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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The Summer Blockbuster Flop

    Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are warning that Hollywood is on the verge of a meltdown. They say that studios' reliance on big budget action movies could doom them.  And so far this summer, there have been six major flops. So is the movie industry going through some soul searching?

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    By Madeleine Brand • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are warning that Hollywood is on the verge of a meltdown. They say that studios' reliance on big budget action movies could doom them. And so far this summer, there have been six major flops. So is the movie industry going through some soul searching? George Lucas and Steven Spielberg launched the era of the modern blockbuster with their movies Star Wars and Jaws. So people took note when last month they warned that Hollywood could suffer big for its reliance on huge action movies. Indeed, there have been six big budget flops in the last few months. The latest -- R.I.P.D. which cost 130 million dollars to make and has earned just 23 million worldwide.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The Summer Blockbuster Flop
    1. 0:00Egypt’s Deposed President Mohamed Morsi Charged with Espionage
    2. 8:01The Summer Blockbuster FlopYou’re reading this
    3. 41:12Exploring the Nature of Evil in 'The Act of Killing'
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • KCRW placeholder

      Kerry Cavanaugh

      editorial writer at the Los Angeles Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Kim Masters

      partner/writer at Puck News, host of KCRW's “The Business.”

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jason Squire

      USC School of Cinematic Arts

    • KCRW placeholder

      Stacey Sher

      Film Producer

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    The Summer Blockbuster Flop
    1. 0:00Egypt’s Deposed President Mohamed Morsi Charged with Espionage
    2. 8:01The Summer Blockbuster FlopYou’re reading this
    3. 41:12Exploring the Nature of Evil in 'The Act of Killing'
    Back to To the Point