James Gray: “If You’re Getting 100% On Rotten Tomatoes, You’re Doing Something Wrong"

Earlier in the day, commenter John posted a speech given by James Gray for graduates of the USC School of Cinema. Gray absolutely nails the current cinematic zeitgeist, and he only speaks for 12 minutes.

The Queens-born filmmaker tackles a “culture in deep trouble” where “cinema is an instrument for profit only” and a “system that has not yet figured out how to monetize integrity”.

Look at the world and ask yourselves if making a ton of money is the answer. How come we seem so lost? Over the last decades, our art form has given the audience nothing but chocolate cake. We kept pushing for that sugar high and now the audience has some kind of cultural diabetes. What’s worse is that they might even know it. I see more and more people wanting to watch cat videos on Instagram instead of going to the local theater.

He adds that the word “franchise” was originally a term used to describe McDonalds and Burger King. He goes on to blast Hollywood for giving audiences “what they want instead of what they need.”

So, I beg you, don’t be nice. Don’t be afraid to provoke and offend. Don’t be afraid to be disliked. If you’re getting 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, you’re doing something so wrong, I can’t even tell you.

The best art provokes, riles you up, and will never be universally loved. That’s what Gray is saying here. When there’s a universal consensus on any given film then maybe that film has played it too safely and refused to think outside the box.

Gray goes on to tackle the restrictions put upon the artist by not just the studio system, but also by society itself, one which is in fear of creating offensive and provocative art:

The artist in you will be under constant attack. In some places you’ll be called a “content creator”. You’ll be told respect “boundaries” and “safe spaces” […] You’ll be told to worry about Twitter, or I think it’s called X now, or Tomatometers. These are all weapons aimed at you by the system. The system that believes in profit, not integrity, not excellence.

Gray is a filmmaker with passionate supporters, and just as many detractors. The 53-year-old director has the kind of classicist filmmaking style that the mainstream might deem “too boring.” However, critics, especially the French, absolutely love him and that’s why he’s become a regular at Cannes.

He has never really had a breakout hit. His films seem to come and go, but his passionate, albeit cultish, fanbase has been the reason for his lengthy and artistically accomplished career. In the process, he’s never lost his artistic integrity. Gray doesn’t make films for profit; he makes them for the sake of art.

When he does hit the mark (“Two Lovers,” “Lost City of Z”), a mysterious beauty is achieved, the kind of cinematic bliss that reminds us why we love the movies so much. Gray makes movies plucked out of time. Watching something like “Two Lovers” or “We Own the Night” is like going back to a time when Hollywood made fearless personal statements. There’s something intellectual and formalist about his works.