WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.180 The real reason why movies are so boring and lifeless now 00:00:02.181 --> 00:00:03.780 is way more depressing than you think. 00:00:03.781 --> 00:00:06.460 Movies used to have a whole vibe and quality to them 00:00:06.461 --> 00:00:08.180 That's all but disappeared. 00:00:08.181 --> 00:00:09.820 Movies prior to say, uh, uh, 00:00:09.821 --> 00:00:13.940 2015 or so just felt more real and lived in. 00:00:13.941 --> 00:00:17.020 And modern mainstream movies tend to have this lifeless, 00:00:17.021 --> 00:00:18.580 artificial feeling. But why? 00:00:18.581 --> 00:00:22.260 One of the main reasons is because of one cost saving measure 00:00:22.261 --> 00:00:24.860 that all movie studios started doing in the late 2010, 00:00:24.861 --> 00:00:28.460 and it's that they removed day players and bit parts from movies 00:00:28.461 --> 00:00:29.700 almost completely. 00:00:29.701 --> 00:00:32.980 One of the big ways that movies were able to feel like they had living, 00:00:32.981 --> 00:00:36.900 breathing worlds with texture was with these small walk on roles 00:00:36.901 --> 00:00:38.700 where a character would have one or two scenes 00:00:38.701 --> 00:00:42.060 or even lines with the main character that was compelling in some way. 00:00:42.061 --> 00:00:42.460 Like 00:00:42.461 --> 00:00:46.460 the swordsman who challenges Indiana Jones to a duel in Raiders of the Lost Ark, 00:00:46.461 --> 00:00:47.780 but then Indy just shoots him. 00:00:47.781 --> 00:00:49.860 It provides comedic relief, 00:00:49.861 --> 00:00:54.020 it breaks up the action, and it informs a lot about Indiana Jones's character. 00:00:54.021 --> 00:00:55.460 Or what about Groundhog Day? 00:00:55.461 --> 00:00:58.780 That movie is made up almost entirely of day players. 00:00:58.781 --> 00:01:02.340 And there are literally dozens of scenes of Bill Murray having a brief 00:01:02.341 --> 00:01:05.880 and hilarious interaction with a series of bit characters. 00:01:05.881 --> 00:01:08.140 There's chris farley's bouncer character from wayne's world, 00:01:08.141 --> 00:01:11.300 or the gas station owner that anton sigur does the coin flip game with. 00:01:11.301 --> 00:01:13.020 Or one of my personal Favourites 00:01:13.021 --> 00:01:15.900 vincent d'onofrio's mechanic character from adventures in babysitting. 00:01:15.901 --> 00:01:17.700 But here's what happened. So 00:01:17.701 --> 00:01:20.780 there's actually a huge difference between a speaking role 00:01:20.781 --> 00:01:23.000 and a non speaking role in a film. 00:01:23.001 --> 00:01:27.100 SAG AFTRA classifies any character that's being directed to say lines in a movie 00:01:27.101 --> 00:01:29.760 as a principal actor or a co star. 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:33.300 And with that, they have to be paid a principal actor minimum wage 00:01:33.301 --> 00:01:36.360 and are also possibly entitled to health insurance, 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.420 a dedicated makeup artist, etcetera. 00:01:38.421 --> 00:01:41.380 Movie studios used to be more than willing to pay principal wages 00:01:41.381 --> 00:01:43.260 for day players. But in the late 2010s, 00:01:43.261 --> 00:01:46.160 with the rise of streaming and particularly in the 2020s, 00:01:46.220 --> 00:01:48.860 shrinking margins and an increased desire for profit 00:01:48.861 --> 00:01:52.040 have basically killed the day player entirely. 00:01:52.240 --> 00:01:56.100 They just don't put fun, interesting bit parts in movies anymore. 00:01:56.101 --> 00:01:56.660 For example, 00:01:56.661 --> 00:02:00.860 Grey's Anatomy actress Jordana Oberman said in an interview that after 2020, 00:02:00.861 --> 00:02:04.320 the show started drastically decreasing its number of day players 00:02:04.380 --> 00:02:07.540 and started shifting towards stories focusing on the main cast 00:02:07.541 --> 00:02:09.000 rather than the hospital patients. 00:02:09.001 --> 00:02:11.980 And in my personal experience as a working screenwriter in the late 2010s, 00:02:11.981 --> 00:02:13.700 I had several writing projects where 00:02:13.701 --> 00:02:14.500 the production company 00:02:14.501 --> 00:02:19.060 explicitly gave instructions to only write four to five principal actors 00:02:19.061 --> 00:02:20.860 and no additional speaking roles. 00:02:20.861 --> 00:02:25.260 And does that sound like enough characters to make an interesting movie to you? 00:02:25.261 --> 00:02:27.220 This is LED to a lot of mainstream movies and TV 00:02:27.221 --> 00:02:28.660 Shows just having this empty, 00:02:28.661 --> 00:02:30.220 lifeless feel. Like, 00:02:30.221 --> 00:02:32.660 notice how in the First season of Stranger Things, 00:02:32.661 --> 00:02:34.620 there were a lot of these cool side characters 00:02:34.621 --> 00:02:36.700 that would just pop up for a scene or two. 00:02:36.701 --> 00:02:41.360 And they gave this authentic feeling that you were actually in the 1980s. 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:43.500 As opposed to season 5 of stranger things, 00:02:43.501 --> 00:02:47.540 where it just feels like the main characters are in a void of nothingness 00:02:47.541 --> 00:02:49.960 and all the other characters are just kind of like 00:02:49.980 --> 00:02:52.020 silent drones in the background. 00:02:52.021 --> 00:02:55.980 And it's because movie studios just simply don't wanna pay for additional actors 00:02:55.981 --> 00:02:58.161 to help sell the authenticity of the world.