Is Hollywood experiencing a creativity crisis?

Issa Rae and Denis Villeneuve spoke this week time About the extent of the creative crisis in Hollywood. Ray – who appeared on the cover of the magazine this month to promote her latest film, American fantasy – She talked about canceling her successful show Rap sh!t After two seasons produced by Warner Bros. After seeing how much Hollywood has He broke his promises To increase representation and diversity, Rae unapologetically notes that she has “never seen Hollywood so fearful, so ignorant, and at the mercy of Wall Street.” She also spoke about the mistreatment of black shows and creators Net Porter Last month, he said: “You’re seeing a lot of Black shows getting cancelled, you’re seeing a lot of executives being cut, especially around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).” You see very clearly now that our stories are becoming less of a priority. It has made me take more steps to try to be independent in the future if I have to.

Director Denis Villeneuve shared the same sentiment in his interview with time I’m classy Sand Dunes: Part Two. “We are in a very conservative time; Creativity is restricted, he said. “It’s all about Wall Street. What will save cinema is freedom and risk. And you feel that the audience is excited when they see something they haven’t seen before.”

Villeneuve previously spoke about the crisis of cinema and creativity in 2020, in an article he wrote diverse. This message was prompted by Warner Bros.’ decision to release its entire 2021 film slate (which included… Sand dunes) in theaters and on HBO Max. “There is no love for cinema or for the audience here at all,” Villeneuve wrote. diverse. “It’s all about the survival of the telecom giant, which currently carries an astronomical debt of more than $150 billion. So, despite Sand dunes “It’s about cinema and audiences, and AT&T is about staying on Wall Street.”

It may be strange to hear Ray and Villeneuve lamenting the creative crisis in Hollywood when we were all just declaring that cinema and creativity were back, after the cultural phenomenon that had been Barbenheimer. But even Barbie He was A glorious advertisement for Mattelhighlighting the restrictions imposed on art by capitalists.

This is what worries Villeneuve most. While everyone is concerned about artificial intelligence, he is even more concerned about “the fact that we are acting like algorithms, as filmmakers.” In her interview with time, opinion He similarly commented on how filmmakers and writers succumb to the algorithms of different streaming services. “When you have all the streaming services competing with each other, it means they’re also conveying their goals in terms of what success looks like and what their brand is. It’s all mush,” she said. “I know my brand identity and what I want to make. But if that doesn’t align with who’s paying me to make things, then it’s complicated. “We are flexible, but only to an extent.”

And since Mattel plans to develop 45 more commercials, I mean movies, creatives like Rae plan to become more independent to distance themselves from the Hollywood vision of the business. It is easy to view Ray and Villeneuve’s comments with pessimism, but they may actually be a call to action. Now more than ever, we must support independent projects that empower marginalized people denied opportunities in Hollywood who truly want to create bold, creative art.