In recent years American film has been derailed by laziness. Poor filmmaking has survived through brilliant marketing, and a public desire to grasp onto anything that seems real.

In today's world of MTV style filmmaking, emotions have been replaced by slick imagery. Instead of experiencing a character's pain and joy, the audience is told through psychobabble what they should be feeling. Emotions have been replaced by explosions and special effects. Shoot outs and Mexican standoffs exist where once there was drama. Instead of social commentary we have stand up comedy.

Film is like a striptease. It must begin evocatively, but fully dressed. Slowly it must reveal more of itself, bit by bit, until finally.... Satisfaction! Today's films come out of the gate naked and there's no place to go from there.

Scotopia Pictures plans to send filmmaking back 30 years. 1969 was the birth of American cinema's second renaissance. It was the year that introduced Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy. The 1970's then brought us such classics as The Godfather I & II, The Conversation, A Clockwork Orange, The Last Picture Show, The French Connection, Taxi Driver, American Graffiti, Last Tango In Paris, Serpico, The Exorcist, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Paper Moon, Chinatown, Jaws, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Shampoo, All The President's Men, and Apocalypse Now. The decade culminated in 1980 with Raging Bull.

What do all of these films have in common? All were about people overcoming a personal weakness. All commented on society. All were Academy Award nominees. All were extremely profitable. All continue to have an active shelf life at both the video store and cable television. All were made with great care and skill by visionaries.

All of them entertained.

Film is the most powerful art form ever created. So powerful in fact that it is the primary element in any propaganda campaign. It is capable of achieving many things at once. It can educate. It can express new ideas. It can demonstrate different points of view. It can distort time and bend reality.

But foremost it must entertain, because if a film neglects to entertain its audience, it does not engage them. If a film does not engage an audience, it fails to accomplish all else that it has set out to do.

Kris Kristensen, the founder of Scotopia Pictures, was raised on films from the 1970's. He is determined to follow in the footsteps of the legends that helped to form his own personal visions.