Whether we like it or not, I think most of us would agree that RottenTomatoes has a good deal of sway as far as how a movie is received, as well as playing a factor in box-office revenue. Personally I never put too much stake into their scores, I’ve always felt they were a bit harsh.
Director Wayne Kramer (Running Scared with Paul Walker, awesome film if you haven’t seen it, do so at your earliest convenience) has proposed what I think is a really cool idea. However, I will let Kramer put his idea into a lengthy Facebook post which you can see below.
(/Film has “altered only to fix spelling errors and remove excessive capitalizations.”)
“Here’s an idea for Rotten Tomatoes. Allow filmmakers to lodge an appeal over their RT score for a film that is over ten years old and currently scores more than 6.5 on IMDb. It takes a decade (or longer!) to know the real impact of a film and I’m sure quite a few critics might reverse themselves after ten years. I’ve heard from several critics who feel they got it wrong on Running Scared and might consider it differently today. Unfortunately, their original score is still shackled to the film on RT – and every filmmaker knows that a RT “rotten” score is worn by a film (and the filmmaker) like a Scarlet Letter.
“The Rotten Tomatoes score is visible on most streaming sites right next to the title of a film and I, personally, find it insulting. I’ve never been a fan of RottenTomatoes. I hold firmly that the site has contributed to the dumbing down of movie criticism – and ultimately movies themselves. When a film is judged like a gladiator in the ring with the emperor giving it a very black & white thumbs up or thumbs down, compounded by occasional critics’ herd mentality – which, trust me, is a real thing – then all the nuance involved in reviewing goes out the window.
“Scarface gets an 81 on the Tomatometer today — but that’s a completely revisionist review. Scarface was trounced by critics upon its initial release in 1983. A film I regard as one of the finest crime/action films of all time, Tony Scott’s Man on Fire (2004), is rated a paltry 34 percent on RT with a 7.7 on IMDˆb. HOW CAN THAT F***ING BE POSSIBLE? Man on Fire is a freakin’ masterpiece, up there with Michael Mann’s Heat. And in no way deserving of a rotten score on RT. My own film, Running Scared – the most popular of my films and rated 7.4 on IMDb – rates rotten on RT with a 41 percent score. Antoine Fuqua’s underrated Brooklyn’s Finest (2009) is another candidate: 6.7 on IMDb and 44 percent on RT. I’ll add another undervalued Fuqua as well: Tears of the Sun. 6.6 on IMDb, 33 percent on RT. I’m sure I can find many other examples…
“I’m not joking. If anyone has access to the execs at RottenTomatoes, please forward them my proposal. I’m sure hundreds of filmmakers would sign on — as well as more than a few critics. It can be called ROTTEN TOMATOES ON APPEAL. Just like a misguided NC-17 rating might be changed to an R or an R to a PG-13 on appeal with the MPAA, I believe RT can – and should! – reevaluate certain films that have proven themselves with audiences after a decade of being scorned on RT.”
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I am all for this. I also like the criteria needed for a film to get a second look. Some aspects of the idea would likely need some fine-tuning. At this point, I would say RottenTomatoes agreeing to push this forward is the biggest challenge, once that’s out of the way, the rest can be worked out. While this is a superb idea, unfortunately, I’d say it’s a long shot.
What are your thoughts on Wayne Kramer’s proposal? Let us know in the comments down below!
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Source: Wayne Kramer (vis /Film)