Screenwriter

OPINION:Donald Clarke on a year when movies mattered

Let me tell you this: 2008 was a great year for cinema. Elsewhere in today's Ticket you will read about artistic triumphs such as Romanian Abortion Movie and Day-Lewis Milkshake Film. You will also be told that, despite a decade of gloomy prognostications, the box-office figures continue to hold up quite comfortably.

Of course, the news is not all good. Those tedious Oscarologists are beginning to note that next year's Best Picture race looks set to include more than a few indifferently received films. There seems little sign of an early end to Rob Schneider's career, and the Harry Potter films keep on coming.

Never mind any of the above. I'm not thinking about critical acclaim, financial returns or gaudy baubles. What is really notable about 2008 is that we saw the release of a raft of films that punters really cared about.

Within the last month, Twilight, the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's cult novel, has got the teen-vampire lobby salivating furiously. In October, the fanatical fans of High School Musical went into swoons for the last hurrah of Zack Efron.

Don't worry too hard about the quality of the films - after all, the repulsive Sex and the City must grudgingly be included in this list. Just incline your ear towards the internet and listen to the excited chatter. Despite rampant piracy and competition from other media, punters still care deeply about movies and long to see them in cinemas.

And then there are The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!. Two pieces of correspondence pressed home to Screenwriter the unshakable devotion these very different films inspire. The first, an e-mail, affected outrage that I had dared to suggest that The Dark Knight might not be worthy of a campaign to have it installed as the best film of all time at the Internet Movie Database. It was not enough for me to say (as I did) that the Batman film was "very, very good". It must be The. Greatest. Movie. Ever.

The second - an actual postcard, would you believe? - was odder still. The correspondent, who simply signed herself "E", called me a "dunderhead" for not liking Mamma Mia! and went on to point out that "before all you arty types got to it" cinema was about escapism.

"So, what's wrong with that?" I hear you say. Mamma Mia!, despite the horror of Pierce Brosnan's discordant croaking, offers punters a collective movie experience to compare with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Any arty type who denies that deserves to be called a "dunderhead".

Well, here's the thing: to that point, I had made no comment whatsoever - either negative or positive - on the quality of Mamma Mia!. Screenwriter had noted its roaring success, but I certainly didn't slag off the hugely enjoyable flick.

Still, the e-mail and the postcard did, in fact, cheer me up. As long as folk such as E and the Batman enthusiast continue to care so much, movies will continue to matter. Onward to 2009!