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Why Anthony Mackie is so frustrated with the movie industry

Anthony Mackie  at the 76 Venice International Film Festival 2019. Seberg red carpet. Venice (Italy), August 30th, 2019 (photo by Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
Anthony Mackie at the 76 Venice International Film Festival 2019. Seberg red carpet. Venice (Italy), August 30th, 2019 (photo by Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

Marvel star Anthony Mackie has opened up about his growing frustrations with the movie industry, which can be succinctly summed up by his declaration that, “filmmakers don’t work in film anymore.”

Mackie, who made these comments to the Daily Beast ahead of his appearance in the second season of Netflix’s Altered Carbon, insists that Hollywood studios are only interested in event movies like Avengers, Suicide Squad, and Star Wars now.

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“If we look at the movies we grew up loving, that we think are the best movies of all time, those movies won’t be made now by studios; they’ll be made by streaming services … As soon as Fortune 500 companies bought all the film studios, the idea of making films was dead. So that being said, the only place you can go and work with the filmmakers you adore is streaming services.”

Anthony Mackie as Falcon
Anthony Mackie as Falcon

Mackie still has his heart set on working with certain movie directors, though, including American Hustle’s David O. Russell, but he already knows that a movie studio won’t help him achieve that dream as they’re only interested in making movies that cost $2 million or $100 million.

“It’s the worst business model of all time. There’s definitely a way to make money in movies. But everyone in movies has no idea how to make money [laughs]. It’s crazy.”

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However, while Mackie is clearly annoyed by Hollywood’s current approach, he is still adamant that “great movies are being made.” It’s just that they’re “not being made for the theaters.”

“Young people don’t want to sit in a room and chill out, “adds Mackie. “They want to move, and watch it on their cell phones and tablets,” while he also believes that the increasingly outrageous prices of movie tickets and concessions has also been a major factor in convincing younger viewers to just watch movies at home and away from multiplexes,