Posted on 10/21/2009 10:44:28 AM PDT by ShadowAce
To: Charlize Theron, Hugh Jackman, Seth Rogen, Tina Fey, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, every actor, actress, screenwriter, costumer, best boy, cameraman, set designer, makeup artist, and agent--plus anyone else who makes their living in the film industry.
From: Greg Sandoval, CNET media reporter and film fan.
Re: Your livelihood
Cut your spending. Save your money. Many of the revenue streams that have gushed into your industry for decades, some for nearly a century, are about to dry up. This will likely mean a period of belt tightening like you've never seen before.
The end is coming for DVDs, traditional movie rentals, and yes, much of your cable money will likely disappear.
The news isn't entirely bad; you still have iTunes and Netflix--places where people spend money to buy or rent movies. You still have Hulu, Crackle.com, and YouTube, which are generating ad revenue by streaming full-length films and TV shows online. But the reality is that the amount of money that these legal operations generate is far less than the returns your industry is used to making. Unless some dramatic technological breakthrough occurs that can defeat file sharing, then you are staring at checkmate. Your business is headed for the same meat grinder that has chewed up the recorded music sector and print publishing. What will come out the other side is still uncertain but will likely be much smaller.
I'm sure many of you will write this off as the apocalyptic rantings of Silicon Valley propeller heads. But I urge you to pay attention to recent events.
Over the past five days I've been in Los Angeles talking to entertainment attorneys, studio executives, and some of the tech vendors who do business with the studios. I've been covering the sector three years now and I've never seen people in the film industry so dejected. DVD sales are falling, the number of upcoming film releases is expected to drop. Some big shots have even acknowledged the bleak situation in public. The past weekend, at a conference on the USC campus, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the "business model that formed the motion picture business...is changing profoundly before our eyes."
Iger warned that studios must make profound changes, "or you will no longer have a business."
Earlier this month, Francis Ford Coppola, the director of "The Godfather" said at the Beirut Film Festival that "the cinema as we know it is falling apart." He also predicted several of the studios would go out of business.
Of course, not all of your industry's problems were caused by the Web. Hollywood has paid creators handsomely over the years and costs have skyrocketed. Then there's the problem with Blu-ray. Iger noted that consumers aren't upgrading their DVD collections with Blu-ray discs to the degree that the industry had hoped.
But if you're really inclined to wag a finger, there is nothing disrupting your business more than the Internet. The MPAA has worked hard to force file-sharing sites out of business or push them to the Web's fringes. At first, the studios tried to kill file sharing with lawsuits. Then they hired security firms, such as MediaDefender and MediaSentry, which promised to discourage file sharers by blocking or slowing the sharing process. None of that worked.
Maybe that's one reason the MPAA overhauled its "antipiracy" operations three weeks ago. CNET reported on Friday that the studios' trade group decided to change the name of the "antipiracy" unit to "content protection" and fired three leaders, including the MPAA's general counsel.
And now, snatching a pirated film or TV show doesn't require knowledge of torrents. There are scores of sites that stream movies and TV shows over the Web and a viewer doesn't have to actually download the movie to their hard drive. I spoke to someone at the studios last week who said these sites are tougher to fight because they can crop up anywhere and many are based overseas. Often, said the source, "We don't know where they are."
What is happening is that the consumption of unauthorized content appears to be moving out of dorm rooms and into the living rooms of average Americans. Here is what you're up against:
A 28-year-old woman I'll call Alexandra (she asked for anonymity) grew up in Missouri, graduated from college, attends church every Sunday, and told me that she watches episodes of the hit cable show "Mad Men" at least twice a week at Surfthechannel.com, a site that hosts links to many unauthorized clips. She gleefully said that visitors can find almost any TV show they want and not pay a dime.
Alexandra said a friend told her about Surfthechannel.com a year or two ago and she watches shows there because she doesn't want to pay for a cable subscription, or a TV and because it's so easy.
She explained that she is not a bad person and that "everybody is doing this." She says one of her professors told her "he and his wife sit at home on the weekends and enjoyed movies they downloaded (illegally) off the Web."
I ask her if she has tried Hulu, the popular video site created by News Corp. and NBC Universal. The site offers a few feature films and lots of TV shows free to viewers and pays for them by serving ads. She said she had visited Hulu but added that "there's more of the stuff I want at Surfthechannel.com."
Alexandra's statements about Hulu come at a time when the site's backers are mulling whether to build a pay wall around some of its content. Alexandra and people like her aren't even accepting Hollywood's offer of free content because unauthorized sites offer better selection.
What do you think will happen if Hulu begins charging?
Don't get me wrong. I understand that the returns at Hulu are probably much smaller than what the studios are accustomed to getting. There's also the problem of growing dissatisfaction among the cable operators. How long will they continue to pay big bucks if more of their customers dump their subscriptions in favor of sites such as Hulu? Leaving a business that generated billions for one that makes far less would be hard for anyone.
But the possibility that studio chiefs must consider is what if the money offered by iTunes, Hulu, and Netflix is all that a digitally ravaged media world offers.
Eric Garland, CEO of Big Champagne, a company that tracks file-sharing usage and sells the data to the studios and major record labels said: "Hulu may be doing immediate harm to elements of your business, but waiting right behind Hulu in the shadows, are things that do so much more harm."
Exactly how will changing the content of films stop the loss of revenues through piracy?
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Exactly how is theft of intellectual property the re-distribution of income?
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Hey, maybe you can get a job in the obama administration.....they like deciding who gets paid what too.
IP rights need to be protected but the market is just gonna plain decide what those rights are really worth.
That will result in a middle ground between what the “entertainment industry” has been used to when it controlled all distribution and what it will become if IP rights are not protected at all.
If IP rights are not protected, as another FReeper has already pointed out, those with talent will stop producing and we will get dreck like you can't believe - it will cost very little and be worth exactly that.
Good for the Hamster.
My wife is afraid that I’ll assault someone when we go the theater. I learned a valuable lesson from my little brother several years ago when we were tubing the Comal River in Texas. My brother joined my girlfriend and I in a tube trip. Some punks jumped off an embankment and did cannon balls within feet of us, soaking us.
My little brother rolled off the tube, grabbed the biggest one, lifted his feet over his head and stood on the kids head, holding the kid in about 3.5 ft of water for a good 20 seconds. Scared the crap out of the kid. Then, reaching down into the water he grabbed the muddy, river-bottom encrusted punk by the hair and pulled him up. The kid was terrified, he then shouted in the punks ear “Hey, A**hole, you ought not to do rude stuff like this, because you never know who you are going to meet. Someone may not be as kind-hearted as I am”. He then took this High School kid and threw him ashore in front of his friends. Frightened, humiliated and face covered in mud - the punks slunk off.
Larry said, and I will never forget this “Some kids get their jollies off ruining someone else’s day, that’s all they want to do; is ruin someone else’s fun. But, if you humiliate them, you permanently take the fun out of it - because they are cowards, when someone finally stands up to their bullying, they leave and do not come back”. This is just anther case of parents failing to do their job.
So, my response when I have people like your girls is simple. I lean over my seat, place my face inches from them and then scream at them at the top of my lungs “I hope OUR movie isn’t ruining your phone call - now get the #@$& out of the theater and return when you learn how to respect others”. Yeah, I’m THAT person. Never fails to get an applause from the other attendees, and it’s not uncommon for those folks to return and not return.
People who talk in movies, are rude but are also cowards. They know that they are disruptive; but are hiding behind the fact that they think you are too polite to tell them to shut up. So, do what they fear most. Publically humiliate them - it teaches a lesson they will long remember.
Trust me on this one, when the movie is over and you are welking out - someone will tap your shoulder and say ‘Thank you’.
>>So, my response when I have people like your girls is simple. I lean over my seat, place my face inches from them and then scream at them at the top of my lungs “I hope OUR movie isn’t ruining your phone call - now get the #@$& out of the theater and return when you learn how to respect others”. Yeah, I’m THAT person. Never fails to get an applause from the other attendees, and it’s not uncommon for those folks to return and not return.<<
I’ll pay for your ticket the next time you want to join us. XD
That is one of the major reasons I don't go to movie theaters also. The uncivilized have ruined it. Other reasons include:
I know this will sound like a line, bragging or a stupid statement - but with a straight face, and my right hand held palm out and my left hand on a Bible ...
Build a home theater. They are not that expensive, and you can put together a VERY good system for less than you think. When you do, you will have a place where you and your family can retreat to enjoy a movie on YOUR schedule, eatting pizza, popcorn, taking bathroom breaks by hitting the pause button, playing HALO with the kids/grandkids, jamming on Guitar Hero or Rock Band with your friends and neighbors.
Never have to deal with punks ruining your experience, over-priced snacks, late nights, lines, missing the show because you drank too much Coke, and you get the Big Screen experience.
You’d be amazed at how good you can have it, for a very low cost of entry. Amazed.
My wife agrees, we built a theater in our home; and we both agree that we will never own a home in the future that doesn’t have someplace we can build a dedicated theater room. Once you have one, you will wonder how you ever managed without one.
Whatever happened to “Thou shalt not steal.”?
Date night with the wife.
Meal before the show - $30
Tickets, popcorn, soda and candy - $40
2 Dates a month, 10 months a year = $1,400
Assuming you never take the kids, grandkids, friends or family out to join you, over 5 years we are talking about investing $7,000 for a show that may be ruined by others, or simply be a bad movie, traffic, or negative in some way.
Now take a basement room, throw up a 120 inch screen ($750), add a decent Denon, Yamaha, Sony or multi-media receiver of your choice ($1500), good set of speakers for 7.1 sound - I like Aperion Audio, great bang for the buck - ($1200), Playstation 3 ($400) and an XBox (350) and a 1080P Panasonic Projector ($2000).
Equipment cost = $6,200.
XBox allows you to stream Netflixs movies to your theater room in 1080p goodness - unlimited streaming of thousands of movie titles for $9/month. Playstation 3 quietly plays CD, DVD, Super-Audio CD’s as well as Blu-Ray disks; plus you can stream audio from your home PC through either the XBox or PS3.
Now, every weekend will be a ‘free movie night’. The kids will all want to go to YOUR place to watch the latest releases. SuperBowl game? Who is gonna trump you? C’mon over .... and have them bring the beer.
We only go to the theaters to see Major releases we just can’t wait to see (ie. Star Trek this summer). When the Grandkids come over, they are excited to sit with us and watch Pixar flicks. We are their favorite Grandparents, because we not only sit and enjoy those movies with them; they feel ‘special’ because they have a theater ‘just for Grandpa and me’.
People don't consider this stealing, as there is nothing material in their hands. I'm not justifying this, simply stating the truth here.
I can put a set of rabbit ears on my house and watch 'Lost' free of charge; but if I download the same episode - that's considered theft. I can Tivo 'Two and a Half Men', but if I download the same episode, that's considered theft.
It's come to the point that 'theft' has little or no meaning. Now, I doubt anyone would dispute that going to a store and swiping a DVD is theft and should be punished. But, it's a bit less clear when we are talking about TV shows, or programs that are distributed over the public airwaves.
Hulu needs to actually have episodes, not the last 3 or 5 episodes, but the entire series! Not 5 second clips of popular shows but entire episodes and series.
Its useless unless you want to catch a show you missed this week,.... what happens when you find a show you like and want to catch up? Hmmmm?
LA is fighting the tide and losing, they need to just accept and embrace the change and deal with the reality.
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Your original post..."There should be some middle ground between property rights being stolen and these people being compensated astronomically"
yeah, anytime a presumed Conservative, A)looks to compromise with theft (moral relativism)and B)concerns himself with how other are paid (pay czar nonsense)and does it in one sentence then explanations are called for.
no matter how much you might hate the studios and some of the fools they employ, the real issue here is intellectual property rights. if it’s okay to steal copyrights, why would it not be okay to steal patents?
That's right. And it's discouraging to hear a Christian quoted as taking it for granted that that is OK. If practicing Christians behave that way, tho, what can you expect from practicing Democrats?Maybe Hollywood had best rethink that whole pro-sodomite, antichristian theme thing . . .
That’s how you interpreted what I wrote?
Whatever.
bfl!
The decline of Hollyweird probably began with the increase in the power of the actor to choose his or her roles. Ever since the stars have dominated the movie-making decisions, movies have become awful. In the old days where the studios controlled everything, movies were more pro-American and generally watchable. It doesn’t help that most of the major studios are run by big libs. I subscribe to both HBO and a few other movie channels. The challenge is to find a movie that is not anti-American or doesn’t deal with the problems of some big city libs who are experiencing mid-life crises. In short, todays flicks are awful.
A movie about the Marines taking Fallujah would probably make a fortune. It will not be made, because it would show our troops in a good light. Especially after all the anti-war flicks bombed (ha, ha,) at the box office.
And apparently jumping to conclusions is your strong suit. Reread my comments; nothing in them about copyright, only the lack of intellect/left leaning politics on the part of Hollywood and for those reasons alone I reiterate, Good Riddance.
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