Jerry Seinfeld thinks Hollywood is filled with people who are confused and disillusioned, saying the movie business is “over.”
It was famed screenwriter William Goldman who once said of the movie industry, “Nobody knows anything.” And that could very well be true, with Jerry Seinfeld now agreeing that Hollywood is as clueless as many people think.
Jerry Seinfeld has seldom taken part in any movies, with his only real role outside of documentaries being the highly meme-able Bee Movie. But with Unfrosted dropping on May 3rd, he has noticed a few things he wouldn’t have otherwise. “It was totally new to me. I thought I had done some cool stuff, but it was nothing like the way these people work. They’re so dead serious! They don’t have any idea that the movie business is over. They have no idea.” So what’s the deal with Hollywood? Seinfeld elaborated on this, saying the business and the consumption of films is nowhere near what it was in generations past. “Film doesn’t occupy the pinnacle in the social, cultural hierarchy that it did for most of our lives. When a movie came out, if it was good, we all went to see it. We all discussed it. We quoted lines and scenes we liked. Now we’re walking through a fire hose of water, just trying to see.” Yet, Seinfeld seems to be embracing this, as Unfrosted will premiere on Netflix.
Jerry Seinfeld might have a good point here. While there is still a focus on box office numbers, a lot of movie fans are consuming material through different means. Whereas the cinema was once the place to catch a movie, you can now just catch it on, say, Netflix, at your leisure. For movies like that, there is no opening and there are no show times – there is “Start” and “Resume.” Take Adam Sandler for example. When Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore were hits, it gave fans of the Sandman something to talk about and gave them quotes to endlessly throw at each other. Now, with his Netflix deal, at what point are fans supposed to do that? Putting quality aside, have you even heard somebody quote one of his Netflix movies?
Jerry Seinfeld would go on to, expectedly, champion the craft of stand-up comedy, saying what comedians put out there is something that can’t be faked. “It’s like platform diving. You could say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see if you are or you aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust it. Everything else is fake.”
While many of us thought the idea of Jerry Seinfeld directing a movie about the history of Pop-Tarts was itself fake, it is indeed real…and looks far better than expected.
Do you agree with Jerry Seinfeld’s assessment on the movie industry? Is it “over” or just adapting? Give us your own take below.