February 27, 2012

BP Unfiltered

The Artist is Moneymovie

by Max Marchi

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Thomas Langmann, producer of the movie The Artist, was heard speaking the following words before Academy Awards night.

“My sh*t does'n work the night of the Academy Awards. My job is to get us a nomination. What happens after that is f***ing luck.”

Luck was on his side, as The Artist won the award for best picture. However, what The Artist had accomplished would have stood out no matter what the outcome of the night.

Think about it. A small market production (a budget of 15 million bucks) was able to compete against the big boys (Moneyball $50 million, War Horse $66 million, Hugo $170 million).

Not having the money to snatch superstars like Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, or Meryl Streep, Langmann started to look for market inefficiencies in the movie industry.

You know, there are thousands of popcorn eaters out there who get impressed by flashy special effects. They have developed their own lingo over the years, and you can hear them referring to Dolby 5.1 or 3-D.

But the fact is, color and sound are extremely overvalued by the Academy, as The Artist has demonstrated.

Small dogs, however, are significantly undervalued.