Attack of the 50 Foot Developer
Ever notice how real estate developers are always the bad guys in movies? Hollywood loves turning them into the ultimate villains, twirling their mustaches while plotting to bulldoze beloved neighborhoods. Join Alon as he dissects every trope, every evil grin, and every ridiculous scheme to show you the real story behind the screen.
On Alon’s YouTube channel, Attack of the 50 Foot Developer, and in his book of the same title, he breaks down how movies love to paint developers in a bad light.
From beloved animated features like Up to over-the-top musicals like Blues Brothers and even dance-craze cinematic masterpieces like Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, developers are always the villains. And don't get him started on how they’re the universal bad guys in Eighties comedies like Beetlejuice, Caddyshack, The Goonies, and Summer Rental. If there’s a golf course to be built or a neighborhood to be gentrified, you can bet a developer will be there, cackling and rubbing their hands together like a cartoon villain.
Alon's channel covers the chronology of film history, from an era when real estate developers were seen as visionary heroes to their cataclysmic decline across various genres. Whether it’s horror movies like Poltergeist or comedies like You Don't Mess with the Zohan, developers are often vilified, and few movie fans ever notice.
Take Superman, for instance. Lex Luthor, the greatest criminal mastermind ever to grace the silver screen, is actually a real estate developer/land speculator! He bought up all the land on Nevada’s state line, hoping to trigger the San Andreas fault with a hijacked nuclear missile to create lucrative waterfront property. Because nothing says “property development” like a good ol' fashioned earthquake.
In contrast, 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, his character even pretended to be one since they have such good reputations! Yet, for some God-forsaken reason, the real estate developer who takes the risks and makes things happen is relegated to the rapscallion throughout movie history,” says Alon.
With a unique point of view as an accomplished real estate developer himself, Alon offers a sharply opinionated and insightful investigation of how Hollywood persistently portrays developers as villains. “Somehow, someone just trying to develop anything anywhere nearly always becomes the threat that puts entire movie plots in motion,” he says.
Alon’s YouTube channel is a seminal and divisive critique of the entertainment industry, exposing a controversial pop culture paradox. It forces viewers to ask 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 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 dollar doing it?”
By typecasting developers as the “bad guys,” Alon explains how Tinseltown subconsciously programs and motivates moviegoers to embrace Not-In-My-Back-Yard sentiments towards developers 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?” mantras forming cartoon movies like Hey Arnold! and thinly veiled, anti-development sci-fi blockbusters like Avatar.
Real estate developers, beware! After watching Alon’s channel, 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 you’re munching on popcorn in a dark, 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.
With his distinctive signature wit, Alon entertains viewers while giving real estate developers fair warning about the general public’s preconceived prejudices against their profession. Fortunately, Alon's new book, The Secret Formula, gives real estate developers the tools to do something about it.
Let’s flip the script, shall we? Grab your copy of The Secret Formula, binge-watch Attack of the 50 Foot Developer, and arm yourself with the knowledge to counteract the Hollywood smear campaign.