Proof That Genius is Hereditary...

THE JAY – 12:47 a.m.

I get what you're saying about everybody having a flop sooner or later. You're correct in that there is too much product to market these days. And that results in an abundance of mediocre entertainment, as opposed to a limited amount of higher quality entertainment. It's reminds me of the theory that the NBA would be better off if we contracted three or four of the consistently terrible franchises. Then you hold a supplemental draft and like that, each remaining franchise is one to two more stars deep. The result being a greater depth of talent on each team, and presumably, better basketball. Like the great Homer Simpson said... "This works in theory. Everything works in theory. Communism worked... in theory..." The problem is that there are too many good basketball players in the world. And contraction would mean not having enough space for our athletes to compete.

Similarly, there are too many filmmakers, writers and actors et al that are trying to carve a piece of the Hollywood pie. I don't want to take the chance that by limiting the market for entertainment, that we, the general public, are missing out on the occasional gem of a flick. It’s not about stopping going to the movies all together. It's about being more selective with how we spend our money. By refusing to go see the new Ashton Kutcher flick, causing it to bomb, sends the signal to the higher ups that he is not a bankable star, shouldn’t be given star vehicles and thus preventing further Ashton damage.

The inherent problem in that assumption is that by my knowing his name, I have already set his star in motion. Only stars can “open” movies. And when I say open, I mean worldwide. Hollywood blockbusters make more than half their box office overseas, so the point of the publicity machine is not in creating hit movies, but in creating international name recognition through its domestically bred stars. This is the reason that Stallone was allowed to continue making sub par action movies well into the mid 90's. Though each one snagged progressively less coin at the box office, overseas the films were thriving. So if you ask yourself why certain stars continually show up to suck in blockbuster movies, well, there's your answer. Some scmhuck in Indonesia has a shrine to Brittany Murphy and will pay to see her movies over and over again. Damn Indonesians, with their bad tastes.

Let me bring this argument full circle, by responding to your disagreement with my Halle Berry commentary. Stars run the system. It is their choices that bankroll films. It is their choices that affect other films that will go into production. A star can make a filmmaker’s career, or derail it before it even begins.

I think we can both agree that our stars aren't smart enough to choose the right scripts, but I'm beginning to think we're looking at this from the wrong angle. Maybe it's not that they picking the bad scripts by accident, but that they are doing it on purpose. I thought it might be interesting to bring in an outside opinion. So, to prove that genius does run in the family, check out what my big bro had to say about the star system. MH1, take it away...

"Obviously, [these] actors have no idea what their script choices are doing to Hollywood. It seems like its one brainless Ashton movie followed by another, or maybe if we're lucky it'll be another Cinderella flick starring Hillary duff, or that new red head (Lindsay Lohan), or another pre teen soon to be has been or was who. My feeling is that Hollywood is an endless repetition of chances. These actors are not built to fend for themselves. If they had the creativity, they would be doing autobiographies instead of fiction. Anyone who spends there life imitating true and false stories not there own is living without inspiration.

What we see in the trends of Hollywood is that a visionary will come along and put a new type of flick out there. If it catches on, ten rip offs will follow. If this year it’s epics, we'll see more Troys, Gladiators, and other such flicks. Maybe it will be the war stories... (i.e. anything recent from hanks), soon to be followed by a HBO miniseries. I find myself going a little out of order, but you get what I mean. The truly great ones put out their own ideas. Perhaps Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) or M. Night continue with the same actors and different plots with the same results, but it works for them. What I want to really get across is that if an actor or actress would use their heads and pick scripts that they'd like to be remembered for, we'd have more of the Godfather’s, Scarface’s, and Austin Powers flicks and less of the crap that sits on blockbusters' shelves night after night."

Well said, bro. In the end, for all you optimists out there, in Hollywood, eventually, the cream will rise to the top. There are smart actors out there. And that select group is making dynamic and risky films with their choices. I'm with MH1 all the way in hoping that more stars pick roles with their hearts and not with their wallets, but it seems as if we may have to purge ourselves of the current crop of up and coming "movie stars", and start over with a smarter group of characters actors that don't care about being the first to the cover of US Magazine. Instead they should strive to built an oeuvre of films that will be looked upon in the years to come not as an avenue to make oneself hurl, but to view and admire. Here's to hoping...

Bangarang, MH1!