The Value of Film Auteurs
About ten years ago, the studios seemed firmly in control of the film industry. They had noticed the runaway success of superhero films, and suddenly film release schedules were filled with more and more films starring comic book characters.
A large section of the filmgoing public ate them up, but as they aged, the demographic of comic book readers and admirers became pickier about the characters they would pay to see.
The DC and Marvel universes were created out of this turmoil, and they continue to wage battle with each other at the box office. As the budgets for these films become larger and the production values, special effects and star talent become more of a factor in the marketing of these types of movies, the media focuses on these films.
But the studios are smart enough to keep spots in their schedule open for the auteurs.
Giving People What They Want
The main role of a film studio is to provide a variety of productions that cater to a large part of the movie-going public. But nobody knows with any certainty which films will be hits and which will be flops.
Film Auteurs are well-respected filmmakers in the industry. They include Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, and many others. They each have a recognizable style. They take complete control over their pictures to make them their way.
You may think this goes against the studio’s role of guiding the movies under their name. But studios are willing to bend to accommodate popular auteurs because they create films on a wide variety of subjects. They supply the balanced slate of pictures for a studio that only really knows how to make superhero films or rom-coms. They also may be the studio’s best chance at an Academy Award when Oscar time rolls around each year.
