Movies

Peter Suderman | 5.3.2024 11:01 AM

Most Hollywood screenplays tell the story of someone who has an ordinary, stable life, and then—and then!—something happens. A bus blows up. A single woman meets a cute stranger. A bus blows up, and then, on another bus that is also rigged with a bomb, a single woman meets a cute stranger. You get the idea.

The story is about what transpires after the something upends the calm and steady predictability of ordinary life. That something demonstrates how the hero or heroes deal with adversity. It's a test of character that shows you who they really are.

In March of 2020, something happened to Hollywood. That something was the pandemic, which shuttered theaters across the world and shut down production for months after, and then added costs and complications for years. Then in 2023, something else happened—call it a second act twist—when Hollywood writers and actors went on strike, once again stopping most production for months.

Just as the screenplay gurus would tell you, this is a test of Hollywood's character.

For the first time in years, fewer shows are being made and fewer films are being shown........

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