The current state and future of Hollywood, according to director John Landis? Not so great. IndieWire reports (via Deadline) that Landis had some choice about the “pathetic state” of the industry. In short, the “Animal House” and “Coming To America” director thinks Hollywood is “in chaos” thanks to the current WGA writers’ strike and the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on movie theaters. And he doesn’t think things will get better any time soon either.
READ MORE: WGA Goes On Strike: What It Means For Hollywood
Landis made his comments to Deadline at the Taormina Film Festival earlier this week. “Do you know it’s the first time in Hollywood history that the Directors Guild, the Writers Guild, and the IA are all united?” Landis said. “The film industry is in chaos, and I hope the audience comes back to theaters.” While the Writers Guilt continues its work strike due to negotiating fairer wages for its members, the Directors Guilt has a eal with the AMPTP to avoid a similar strike. But a Screen Actors Guilt strike isn’t out of the question and could happen imminently if new contract negotiations go poorly.
But Landis has another culprit for the current woes that ail the film industry: streaming platforms. “The sentiment really is the sorrow for the pathetic state the business is in. You know, between streaming and the pandemic, it was like a stake through the heart,” Landis continued. “It really hurts the business and continues to do so. And there’s the strike now. The streamers really are the bad guys.”
Is the rise of streaming really to blame for Hollywood’s current state? Here’s Landis’ take. “Motion pictures are meant to be seen in a large house, cinema, a big theater, on a big screen, with good sound and as many people as possible because it’s a communal experience,” the director continued. In his mind, streaming takes away crucial aspects of the film-watching experience, and the result? Less people are going to the theater.
Still, Landis recognizes that with the WGA strike “everything is in [a] sort of limbo,” with many projects on hold. That includes some of the filmmakers’ own stuff, which he’s “desperate to work” on, including two feature films and TV series in development. In the mean time? Landis has an upcoming Broadway show he’s working on. But with the writers’ strike still ongoing and a possible SAG strike on the horizon, who’s to say when Landis will ever get behind a camera again to direct?