We can always count on people like Steven Soderbergh and Danny Boyle to give us honest insight on the current state of cinema. Recently, Boyle spoke on how filmmakers are straying away from adult themes and becoming more gentler when it comes to telling a story even with any sort of violence.
The director started off by praising the 70s as a great time for filmmaking and gave props to Nicolas Roeg, “Roeg made a series of films through that era that were just astonishing… adult films, with adult themes, adult violence, adult sexuality. We’ve lost that, or we’re in danger of losing it.”
He then adds, that it starts with a film like STAR WARS, “they are great movies, especially the first three,” but says that it leads to a “Pixarification of movies.” “Pixar makes great movies — don’t get me wrong, they are very sophisticated storytellers. But they are family friendly, and that’s the danger, if you put ‘Star Wars,’ Pixar, and these big action movies together. They have violence in them but not violence that hurts… it’s kind of spinning tops.” Boyle states that shows presently television are the ones who dare to be dangerous and it should be the other way around.
I think that foreign films are still holding strong with adult themes, rarely pulling punches for audiences. In the States, are studios and filmmakers afraid to push the limits in favor of making cash? Do any modern filmmakers push the boundaries and stray away from providing family friendly experiences?
Watch the interview below and give us your thoughts in the strikebacks.