'Captain America' Director Takes On a Micro-Budget Thriller

All of the problems that I have with Hollywood (obsession with mass market appeal, etc.) pretty much stem from one source: budgets.  The Hollywood system, functioning as it is, simply wastes too much money, and thus has to rely on the lowest common denominator of audiences to make it back.  One genre that has learned to effectively keep a low budget as of late, however, is the horror genre with huge financial successes like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and The Devil Inside.  Now, Captain America director Joe Johnson is looking to break into that market with Not Safe For Work.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will centers on a young Paralegal trapped in his office with a killer hired by another corporation.  The exact budget of the film hasn't been released yet, but considering that the producer is Jason Blum (who also produced Paranormal Activity and Insidious), it's probably going to be pretty low.

It's certainly a change of resources for director Johnston, whose previous film before Captain America was 2010's Wolfman remake.  The ironic part is that because Johnston has a deal to make a direct percentage of the film's gross, he could actually make more then he did on his blockbusters if it turns out to be a success.

I hope that this low-budget approach is able to successfully branch out of the horror genre and into mainstream Hollywood, as it allows the film makers to practice more experimentation and originality.  Don't get me wrong, I love the $150 million superhero epics as much as the next film geek, but I think we need to see both sides of the coin.