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Michael Arrington at TechCrunch blew a load over a scene in “Funny People” where Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan ripped on Facebook. Surprisngly, Mashable showed some restraint and posted nothing. Which is weird, because they post everything to keep up their Google traffic.
So far, neither of them or folks like notorious name dropper Robert Scoble have said anything about Merly Streep’s Oscar nomination for “Julie & Julia”.
That’s interesting to me.
“Julie And Julia” is an awful movie based on a bland individual. Ok. Julia Powell isn’t that bland, she had an affair after she started to get book-famous. That has to count for something, but “Julie & Julia” is the first movie based on a blog, beating Tucker Max’s movie out of the gate by a month.
Funny enough, “Julie & Julia” got great review despite being a terrible film while “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” got terrible reviews despite being a great film. The lynching of Tucker Max was a bit unfair although not unexpected. Gawker and guys looking to impress their girlfriends turned bashing that film into a professional sport.
But why is it that a movie based on a blog, that now has an Oscar nomination, is being ignored by the tech and social media outlets?
Is it because we’re talking about Meryl Streep, an actor so good, she could hide in a closet for two-hours and still secure a nomination for her performance? Maybe.
I can see people arguing that what the film is based on is irrelevant because her performance is what received the nomination.With two exceptions, every award nomination for the film has been for Meryly Streep’s performance.
I’m not convinced though. This is Hollywood. Heath Ledger got an Oscar for being in a movie based on a comic book, actors are going to look for roles in those kinds of films. One can assume, if Meryl Streep wins, that would be the case for movies based on blogs.
Why?
When a property gets an Oscar nomination it serves as a trigger for studios. When the first comic book movie became a hit (X-Men), the flood gates opened for comic adaptations. And since Tucker Max’s movie was done outside the Hollywood system, the only blog to movie that these folks are really aware of is “Julie & Julia”, which secured an Oscar nomination.
That would mean the studios would be on the look-out for other interesting blogs. I know one author of a popular blog to book, who was being courted by two television studios to adapt his blog into a TV show this Summer. So, the studios are looking.
Ditto with ShitMyDadSays, but unlike this blogger, the guy running ShitMyDadSays is actually an editor at Maxim. So, he’s part of the corporate machinery.
TechCrunch I could understand. They’re more worried about start-ups, hardware, and whatever their buddies are up to (it’s very much a club out there, no matter what anyone tells you). But I’m surprised by the wave of silence at Mashable and the other outlets. There’s a story here! But no one is saying anything.
Maybe its because the story goes against the narrative. For social media outlets, they want you to believe you don’t need the mainstream media to become famous or financially successful. Because if that’s the case, then social media is bullshit and who wants to put their advertisements next to that?
This is just speculation on my part. There are some smart, talented people at Mashable and Tech Crunch, and even that other one, but a story like this seems too important to ignore.
If it’s true movie and television studios are starting to mine blogs then an Oscar nomination and the continuation or growth of this trend is important to document.
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