The Golden Age of Hollywood

[SteveS]

After finishing streaming the series of "The Offer" about the making of the movie "The Godfather" (released 1972) it occured to me that the Decade of the 70's which ushered in the beginning of "Blockbusters" (unusal high grossing) Hollywood Movies-- could have been symbolized by the rare triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune in 1971. I have really never though too much about the possible reality of outer planet conjunctions beginning long term cycles but the "Godfather" was such a phenomenon movie for Hollywood---it made me think: What was/were the astrological timing aspects for the Golden Age of Hollywood---the decade of the 70s? Jupiter-Neptune would be par-excellent symbolism for growth/expansion for the movie industry.

For anyone interested in a behind the scenes at Paramount Studios in the early 70s for the making/producing of "The Godfather", I would highly recommend the 10 episode series of "The Offer", streaming on Paramount +.

[Jim Eshelman]

The Offer was amazing! We think it's the best new TV show of the year.

[SteveS]

My wife and I totally agree with you Jim. It was perfectly cast!

[Jim Eshelman]

My wife and I totally agree with you Jim. It was perfectly cast!

Arkin has long been an outstanding director. He was perfect for this. Yes, the casting was spot on. But the whole package was there: An engaging story, actors who create vivid, distinctive characters and deliver on them, the pacing that comes from direction and editing. - And all the rest - set and setting, costume and makeup. The Evans Coppola characters wouldn't have been so persuasive if they weren't also (stylized) physical copies of the originals.

BTW (a digression), I had lunch yesterday with Jeff Cole, who heads the Cener for the Digital Future at Annenburg/USC. (A friend if mine went to high school with him and arranged the lunch.) https://www.digitalcenter.org/jeffrey-cole-director/
What an amazing guy, with piercing data-backed insights on such things as winners and losers in the entertainment field during the pandemic, where things are going next. He knows more or less everybody in entertainment and their ins and outs. He could talk for hours, and I could talk at least an hour or two about talking with him . [He came to mind right now because we briefly talked about The Offer.]

[SteveS]

Your so right Jim, The Offer was perfect in so many ways, in some respects---better than the Godfather movie.

Very Interesting about Mr Cole! As far as good streaming entertainment, at least for my generation, I see Paramount as leading the pack of studios, major competions for theater exbitors. Indeed, technology is changing the world at a rapid pace.

[Jim Eshelman]

Very Interesting about Mr Cole! As far as good streaming entertainment, at least for my generation, I see Paramount as leading the pack of studios, major competions for theater exbitors. Indeed, technology is changing the world at a rapid pace.

Paramount+ is also one of the last ones we'd get rid of. I told Jeff I was surprised at his bearishess on it - he outright says he's not sure it will survive. This springs most off of his view that a pivot issue will be how many streaming services people will generally accept and pay for. He estimates that people will generally accept paying for 2.5 streaming services (two or three; or two, plus a lightweight version). He doesn't count Prime in this because people generally don't subscribe to it for the streaming services (and regard those as freebies added on). Some of ius specific thoughts:

• HBOMax and Disney+ will be the big winners just because they can provide enormous original content of known quality.
• He agreed with me that Paramount+ has great content, but thinks Paramount just can't keep up. My argument of Star Trek franchise (that is developing high-quality stuff at a rapid pace), Colbert as an anchor (the way Maher and Oliver are elsewhere), and content like The Offer - he just doesn't think they can keep it up or match the Disney and HBO/Warner volume-quality mix long-term.
• Netflix was the clear winner of (what I jokingly call) the Pandemic Sweepstakes; but now Netflix has what is about to become overwhelming competition on streaming. Two years ago, standard Hollywood insight was that Netflix would give original content producers bigger budgets than any studios, but that's about to end (and Netflix is struggling with cashflow).
• Best option: Netflix is ripe for acquisition. Who will do it? Nobody knows, of course, but the one big money tech player who surely must dive into entertainment soon is Microsoft, so a Microsoft buy-out of Netflix makes enormous sense. Whether that leaves it what it is today, or a lighter version, or a tech-infused and cash-infused new player is unclear.
• Hulu has shifted to much with Disney mostly pulled out of the coalition that it will never be what it once was, but is a good streaming service for ABC if nothing else.
• Streaming necessarily accelerated during the pandemic and most players weren't ready for it. It probably saved them with theaters shut down, but several potential blockbusters failed. (Things like Wonder Woman, Black Widow, and Mulan compared to expectations. Top Gun benefitted by being held back.) The biggest shuffle has been in how long to hold streaming after a theatrical release. "Same day" flatly didn't work. The balance will probably work out to about a 45-day hold on streaming release after theatrical release.

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[Jim Eshelman]

...it occured to me that the Decade of the 70's which ushered in the beginning of "Blockbusters" (unusal high grossing) Hollywood Movies-- could have been symbolized by the rare triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune in 1971. I have really never though too much about the possible reality of outer planet conjunctions beginning long term cycles but the "Godfather" was such a phenomenon movie for Hollywood---it made me think: What was/were the astrological timing aspects for the Golden Age of Hollywood---the decade of the 70s? Jupiter-Neptune would be par-excellent symbolism for growth/expansion for the movie industry.

There are strongly supported theories (among people who don't know about Sidereal ingresses but, nonetheless, sharp people and sharp students of history) that more or less all of mundane astrology is in such planetary cycles. This is essentially the Barbault approach and he was extremely successful.

The idea is that all outer planet pairs have ongoing, overlapping cycles. For each pair, a cycle runs from conjunction to conjunction. Whatever manifests at about the time of the conjunction carries through a cycle of development with pivotal points at the other aspects, then with each new cycle taking over the same phenomena and driving them in a different direction.

I have a catalogue of the most recent outer planet conjunctions here:
https://www.solunars.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=3917

So, if the 1971 Jupiter-Neptune conjuncts in Scorpio set this trend in motion (and think about The Godfather - the only picture where it AND ITS SEQUAL won Best Picture awards back to back years - in terms of Scorpio symbolism) - if that was the impetus, then we'd expect a trackable 13-year cycle until the single conjunction in Sagittarius in 1984. Was this 13-year period a distinctive era? (I think it can be argued that it was.) Did its characteristics match Scorpio? I think that case could be made (Godfather, a trilogy with Wars in its name, sharks, hunky archaeologist adventurers, Puzo moving on to relaunch Superman, and the like).

The question would next become: What new cycle ran 1944 to 1997 that inherited and continued (or redirected) the pattern of the 1971-1984 cycle?

And then the new one began in 1997 with a Capricorn conjunction (they're walking through the signs as we'd expect), the 2009 cycle in Aquarius (but the last of three conjunctions at the end of Capricorn), and one starting in 2022 (again in Aquarius)?

[SteveS]

Thanks for your keen insights Jim on an industry that is so dear to my heart and soul. In 1971 I began an employment by a small commercial theater company who employed me as their chief movie booker, buying and contracting movies for a company who didn’t have enough screens to play all the released movies. I had to select the best movies available without seeing em until the laws changed. It was a very speculative task but fit my speculative soul to a T---it was so much fun. Back in those days I only had the books in which movies were scripted from and being a Virgo I loved reading the books in order to determine the gross potential for a movie. The book Godfather blew me away. I was very fortunate to place in the right place at the right time to experience a-lot of success booking the right movies, but it was easy since I was experiencing the Golden Age of original, revolutionary high grossing blockbuster movies.
Jim wrote:

Was this 13-year period a distinctive era? (I think it can be argued that it was.) Did its characteristics match Scorpio? I think that case could be made (Godfather, a trilogy with Wars in its name, sharks, hunky archaeologist adventurers, Puzo moving on to relaunch Superman, and the like).

Indeed Jim, I totally agree, and I got to experience this era in its full blown glory at the hub of making a-lot of profits for a small company with great movies. I think back on this era so much being retired at 75 with many great memories in the entertainment industry I dearly loved.

[SteveS]

A former business colleague & friend (former Branch Manager for Universal Pictures) visited me for a couple of days this week, and I showed for him the “Offer”. He commented it was the best production he has ever seen showing the inner workings of how Studio Blockbuster Movies were made in the 70s.