Hollywood blues: has tinseltown lost its sparkle?

Has the traditional film industry reached its nadir? Streaming giants such as Amazon and Netflix now seem to hold all the cards, economically and artistically. It appears increasingly evident that all that is propping the film industry up is the perennial cycle of blockbusters, franchises and reboots like Marvel, Bond, Jurassic Park and Top Gun.

But reports of the death of Hollywood have been greatly exaggerated for decades, from the rise of television to video and streaming. Cinema audiences have largely recovered from the pandemic, while Disney, Warner Bros and Paramount have branched out into streaming. But perhaps the real problem is a decline of creativity, with more interest in diverse casting and identity politics than in having an original story, told well.

Is Hollywood at death’s door or will it find a new lease of life? If the days of the big studios are numbered, what will replace them? Are accusations that ‘woke’ politics is turning audiences off real or exaggerated?

Get your tickets to the 2022 Battle of Ideas festival here.