2017 – A Film & TV Year in Review

With it being the last issue of the calendar year, and all, I thought it might be an idea to do a look at what the Film & TV Industry has achieved over the last 11 months. When 2016 ended, we arrived into an award season that was highlighted in controversy, and just when you thought that was the peak, it doesn’t get worse than the Oscars scandal – you end up with half of Hollywood being accused of something terrible. Award season is hotly anticipated every year, with an intense debate on who will win and who deserves to win, but this year had a different focus. La La Land and Moonlight were the titles on people’s mind after the Academy Awards – with Moonlight actually taking the Best Picture award, but the achievement was overshadowed by the blunder in announcing the award as La La Land’s first. Several questions were raised about how this happened, with some theorising that it was a publicity stunt, I feel though that extreme incompetence is the reason here. The year saw the resurrection of mainstream horror as It broke every record in the genre, and Get Out opened the gates for a very success year for the horror/thriller genre. This sets up a number of years ahead of us where studios will be prepared to invest in films related to the genre as it is a proven goldmine. The year generally was a big one for reboots and originals, from the previously mentioned titles, to the extremely successful Baby Driver and reboot Spider-Man: Homecoming, which dominated the summer box office. The worst moment of the year for me from a person who loves film is how Blade Runner 2049 performed financially, as there’s no way it has made its money back. Television drifts closer and closer to this all digital medium, with Game of Thrones keeping things afloat. The show continues to reel in large audiences and attraction while other series such as the once dominant Walking Dead dwindled in their viewer numbers. Netflix continues to rule the headlines from start to finish, with conversation in November surrounding The Punisher, and the upcoming Scorsese directed The Irishman which has the potential to challenge for awards and break new grounds for the medium. And a closing note on what has brought the year to a close, and has shattered the industry as a whole is the number of allegations placed against high profile actors. The fallout from this will be felt for an immeasurable amount of time as new allegations come out every day (Stallone being in the spotlight as I write this), and it leaves me a sense of sorrow for the industry – when you watch these individuals, who use their power and prestige over others to force and manipulate them to their advantage, you feel disgusted. We can only applaud those who have come forward to bring those to justice who require it. We may have lost some of our favourite actors and directors (especially looking at you, Spacey) but if this is the price we have to pay for having fair and safe work environment for those who make our entertainment, I say it is totally fair.