Michael Eisner: $ Reason to Make Movies
on Sunday, February 26, 2017Michael Eisner Money Quote saying movie studios number one goal is always to make money, and may sometimes involve making a socially redeeming film that really says something in an artful way and therefore make history. Michael Eisner said:
“The pursuit of making money is the only reason to make movies. We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement” — Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner is stating that as a film studio executive, the primary and sole goal of making movies is to turn a profit. From a business perspective, studios have no inherent obligation to produce films that make an artistic or cultural impact, change history, or convey a message. Their main duty is to their shareholders and making money. However, Eisner acknowledges that in order to be financially successful, studios often do end up funding films that achieve these other goals like artistry, social influence or awards recognition – even if profit is the sole objective. So while profit is the main aim, creating quality films that resonate in other ways tends to also boost box office returns.
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“Our obligation is to make money, and to make money, it may be important to make history. To make money, it may be important to make art, or some significant statement. To make money, it may be important to win the Academy Award, for it might mean another ten million dollars at the box office” — Michael Eisner
In this quote, Michael Eisner is expanding on his previous statement about the primary goal of studios being to turn a profit. Here, he acknowledges that while the main obligation is to make money, studios can best achieve financial success by also producing films that achieve other goals like artistic merit, social impact, or critical acclaim. He’s saying it may be important for studios to “make history” through films that have a significant cultural or social influence.
They may need to “make art” through creatively compelling films. Or they may need to make films that convey a “significant statement” on important issues. According to Eisner, striving for these additional goals and recognition, like winning Academy Awards, can directly contribute to greater box office revenues of over $10 million. So while profit is the bottom line, holistically pursuing other goals through quality filmmaking tends to maximize financial returns.
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“Our only objective may be to make money, but in order to make money, we must always make entertaining movies. And if we make entertaining movies, at times we will make history, art, a statement, or all three. We may even win awards” — Michael Eisner
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In this quote, Michael Eisner is further expanding on his view of the studio’s objectives. While the sole goal is to generate profit, he acknowledges that to consistently achieve that, studios must focus on also making entertaining films. He’s saying that financially successful movies will entertain audiences. And when studios dedicate themselves to crafting engaging entertainment, those films will often rise above merely being commercial products – they can become historical, artistic, thought-provoking works or some combination of those.
According to Eisner, this approach of prioritizing entertainment value as much as profit will lead to movies that gain prestige and accolades like awards at times, in addition to financial returns. So profit is paramount but must be pursued through a commitment to quality filmmaking that engages audiences.