For Art or Money?

When it comes to movies I have always been perplexed by how this industry operates. On the one hand it seems like it’s all about making money, but on the other hand it seems like it’s all about artistic expression.

From an economic standpoint, I don’t understand why the movie makers are so resistant to edited versions of their films. Companies like Clean Flicks, that would buy the original versions of movies and edit out the offensive content, were shut down for successfully filling a niche in the market that wasn’t being filled. There is clearly a market for edited versions, so why aren’t the production companies releasing edited versions on their own? They will release “un-cut” versions with extra content, so why not work in reverse? And how does buying a movie at full price and taking out what you don’t want differ from buying a Vera Wang wedding dress and having it altered to suit your taste? “I love this dress, if only I could shorten it and take off some of these beads…”

One argument is that it would be confusing for consumers. We manage to choose between widescreen or full screen DVD options, and I bet we could manage a choice between the PG-13 (or even PG) and R version of a film. This would only increase the size of their market- R fans could still buy R, and those who would have passed on the movie will now buy the edited version. We see other industries do this: Gap has it’s more affordable version in Old Navy. Pace sells salsa in both hot and mild. A Honda Civic is made in different models: DX, LX, EX, and consumers pick the model that best suits their preferences.

CBS recently reported that PG movies with little to no cursing make a lot more money than those that have a higher level of cursing:

“The reality is that profanity, within PG, is the big demarcation between box office winner and box office loser,” research and marketing director Dan O’Toole said at ShoWest, a conference where studios unveil upcoming movie lineups.

“Parents are choosing PG films for their kids that have very, very low levels of profanity. We’re talking one-third the level of the average PG film,” he said.

In spite of this information, we see very few PG movies without some form of crass content. So if money isn’t the motivator, is movie making all about artistic expression? Although I enjoy movies like Oceans 11, 12, and 13, they were obviously made for profit more than anything else.