Long Day's JOURNEY

Sure, geniuses should be allowed to make endless films. But what’s everybody else’s excuse?

- Natalie Jarvey

strange preoccupation in America with length, and in the most bizarre way: 'We paid $8, don't give us too much.' Elizabeth Frank, who leads programming for AMC Theatres, says the company has people looking into the length of movies to see if it truly constitutes a problem. Jason Blum, a producer known for horror films like M3gan and Paranormal Activity, has already come to a conclusion: "I think it's a problem. Movies are too long." For executives, of course, lengthy movies mean added production costs, marketing challenges, and fewer available showtimes to recoup their investment. "The studios are definitely not encouraging threehour movies that I can guarantee," says a senior movie executive. "As a consumer, speaking for myself and on behalf of many other people like me: enough already!" Geniuses like Andrei Tarkovsky and Stanley Kubrick made brilliant long movies, says Grant Singer, whose first feature, the crime thriller Reptile, debuts on Netflix this year. But the idea that a contemporary movie could be long, important, and a blockbuster? "It all starts with James Cameron," he says. "He has proven that you can make hugely successful global sensations that are three-hour films and people will come to the box office." While audiences might make an exception for something titanic like