Anything Goes : Comedy Features by Bob Kiely

I haven't really noticed, although I'm not really a fan of comedies. I can think of 2 explanations. Film genres come & go. For example, during the summer - especially around the 4th of July, studios put out "blockbusters", "tentpoles" - or what ever they're currently being called. This is the "franchise" films, the "prequels" & the "sequels". In the Fall, we see the "Rom./Com.s", the "feel good", "coming of age" or "romance" films. This is also when the comedies come about. The 2nd explanation is that studios will put out what ever is selling at that current time. They're following trends set by other studios to capitalize on the going genre. I think often times, studios/production companies are hesitant to take the risk of being the 1st to introduce a new genre. If a genre - or actor - isn't selling tickets, the studios/production companies will stop making that genre or using that actor.

Definitely fewer comedies, and when they are out there, they tend to be raunchy....very disappointing when the fam wants to see a movie, and our only choices for family friendly are animated/CG...although those are fun, too.

Interesting comments Marcello and Melody.

Dunno. A remake of Vacation being released, without Chevy Chase, so its got to be good.

Yes, overall, comedies are harder to get made these days. One major reason is that the foreign box office is almost 70% of the worldwide box office. Globalization affects Hollywood too! US comedy doesn't always translate well overseas because comedy can be cultural. Whereas, TRANSFORMERS plays huge overseas. That's why you're seeing a trend toward big movies that play well worldwide (not just domestically), and the mid-budget movies are having a much harder time getting greenlighted.

See no one wants us to laugh. Appears its all about what lays beyond the galaxy and paralelle worlds vying for a bite of us. I'm not laughing and I'm not going scifi

I think you make a good point Regina. I'm thinking also of Chris Rock's recent decision not to book any more college events as the PC audience takes offense of his style of biting humor. Maybe the studios are afraid of putting out a funny film amidst a sensitive PC culture. Would Tootsie be green lit today, and if so, would audiences find it funny? Anyway, I make up for it by looking at the buffoons in Congress as the mumble and bungle along.

You want comedy? Watch the Republican Primary this thursday at 7pm. There won't be a dry seat in your house.

...... that the foreign box office is almost 70% of the worldwide box office. If we were smart, we'd be producing more original content/programs for the Spanish speaking/Latin American countries.

Hey JD, in the mid-2000s, Spanish-speaking was the big emphasis for US studios. In 2015, it's making movies that play well in Asia.

That segment or demographic didn't go away, stupid to have re-focused elsewhere when you've already gotten a market figured out.

Good point JD. Robert Rodriquez jumped at the opportunity of hitting this growing market with his cable channel "El Rey." And Univision is now has a the largest viewership of any network in America. Arriba!

So I don't look like a nitwit, the OP states "Comedy Features," not comedy series. I wasn't covering both in my answer.

I'll take that prize. I've followed this thread from the start, but got derailed. Yes, comedy feature films, not an episodic series or other type of program.

Hey JD, sorry I didn't mean it like that. You took the conversation to a place that Bob, the OP, really appreciated. I only wanted to explain why I answered narrowly.

Yes Regina, On TV comedy is abundant in its presence; I was referring to big scene comedy features. NP:)

No, no, no, no, Regina Lee. You are not taking the prize from me.

Haha, you win, JD!

Hey, Regina...isn't it enough to have a comedic hit in the US? Do movie-makers really care so much about the international market dollar now?

Hi Sarah, are you familiar with the Economics term "opportunity costs"? A studio only makes x number of movies per year. If a studio chooses to use up one slot on a domestic play, there is an opportunity cost. If the studio greenlights movies with only domestic value, they are leaving money on the table. Why would they choose to bring in only domestic revenue and strategically forgo foreign revenue? There's an exception to every rule, of course. Notice how Netflix is framing their strategy around "international" bankability. http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/ted-sarandos-defends-adam-sandler-n...

In regards to Chinese sales, would physical comedy be better than verbal? Like sarcasm doesn't work over there and a lot of comedies have that.

Regina, you make good points. However, I also think there are fewer feature comedies because many writers are depressives and because young male screenwriters tend to focus on horror. My 2 cents.

Appreciate the great comments. Re the international cultural differences, I think of some of the foreign comedy classics like Big Deal On Madonna St and La Cage Aux Folles, that translated very well internationally and think one of the reasons was that they were great scripts that relied more on action vs. dialogue to advance the action and pace. Too many comedy scripts are dialogue heavy -- comedy features are difficult.

As usual, Regina is correct.

Too kind, Shaun. I think you have quite a reputation of being on the money too! :-)