14 DAY TRIAL // The actor Billy Bob Thornton has said that the current video game culture is to blame for the less than stellar output the public has recently seen from Hollywood, especially when talking about movies which are tackling the subject of violence.
Thornton has said, “We're living in a time when we're making - in my humble opinion - the worst movies in history.”
He explained that, “They're geared toward the videogame-playing generation. And these videogames, which I'm on my son about constantly, these games are people killing for fun, and I think traditionally in movies, there's always been some kind of lesson in the violent movies.”
The actor then claimed that his upcoming movie, called Faster, will try to do something different by explaining the motives of the killing spree that one character goes on, linking them to his background and to the wider society in which he lives.
Faster should be in theaters before the end of the year.
Critics who blame video games for an overall drop in the quality of other entertainment mediums are usually misinformed and fail to see that the gamer audience is not large enough to influence the movie business, as seen in the poor performance of those films who try to replicate the content of video game franchises.
But Billy Bob Thornton has a point when he says that most violent behavior in video games is not grounded in reality and there's little background to show the motivations of most characters.
Billy Bob Thornton has achieved critical success with the movie Sling Blade, which he has written and directed while also starring in.
The movie, which has its share of violence, brought Thornton an Academy Award and made him a star.
He also had significant roles in The Man Who Wasn't There and in Monster's Ball.