[ExI] We Need a Movie, People!! Dammit!

[Heartland]

Ben Goertzel:
> Unfortunately, I think the hardest part of getting a good H+ movie made
> would NOT be convincing a producer to take on a good H+ script (though that
> may be very hard), but rather keeping it from turning into something idiotic
> in the course of the movie-making process.

Right. Even if a script was good and you found someone to buy it, a studio would 
probably immediately ship it to its own writers to make it mainstream. By the 10th 
draft, your original H+ masterpiece full of great ideas might morph into a 
cliché-ridden B-movie designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator because, 
at the end of the day, people who fund these projects would care only about making 
money, not about promoting some philosophy people never heard about, so the 
producers would be reluctant to go for a story whose ideas/values might not reflect 
mainstream opinions, namely, a story that could only appeal to a very small 
audience.

The studios might take more risks taking on controversial projects such as this if 
making, marketing and distributing movies wasn't so insanely expensive. Until that 
changes (and digital revolution might change that a bit in few years) or until H+ 
ideas become mainstream, I'm afraid we're stuck with SL0 Sci-Fi.

Ben Goertzel:
> So if y'all are serious about this, the first step IMO would indeed by to
> find producers and/or directors who fundamentally "get it."  Without that,
> it's not worth bothering.

Yes, it would probably take someone with Steven Spielberg or James Cameron's clout 
to get something like that made right now but these giants would still have to have 
a "perfect" script ready before committing to the project. Unless you know people 
like that and are an established writer or are a brilliant *and* successful writer 
already, I agree, don't bother.

H.