The day after Meryl Streep, the dazzlingly talented actress, delivered her powerfully phrased and urgent speech at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, it seemed as if no one in Hollywood could talk about anything else.
Most of the idle lunchtime chit-chat in restaurants and taco joints across town was centred around two themes: one, should celebrities make overt political remarks or take clear-cut partisan stances; and two, if they do, will it cost them any money?
That second part, as if you didn’t know, is considered a lot more crucial around here. Entertainment industry personnel tend, on the whole, to be a bit more loose and progressive in their politics than the rest of the country – there’s something about being paid vast sums of money to, essentially, play Let’s Pretend that turns one’s politics distinctly leftward – but when it gets serious, the only thing we really care about in Hollywood is money. If an outspoken actor or actress continues to rake it in at the box office or in the television ratings, no one bats an eyelid. But when the political or social positions he or she takes start to turn off a portion of the audience, people in Hollywood get nervous.
Meryl Streep, of course, doesn’t have to worry about that angle. She’s the most celebrated and successful movie actress alive, and she has a shelf-full of awards and statuettes to prove it.
Audiences love her and her many accents and characters, and it’s unlikely that her speech at the Golden Globes – where she won yet another award – will have any effect on her popularity. She’s a 67-year-old movie star, which in a youth-obsessed industry is so improbable that it’s fair to say she’s unsinkable. She could probably come out in favour of bringing back the international slave trade and still be a beloved cinema icon.
Nevertheless, her speech and its possible financial after-effects were all anyone was talking about the day after the Golden Globes, which just goes to prove that people in Hollywood have a hard time focusing on what’s really important.
The big news to come out of the Golden Globes was that La La Land, a movie about Hollywood and stardom and the innerworkings of the entertainment industry, won in seven categories, and came away with more trophies than any other picture, ever. That alone isn't so earth-shattering. Movies about Hollywood generally do very well in Hollywood awards shows. People in the entertainment industry are obsessed with themselves, and never miss an opportunity to reward someone for making a movie about them. This isn't terribly odd. I'm sure if a bunch of accountants made a movie about accountants, another group of accountants would give them an award for Best Picture. People like to see themselves on screen.
La La Land, though, is also a major financial hit. For a small movie shot on a limited budget – and with a limited release into the cinemas it has returned a substantial amount of money. Its box office winnings are almost US$87 million, and with the extra publicity lift of the cascade of Golden Globe awards, and the very real likelihood that it will also win big next month at the Oscars, the movie should rake in US$100 million (Dh236m) in no time at all.
Movies about the entertainment business have been a staple ever since the days of the silents. When sound entered the picture, with its promise of musical numbers and snappy tap dancing, movies about show people putting on shows became unavoidable. The first sound movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture was The Broadway Melody – a 1929 snapshot of the life of chorus girls working on Broadway. It was successful enough to lead to a string of Broadway Melody movies, as well as pretty much every Fred Astaire picture ever made. In fact, if you watch the 1929 version of The Broadway Melody and the 2016's La La Land back to back, you'll be tempted to conclude that Hollywood hasn't had a new idea for 87 years.
It hasn't, of course, but then why bother? If you hit on a winning formula, the smart move is not to tinker with it. La La Land is a critically acclaimed box office hit, and those two things don't usually go together. Hollywood executives and decision-makers, though, keep forgetting how popular this particular genre is. There hasn't been a movie like La La Land in a long time.
Along with hashing over the financial risks associated with Meryl Streep-esque political speechifying, you’d think we’d be noticing that movies about show business have been making money since 1929.
That year, as you’ll remember, ushered in some very tough economic times. But as the world sank into a deep economic depression, Hollywood kept turning big profits.
When times get tough, people like to watch song and dance movies about dreamers and strivers in the entertainment business. As long as it keeps making movies about itself, Hollywood will keep making money. And winning awards. From itself.
Rob Long is a writer and producer in Hollywood
On Twitter: @rcbl
