How Does Hollywood Lose Spielberg?

[Garritan]

Steven Spielberg recently announced a partnership with an entertainment conglomerate in India, a move that would give the famous director the creative freedom (and necessary cash) to entice DreamWorks team away from Paramount Pictures later this year. It seems that Hollywood could not entice Spielberg to stay

According to the New York Times: (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/business/media/27scene.html?ex=1375416000&en=627ab7c1a820acab&ei=5124)
Late last month, DreamWorks, the boutique movie studio that Mr. Spielberg co-founded in 1994, let it be known that it had found a way to exit its unhappy three-year marriage with Paramount Pictures. Reliance ADA Group, a Mumbai conglomerate, was nearing a deal to give the dream workers $550 million to form a new movie company.

But there was still an element of shock: Hollywood could not come up with a rich enough deal for Mr. Spielberg, the most bankable director in the business and a “national treasure”? ...

For that matter, there wasn’t anybody on Wall Street willing to write a blank check for the guy with “Jaws” and “Jurassic Park” on his résumé?

Hollywood’s seeming inability to close a deal with Mr. Spielberg highlights the shift toward a more corporate, buttoned-down movie business. Just a few years ago, bragging rights often drove business decisions. Steven Spielberg is available? Back up the money truck. We want that jewel in our crown no matter what the cost. And studio bosses could justify such ego-driven loss leaders: In the entertainment business, talent draws talent.

Perhaps this is just further indicia of globalization- like Sony's $4.8 billion takeover of MGM a few years ago.

Will we see Jurassic dinosaurs doing epic song-and-dance routines? Will there be 24/7 live scripted support now?

But more germane to us, what does this trend mean to the Hollywood composer? Will we see those jobs outsourced?

[buckshead]

Some European engineering companies now outsource their design and draughting to India over the internet. They seem to work for peanuts out there, I find it hard to see how but thats what is happening. There is so much red tape and "social " cost over here- weeks off for this, weeks off for that, we can never be competitve with people who just get on with it.

Mind you, outsourced music may not have a very Hollywood feel to it, gaboing!

[reberclark]

I suppose "Hollywood" loses good people the way any "institution" loses good people - through crass negligence of fundamentals.

[DarwinKopp]

Facing budget constraints, Hollywood has decided to emulate an episode of The Simpsons and hire his non-union, Mexican equivalent, Señor Spielbergo. :D

[schneb]

If you have watched Bollywood-made movies over Hollywood-made movies, you will see a few glaring differences...

Bollywood - Focus on character development and story
Hollywood - Focus on special effects, , and language

Bollywood - Non-union work force needing the work
Hollywood - Production slowing Union with a myriad of rules and regs.

Bollywood - A real passion for the moviemaking process - Its fun and exciting!
Hollywood - A way to make lots and lots of money--cold and corporate.

It reminds me of Steve McQueen who said to the director of On Any Sunday, Bruce Brown that he had more fun doing that small documentary (that Steve bankrolled) than the hellish, corporate run, high budget movie he was currently working on (Le Mans).

If you have all the money you could ever want or need, your focus changes from "making more" to "having fun making more". Spielberg wants to have fun again, and nothing Hollywood could offer could bypass Unions or the corporate attitude. That is why he likes working with Tom Hanks. It's not about furthering your career or celebrity status, it's about having a blast making a movie you have always wanted to bring to the screen. So I do not blame him what-so-ever. Hollywood asked for it, and it was only a matter of time. Why do you think Lucas built LucasFilm in Central California rather than Southern? Why do you think Star Wars has gone from live action to animated (http://www.starwars.com/clonewars/site/index.html)?

I doubt this will trickle down to the soundtrack end, however. Mostly because Spielberg is not as involved with that process, which usually takes place during remote filming. However, if the musicians union proves to slow production and run more interference than help... I would not blame Spielberg for turning to Israel to accomplish this end as well. Unions strangle competition. You may have four or five different production houses, but they are all puppet-run by a single Union. The only way to bypass them is to go outside the United States.

This does not bode well for Hollywood. He is more than a "National Treasure", he is a "Road Paver" for others to follow once he proves that such a move is beneficial for umpteen reasons.