I don't know whether I agree wholly with this apocalyptic warning, but it's startling when the two men who invented the summer blockbuster are now saying that Hollywood's current dependence on numerous $200-250 mega-blockbusters could cause the film industry to implode.

I do agree with them about the trouble with Hollywood refusing to fund modest budet movies ($20-70 million) that aren't action films or comic book adventures. Spielberg revealed that his LINCOLN came "this close" to becoming just a HBO movie because he had trouble finding backers for it. (LINCOLN's pricetag was $60 million.)

Recently Steven Soderbergh himself went to HBRO because he had his own trouble getting his Liberace biopic produced despite having both Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. Indeed with the rave reviews Douglas is getting, if that film had been theatrically released, he would probably be up for the Best Actor Oscar.

One point I disagree with Spielberg and Lucas is that Hollywood studios don't sink or swim on their movies anymore. They're now part of larger corporations who can absorb several flops without batting an eye. (See JACK THE GIANT SLAYER this year and JOHN CARTER last year.) We won't have a situation again where a HEAVEN'S GATE type disaster kills a studio, or like when the Elizabeth Taylor CLEOPATRA nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox.

All that said, this article is still absolutely worth reading.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-predicts-implosion-film-567604