Sony Pictures chairman and Hollywood veteran Tom Rothman views the smashing success of “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” two films made by and seen by Gen Z, as both a “great opportunity” for traditional Hollywood and a monumental turning point for the industry in line with the 1970s and early ’90s.
“Is this YouTube-fueled youthquake simply a coincidental confluence of events? Or does it portend an upending of the Hollywood status quo? Actually, it’s a bit of both,” Rothman wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times. “Indeed, for any fear of YouTube barbarians at the gates, this is instead a great opportunity for traditional Hollywood. It’s also not necessarily a repudiation of the way the industry currently operates. In many ways, it’s a validation.”
Rothman said the moment is a “creative replenishment” of the industry, much the same as the 1970s ushered in an era of young filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and George Lucas and the 1990s saw the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh upend Hollywood with the indie splash.
The executive pointed out that A24 and Focus Features, the distributors of “Backrooms” and “Obsession,” are “direct descendants” of the indie film movement’s shakeup of Hollywood.
“These filmmakers are very young, but what matters is not chronological age so much as an iconoclastic spirit, an instinct for what the audience is wanting but not getting and, of course, talent,” Rothman continued.
“It is also relevant — and encouraging to folks like me — to recognize that, while ‘Iron Lung’ was indeed self-distributed, the larger triumphs of ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ come courtesy of institutional structures and support.”
The Sony Motion Picture Group chairman praised the marketing behind the two films, led by A24 and Focus, for fueling their box office successes.
“The integration of independent creativity with industry influence is a good thing all around. It offers exposure for, and help to, new voices, giving them more visibility and opportunity, and it promotes the kind of originality that Hollywood desperately needs,” Rothman said, also shouting out Greta Gerwig and Ryan Coogler as millennial filmmakers whose fresh perspectives brought in new audiences.
“Equally important, both for the industry ecosystem and for the film audience, the benefits of this symbiosis run both ways. The audience’s enthusiastic response to these new creative styles leads to changes in what and how films are made inside the system,” he said, concluding by stating that his studio is scouring YouTube looking for the next sensation, but adding that it will be important for studios to “learn from” this next generation of filmmakers in addition to uplifting them.
