ATTACK OF THE
50 FOOT DEVELOPER
Whether it’s a beloved animated features like Up, over-the-top musicals like Blues Brothers,or even a dance craze cinematic masterpiece like, Electric Bugaloo 2, Alon Barzilay’s latest book, Attack of the 50 Foot Developer exposes just how movies that paint developers in a bad light are all abound.
And don’t even get him started on how real estate developers nearly universally joined the dark side throughout Eighties comedies in films like Beetlejuice, Caddyshack, The Goonies,and Summer Rental, just to name a few.
Attack of the 50 Foot Developer covers the chronology of film history from an era when real estate developers were once thought of as visionary heroes to their image’s cataclysmic decline across a wide array of movie genres. From horror movies like Poltergeist to Nobody Beats the Zohan, pick a flick, you name it, and chances are that developers are vilified, while few movie fans barely ever notice.
This eye opening book also juxtaposes how and why in comparison to developers, architects are nearly always revered in modern day films as, sexy, stubbled, industrious, dependable, contemplative, lovable, romantic, honorable, decent human beings.
“Geez, Matt Dillon’s played an architect in three different films and in There’s Something About Mary,” says Alon, “his character even pretended to be one since they have such good reputations! Nonetheless, for some God-forsaken reason, the real estate developer who actually takes the risks and makes things happen is relegated to the rapscallion throughout movie history.”
With a unique point of view both as an accomplished real estate developer himself and as the originator of YIMBY, an app that helps developers and neighborhoods “get to yes”, Alon offers a sharply opinionated and insightful investigation of how Hollywood has persistently created a negative portrayal of developers as villains. “Somehow someone just trying to develop anything anywhere nearly always becomes the threat that puts the entire movie plots in motion.”
Attack of the 50 Foot Developer is a seminal and diversive critique of the entertainment industry, exposing a controversial pop culture paradox…
The book forces readers to ask themselves the big questions, “Why does Hollywood always cast real estate developers as the slimy, corner-cutting, deep pocketed, politician-greasing scumbags, when all they’re trying to do is follow the entrepreneurial American Dream? Is it so wrong to want to improve the built environment? What’s driving all of these screenwriter haters to castigate a guy just for seeking some a zoning change to finance an apartment building or shopping mall? What’s so bad about contributing to better city planning, fulfilling local community housing needs, and fostering job creation, if you’re trying to make a buck doing it?
By typecasting developers as the “bad guys”, Alon explains how Tinseltown subconsciously programs and motivates movie goers to embrace (Not-In-My-Back-Yard) sentiments towards developers personally and the progressive new projects they propose.
This previously unrecognized “All Real Estate Developers are Evil” storytelling trope has given rise to a myriad of misguided social justice warriors who see themselves as starring in their own hero’s journey action flick, thanks to “Why-can’t-the-neighborhood-just-stay-the-same?” mantra forming cartoon movies like Hey, Arnold and thinly-veiled, anti-development Sci Fi blockbusters like Avatar.
Real estate developers beware! Yikes, after reading Attack of the 50 Foot Developer the way you watch movies will never be the same. Just think about what’s coming next to a theater near you! You’ll be trembling in your seat the next time that you are munching on popcorn in a dark and sticky floored cinema, now that you know that the twenty foot tall images on the screen in front of you will be subtly hypnotizing the audience and encouraging them to fight unfounded battles against urban growth and progressive development.
Alon’s wide-ranging expertise on the book’s subjects have also been translated into an informative presentation that takes his signature wit from the page to the stage. In both his public speaking and his writing about this topic, Alon entertains readers audiences, His high energy, laugh-out-
loud presentation style is chock-full of rapid-fire, easily-digestible, action-packed takeaways, but with a delivery that embraces the same satirical sense of humor that you would expect from a night out at a comedy club. (Imagine your favorite college professor, a Comic-Con fanboy, and a street-smart visionary all rolled up into one.)
In Superman, for instance, the author is quick to point out that Lex Luthor, the greatest criminal mastermind ever to grace the silver screen, is actually a real estate developer / land speculator who bought up all of the land on Nevada’s state line, hoping to trigger the San Andreas fault with a hijacked nuclear missile to create lucrative waterfront property!