'R' isn't what the people want
Chris Woodward and Bill Bumpas - OneNewsNow - 1/6/2012 4:00:00 AM
A noted critic and media pundit says he knows why 2011 was not a good year for Hollywood.
Hollywood
took in 4.5 percent less revenue in 2011 than in 2010, selling the
least amount of tickets since 1995. Are consumers simply fed up with
what Tinseltown has to offer? Dr. Ted Baehr of
MovieGuide says it depends on the film in question.
"The spin is that people want more R-rated films, but the actual truth
of the matter is that there were more R-rated films last year than there
were the year before, and there were more than the year before that,"
he explains.
Two years ago, 44 percent of the films were rated R. Now, 51 percent of
films carry that rating. At the same time, however, films that are rated
G, PG, and even PG-13 are outperforming the movies for restricted
audiences.
"There was a study out from the
Los Angeles Times
that 74 percent of the young women [and 58 percent of the young boys]
don't want to see sex, violence, nudity, [or] profanity in films," Baehr
cites. Since "consumers don't want to see R-rated films," he wonders
who filmmakers are making them for.
He is quick to point out that Hollywood is a big place with many
different people, and several of the major studios are putting out films
like
Courageous and
The Chronicles of Narnia, the
series made by Fox-owned Walden Media. Most of the R-rated films come
from independent operations and filmmakers who think they have to make
something gruesome to break into the industry.
"The church has to show up and show off," the critic contends. "If the
filmmakers are the ones coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, we're
going to continue to slide into the abyss. If the filmmakers are people
of faith and values, we're going to do better."
On that
note, as Hollywood continues to make more faith-based movies, a veteran
actor says the public must do its part by supporting such films at the
box office. (
Listen to audio report)
Actor Kevin Sorbo is best known for starring in the
Hercules TV series, but he also played a role in the recent hit movie
Soul Surfer.
With Hollywood studios opening faith-based divisions, he tells
OneNewsNow the film industry is no longer ignoring the faith community.
However, fans frequently ask him why there are not more family-friendly
movies.
"Well, the reality is if people would support the movies that come out like
Soul Surfer and the movie called
What If
that's on DVD now that deals with these same things and it's a great
story, Hollywood will make more. But the people just have to get out and
do it," he says. "They all complain about it, but they've got to
support these movies. If they support them, Hollywood will make them --
trust me."
And Sorbo shares that he enjoys starring in family and faith-based films.
"Lately it's ...
Soul Surfer and …
What If, and I just finished a move called
Abel's Field. I've got another one coming out called
Grace Unplugged,"
he lists. "Those are certainly family movies, and I think having three
small children myself has certainly changed the way I want to represent
myself."
The 53-year-old actor recalls rejecting a role in a horror film because it did not fit his value system.
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