't judge films by making 'value judgments' for what a worthy film is. Hollywood and the media machine in the film world however, would NEVER include a blockbuster film or a Young Adult property at the Academy Awards.

I, however, only think about what films I enjoy more than other films. So, it isn't about the Hollywood machine here or me imposing my value system on you! And it isn't about educating you about great films or about telling you how to watch films. How pretentious is that? NO, no. I just enjoy films and want to share the films I enjoyed the most with people.

So, here are the "GOOD" and "OK" films (counting down from LEAST favorite to MOST favorite).

OK:

Need For Speed

Divergent

The Double

Locke

Robocop

GOOD:

The One I Love

Enemy

The Maze Runner

John Wick

St. Vincent

A Fantastic Fear of Everything

Joe

Godzilla

Maleficent

The Amazing Spider Man 2

The Lego Movie

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Fury

The Skeleton Twins

The Interview

The Fault in Our Stars

Happy Christmas

Gimme Shelter

X-Men: Days of Future Past

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Noah

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Unbroken

Remember, these films go DOWN from least favorite to best at the bottom.

...And now we have Jon's Top 14 Films of 2014. The "AMAZING" list. From 14 down to #1- my favorite film of the year. 

14. Snowpiercer

13. Palo Alto

12. The Babadook

11. Blue Ruin

10. Edge of Tomorrow

9. Cheap Thrills

8. Nightcrawler

  

7. Under the Skin

  

6. The Grand Budapest Hotel

5. Gone Girl

4. The Raid 2

3. Birdman

2. Interstellar

and the best- my #1 film of the year...

1. The Guardians of the Galaxy!!!!!

-------------------------------
Ooops! I didn't know how this thing works!!

I know. To all those film reviewers that would NEVER include a Marvel Film- I can only ask "Why not?" If you ENJOY a film- If it was stimulating and you wanted to watch it again, and the work was obviously stellar work with great skill involved in making it... Why not include these kinds of films? Why? 

Probably because we believe that if we don't tell people what to watch they will ONLY want to watch these kinds of films- and all those boring, dumb films that don't really relate to their audience would get left out in the cold. That's just hogwash. 

People pay to see the films they want to see- including the directors and actors that they like. You don't need 20 million dollars in advertising to get your film seen. You can build momentum and put yourself out there on the internet. People WILL see your film. And when they do they will give you feedback on how well you did- or what mistakes you made. Nothing wrong with that. There's just an old model of film curation out there that needs a good update and needs to remember to be open minded to their audience. And I believe the new film curation should simply be about what we and audiences enjoy- regardless of what the Oscar hype says or what reviewers find to be acceptable or educated. These big films take just as much work- if not MORE work to make. Why not give it some filmmaking cred? I certainly do.

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P.S.:

Ok. Here's my list of WARNINGS for these films for concerned viewers out there:

WARNING:

None of these films are G rated (even The Lego Movie is PG) and many of these should not be seen by teenagers either.

Don't see these films if you can't watch sex scenes or drug use:

Gone Girl, Under the Skin, Cheap Thrills, Palo Alto, Happy Christmas, The Skeleton Twins, Joe, The One I Love, The Interview, Birdman

Don't see if you have a weak constitution:

The Raid 2, Gone Girl, Under the Skin, Nightcrawler, Cheap Thrills, Blue Ruin, The Babadook, Fury, John Wick, Robocop

Don't see if you can't enjoy violent action as an art form:

The Raid 2, Need For Speed, John Wick

Don't see if you don't enjoy deep or cryptic themes:

Interstellar, Birdman, Under the Skin, Noah, The One I Love, Enemy, The Double

Don't see if you can't enjoy dumb jokes:

The Lego Movie, The Interview

Don't see if you can't watch teenagers doing bad stuff:

Palo Alto, The Fault in Our Stars

Don't see if you do not watch horror films:

The Babadook

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And that's it! I hope you can get something useful out of some of these films if you were not able to see them yet. Happy movie watching my friends!