I didn’t watch the Oscars tonight; I had too much work to catch up on. But I did hear some interesting things about Good Night, and Good Luck. I have been hearing bits and pieces about George Clooney movies and how he is doing a great job pushing out films on very low budgets, with some incredible talent in the film. But hearing the story sounding the making of Good Night, and Good Luck, I was surprised at how closely the movie business can resemble the online industry, or any industry for that matter.
George Clooney shopped the movie around to a few studios, but none of them wanted to take the risk. One studio actually offered, but it was with the requirement that Clooney take the lead role. It seems that they didn’t want to count on David Strathairn to fill the seats. If Clooney took the lead role, the film would surely make money. Clooney countered that he was not the right fit for the role. The studio passed. So Clooney took the risk himself. Not putting your own money into a movie is rule #1 in the film industry, but Clooney knew the film would be successful.
Obviously Clooney was correct. I’m certain that he is not surprised the film did well, although an Oscar nomination is something that no one can predict. Strathairn proved to be a perfect Murrow. What Clooney knows is that once you accept money from a studio, it always comes with strings attached.
When a company in our industry takes money, the need to generate revenue trumps the need to create a great product, or provide a great service. In the case of Good Night, and Good Luck, Clooney was told to compromise his vision for the film for the sake of the money. Clooney proved that if you believe in what you’re doing, stick to it and create a great product.
