Big wigs in entertainment, advertising and Internet technology gathered at Orbita US 2009, a digital media summit hosted by Terra in New York City this week. Those in attendance got the chance to hear Oliver Stone speak.
“I’ve heard the democratic argument [for the internet] and I’m not an elitist, but … a mashup is not a movie. It’s offensive,” said the director of Natural Born Killers, Wall Street, Platoon and many other notable films.
“Certainly at the beginning of this thing, the internet was an enemy. It was just a disaster for people like me who are classically trained in film school,” Stone said. “We’ve got 6 billion people showing off. I don’t understand. How do you judge? What is life for? Is there a hierarchy of quality or not? Or is it all the same?”
I salute Terra, an internet company with a massive Hispanic audience, for bringing a contrary view to the stage.
To Stone’s line of questioning, I’d say no it’s not all the same. There is craft here, just like in other media, but it’s a new game and for the best players “the craft” is fast developing.
my all time favorite quote about the internet was from of all people George A. Romero, the horror picture director. it was the late 90s. and he compared the internet to the $2 betting window at the race track. and he was right. the internet solved the “distribution” problem. but that’s all it solved. you still need the killer idea that wins against the odds.