Word: meledandri
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Dates: during 1996-1996
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...that could include their kids. But as quantity increased, quality declined, and now Hollywood has a glut of wholesome movies that aren't performing well. This summer saw Kazaam, Pinocchio, Harriet the Spy and even Flipper drown at the box office. "Hollywood happens to work in cycles," says Chris Meledandri, who runs Fox's family film division. "You watched that young-skewing movie cycle burn out before your very eyes." And the problem isn't just quality: last year, despite critics' raves, A Little Princess didn't draw crowds, even with two releases...
...thing the studios have learned is that not even kids want to see kids' movies. "They want what's slightly illicit," says David Vogel, president of Disney's family-fare division. Rather than being an enticement, the family-film label is now used sparingly. Even though Meledandri's division is called Fox Family Films, the studio won't release pictures under that banner for fear of driving audiences away...
...Hollywood's own definition of 'family' needs to change," says Meledandri. "Family films need to be thought of in the tradition of Star Wars or Indiana Jones--movies that are not geared to kids." Disney's Vogel points out that some of the most successful pictures of all time are now perceived as family films even if they didn't start out that way. Millions of kids eventually saw Jurassic Park, for example, but Universal, which released it, initially warned that young children might find it too scary. "If it had been marketed under a family label, would it have...
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