Pirate's Cove

Which, for the most part, has happened in most years, but, they really pimped it this year

Hollywood tries to save the Earth, but moviegoers aren’t buying eco-messages anymore

Climate change got its close-up in 2017. A gaggle of films either name-checked Al Gore’s biggest fear or built their narratives around it.

The timing, in theory, couldn’t be better for Hollywood bean counters: Three major hurricanes. Massive fires in the West. Record-setting chills. Media reports routinely connected the disasters with a warming planet.

Yet audiences stayed away from films influenced by eco-concerns. Far, far away.

Think “Blade Runner 2049,” “Geostorm,” “Downsizing,” “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” and “mother!” They all flopped, some in spectacular fashion.

Of them all, Blade Runner 2049 did the best, but still under-performed. I actually saw this yesterday, and, it was meh. Started out strong, but, the ending was lame. It tried to recapture what happened at the end of the original, but, couldn’t pull it off, and the story line as to what was being looked for was weak. Despite what the weenies who made it were saying, it didn’t really yammer about ‘climate change.” The rest? Bombs. mother! was so bad that Jennifer Lawrence decided to take a break from movies.

Justin Haskins, executive editor at the right-leaning, free-market Heartland Institute, said Hollywood insiders remain fixated on saving the planet.

“They believe climate change will bring people to the movies,” Mr. Haskins said. “That’s wildly out of touch with how moviegoers feel about the issue.”

A Pew Research survey this year found that “the environment” does not rank among the top 10 public policy concerns of most Americans, trailing behind “terrorism,” “the economy,” “education” and “jobs,” among others.

And most people don’t care to be lectured to when they’ve spent $20+ per person dollars on a ticket, popcorn, and a drink for an afternoon showing. They want to be entertained.