The Art of Entertainment
When the weather reaches to a level where you can boil eggs on the sidewalk the first thought that would come to mind is to dive into a nice, cool pool. The second thought that would come to mind is to enter into a nice, cool theater, grab a bucket of popcorn and catch a film.
Theaters are full of people and the person sitting next to you may not be there for the same reason you are (unless you're in a big budget Hollywood film). There are mainly two types of film fans. One, the type who go for entertainment. And two, the type that go not only for entertainment, but for mind stimulation as well. Yet the idea of "thinking" at a movie can send people into hiding.
Films labeled 'big budget' mainly refer to the monetary amount made to create the film.Films such as Godzilla(1998), Batman (1989), and Jurassic Park(1993) all have brought in $100 million ($221m, $162m and $556m respectively). Hollywood big budget films are usually driven toward the young Gen x and under crowd. Particularly during the summer months when school is out.
Although the blockbuster has been apart of Hollywood history since the 70's no other film marked the turning point in the phenomenon as Stephen Spielberg's Jaws (1975). Jaws was not only the first film to earn more than $100 million dollars for its studio but also to prove that cunning marketing strategies can spell success. Although Jaws lacked the star power that drives moviegoers into films these days, it showed frightening special effects, which lasts to this day thanks to its self-titled star. The phenomenon didn't stop there. With the arrival of Star Wars (1977), Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), Spielberg's close friend George Lucas single-handedly changed the face of the blockbuster name. His science fantasy trilogy brought older people and their children into another world which still remains alive in the moviegoers’ mind today as the new installments are made. Also during this time, Spielberg and Lucas teamed together to make another classic trilogy based on a young archeologist/adventurer named Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). In the late nineties, action stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone was apart of the blockbuster phenomenon with films such as The Last Action Hero (1993), Terminator (1984) and Rambo (1982).
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