03 McMOVIES

Most Hollywood films (with few exceptions) are created by committees & focus groups, rather than individuals; the resulting awfulness becomes predictably banal. A bad remake is a bad remake; the recipe & ingredients are the same. McMovies. [ LINK: http://www.electricvenom.com/food-bites/want-a-mcmovie-with-your-mcnuggets/ ]
Hype is more important than the product, sizzle more than the steak. It's now typical to spend more on hype & advertising than the movie itself, often twice as much if the film is a dog. It's called "icing the turd" - and judging by the proclivity of dogs, most studio execs are convinced that the public likes turds.
The McMovie strategy is safe: why vary the menu when the public, essentially apathetic to everything but their immediate needs - wants burgers? If Jerry Springer or Masterpiece Theater were stocks, which would you invest in? Barnum's Law is undeniable: nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
More insidious is the relentless emphasis on "special effects" and the subsequent deconstruction of the medium as a magical, alchemical synthesis. Specials, promos, articles and the like emphatically show technical tricks & techniques behind the scenes, effectively demystifying the essential sense of wonder. If your audience sits back and says "hey, great special effect" - you've lost them. They are outside the experience.
Imagine if The Wizard of Oz had been launched with concurrent shows & specials explicitly deconstructing its elements. Would it have become the classic it is?
If David Copperfield, Blackstone or Houdini used deconstruction to promote their shows, could the audience ever be mystified?
This is not, and never should have been, the point of "audience involvement." What other industry would perform vivisection on itself for short term sales?
The shift from writer-based movies to CGI-based movies began in the 80s with the advent of MTV. Markets for short & independent film evaporated; music videos became the rage, evolving into a clever combination of sales & advertising, all at the viewers expense.
Worst of all - it works.
Want a $7.00 popcorn with that?