Cut it down. And then cut it again. That's Oscar winner Alexander Payne's blunt message to Hollywood, as he grows increasingly tired of today's marathon-length movies. The filmmaker behind Sideways and The Holdovers says he now prefers older films, where the focus was on telling a story as effectively as possible, rather than piling on half-hour-long sequences of action, explosions, and pretentious rambling.
Speaking at the Locarno Film Festival, Payne explained:
"Old films are much better made, more literate, more economical, more efficient, more interested in just telling a story and not being pretentious. I really appreciate narrative economy. I couldn't be less interested in the new films. I see so many films which are three or four hours long, and without very good reason. And I sit in a lot of modern films and I say, Cut, cut. I get it. Cut."
Payne has voiced similar criticism before, urging fellow directors to trim their work as much as possible. And he leads by example, as his latest films run between 115 and 135 minutes, a far cry from today's marathon cinema experiences.
Do you agree with Payne? Should movies be shorter?