In a revealing interview, director James Gray discusses the pressing challenges facing Hollywood today, particularly the impact of superhero films on the industry’s diversity and cultural relevance.
Director James Gray on Hollywood’s Superhero Issues
As Hollywood observes, superhero movies at the box office are struggling to achieve their previous success. I wanted to revisit an older interview that I believe encapsulates our current situation.
Director James Gray, known for films like Ad Astra, Two Lovers, and We Own the Night, provided an insightful interview around the release of his film Armageddon Time regarding the state of Hollywood.
He delivered a stark diagnosis of the film industry, arguing that for cinema to survive and thrive, major studios must do something that would make any MBA graduate shudder: they must be willing to lose money.
Let’s dive in.
Critical Mistakes in Hollywood
I found this conversation on YouTube, and I wanted to share it in full here.
At the beginning, Gray asserts that Hollywood has made a “critical mistake” by reducing filmmaking to a mere balance sheet equation. “This film did not make a ton of money, so we don’t make that film,” he explained. “This film will make a ton of money, so we make that one.” While this seems like common sense, Gray argues that this singular focus is precisely what’s undermining the art form’s relevance.
It’s separating art from commerce in favor of just commerce, resulting in soulless movies and TV shows.
The focus on superheroes or tentpole films above all else leads to a monoculture, erasing the diversity of the theatrical slate.
“When you make movies that only generate significant profit and they are only one type of movie,” Gray warned, “you begin to alienate a large segment of the population from the habit of going to the movies.”
The outcome? The cultural significance of cinema itself begins to diminish.
Forgettable Films
This is not an attack on any specific genre. Gray has no issue with comic book films, citing Tim Burton’s Batman Returns and the works of Christopher Nolan and Matt Reeves as examples of “excellent” films within the genre.
The problem lies not in their existence but in their near-total dominance of the theatrical landscape.
This has forced “a smaller and smaller segment of the population” to be the only audience that matters.
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When we aim to attract people to the movies and fail to cater to the films they desire, we risk losing them forever.
Gray also asserts that these formulaic movies lack lasting cultural impact. This decline in cultural engagement has tangible effects.
We observe that fewer people watch the Academy Awards and wonder why — well, it’s because audiences are not being catered to, and we are not producing films that engage a broader audience spectrum.
How Do We Fix This? Lose Money.
So, what is the solution? For Gray, it’s an investment in art.
He argues that studios need to revive their specialty divisions—the branches of major studios that once championed challenging, adult-oriented, and artist-driven films.
These are not movies that need to generate a billion dollars to be deemed profitable. They are crucial investments in audience development.
“The studios should be willing to lose money for a few years on art film divisions,” Gray stated emphatically. “In the end, they will be happier because it will pay off.”
It is, as he calls it, a “big brain vision.”
By taking a calculated, short-term loss on art films, studios are not just creating art; they are rebuilding habits, broadening their customer base, and investing in their long-term relevance and profitability.
The question remains whether they possess the vision to recognize it.
