GAMES OF THRONES SEQUEL???
Yep, that title was a cheap shot at getting your attention!
Game of Thrones (GOT) apparently had its final episode in May 2019. It might have even been the year before for all I know. At the time, I knew it was happening because it was what everyone was talking about. I had no idea of the plot line but there was some intrigue as to who would take over as King? Ruler? There were rumours, or rather hopes that there would be spin-offs to take up the various sub-plots and story twists.
The interwebs tell me that Game of Thrones first screened in 2011 and is based on a book by George R.R. Martin. (Check out the double initials? Is he channeling Tolkien or what?). An image search shows me that there were dragons and some odd alien-looking humanoids. The garb of choice was grey leather with a bit of fur and chain mail thrown in. Overall the mood was very, very grey and serious looking. There is apparently no ethnic diversity in wherever it is they live. The only coloured bits appear to be blood. It looks damn cold!
Bleak is the first impression I get.
I haven’t watched GOT.
Not. one. single. episode.
Not even part of one.
I know the name of one character- John Snow and I’m not even sure if that is right.
I don’t plan on watching it.
I am not suffering from FOMO. Not in this case. I am sure it’s a grand story. It must be. The worldwide attention and the continual references and media interest proved that.
The main reason I’m not planning on watching it is the required investment in time. I’d have to put in some serious hours to catch up with 8 seasons. (There are 73 episodes in total)
I’m more interested in understanding why this show was so popular? Why does something become a smash hit and something else not? Is it as simple as the successful ones are just better? Better acting? Better production? Or is it simply better promotion?
According to a study published by the University of Technology – Sydney, there are three key elements that must be in play for a financially successful movie. I am not sure if this translates to TV series.
These elements are
- Star power – there must be a star(s) who attracts the initial attention
- Reviews – organic, spontaneous reviews are important but professional reviewers still have enormous sway
- Distribution – the more screens a movie opens on the more money it will make.
These factors determine what movies will make money, but does this correlate to a good movie? Lots of “good” movies, those that are subsequently held up as classics, flopped at the box office.
Star power is what brings people to the cinema in the first place, although it is only important when the movie is first released. After that, the reviews take over. A big star cannot make up for a crummy movie. Finally getting your movie in front of people is very important.This process is controlled by film distributors and is big business.
In the beginning, the only way you could watch a movie was in a theatre on a big screen. Next, we had the technology to watch movies in our homes on videotapes but only after the theatrical release period was over. The length of time between theatre release and video release has become shorter and shorter. If your not quick you miss seeing a movie on the big screen altogether. Now, with video-on-demand services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime the theatrical release may be completely bypassed. These streaming giants are creating more or more content of their own specifically for the small screen.
While the number of people attending theatres is declining in places like America and Australia it is booming in China, South Korea and some Latin-American countries.
One thing for sure 2020 is certainly NOT the year to be releasing a big-budget movie. Cinemas are closed due to the requirements of social distancing and quarantine. Netflix and the others must be raking in the cash as people sign-up for their 14 or more days of binge-watching lock-down.
I saw a meme on Facebook the other day that said something along the lines of Shakespeare writing one of his famous plays while in isolation due to the plague and Newton coming up with one of his grand theories due to another epidemic. Are we Coronial-isolates going to come up with any new masterpieces? Should we aim to create a better, less wasteful world?
Let’s hope our legacy of this time isn’t just trawling the entire back catalogue of the X-files!
Some sources used in putting together this post:
https://phys.org/news/2017-11-explores-movie-successful.html
https://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/when-is-a-film-a-success-afe
http://mentalfloss.com/article/581606/highest-grossing-movies-all-time-worldwide
