Posted on 12/13/2005 11:34:35 AM PST by Millee
Even a much-hyped giant gorilla, a geisha and a schoolboy magician won't be able to create a happy ending at the US box office, as Hollywood ends its most disappointing year in nearly two decades. Plunging movie ticket sales, after a string of uninspiring remakes and movie sequels coupled with an explosion of the DVD and video game markets, are keeping audiences at home and have sent Hollywood into a deep existential crisis. "This industry is facing significant challenges said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp, a business support and research body.
Ticket sale revenues dropped five percent in the first 11 months of 2005 while the number of Americans going to the cinema fell by 6.2 percent compared with the same period in 2004, according to box office trackers Exhibitor Relations Co Inc.
The result is Tinseltown's most disappointing box office performance in 15 years as audiences, dazzled by their entertainment choices and disappointed by the mediocre films on offer, turned away from the cinema in droves.
Even the late November and December releases of blockbusters "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "King Kong", "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" are unlikely to turn around the downward trend.
"It's not just a slump in box office, but also in sales of DVDs," Kyser told AFP. "This is mainly because of unattractive movies that don't appeal to young male audiences, the cost of movie tickets, parking, the shrinking window a movie's theatrical and DVD releases.
In addition, Hollywood faces a major external threat: runaway production costs, the growing trend of movie producers to shoot in places such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand to cash in on much lower staff and production charges.
"Some studios are doing some moderate lay offs. LA's future is at stake," Kyser said, demonstrating the depth of despair in the nine-billion-dollar a year industry.
Industry movers are battling to isolate the true causes of the slump, crossing their fingers that the big-budget money-spinners up Hollywood's sleeve will help ease the pain.
"Is it the movies? Is it the ticket prices? Is it because home theater and DVD?," pondered Exhibitor Relations Co's chief Paul Dergarabedian."I think is it because all this happening at the same time, it is a combination of facts."
But he was optimistic for the future of the industry, saying that when Hollywood does dish up a good film, audiences still go rushing to see it.
"'Harry Potter' is showing that people still want to go to the movies but still they need a good reason to go," Dergarabedian told AFP.
The fourth film of JK Rowling's cult novels opened on November 18 and has so far raked in 244 million dollars, making it second most successful film of 2005, behind "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith".
"When a good movie strikes, people go to the theatres," said Dergarabedian.
The last in the "Star Wars" series raked in a whopping 380 million dollars in North American box office, "War of the Worlds," starring Tom Cruise took 234 million, the comedy "Wedding Crashers" notched up 208 million in ticket receipts and Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" took 206 million.
But the successes were few and far between in 2005.
Ron Howard's 88-million-dollar biopic "Cinderella Man," starring Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, took only 61 million dollars, while Ridley Scott's crusade epic "Kingdom of Heaven," which cost 130 million dollars to make, reaped only 47 million at the all-important domestic the box office.
Other fizzlers that did not recoup their budgets included the much-touted sci-fi flop "The Island," which hauled in only 35 million dollars, while Jamie Foxx's military drama "Stealth" bombed with a US and Canadian haul of 31 million dollars. It quickly disappeared from screens.
"Movie goers are very picky and they want the price of the ticket to be worthwhile, the studios had to offer more," said Gitesh Pandya of movie industry tracker Box Office Guru.
"There should be more creativity and new ideas, not just sequels and remake. Let's hope Hollywood listens to the audiences," he added.
What a joke ,they are not losing a dime ,this is bull.They are swimming in cash,they know exactly what they are doing ,they know what sells and they know what their agenda is .Holiday time comes and the blockbusters make billions which allows them to make homo films to further that agenda
and they just write it off.We are the suckers who finance are own destruction.
Babylon 5 was my favorite. There were some space battles, but overall a very intricate and intellectual story.
I know he's doing something about the Mayas.
Gibson did warn Caviezel that he might never work in Hollywood again if he took the role of Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. Sad to say that Gibson may have been correct about that.
On the plus side, Caviezel has achieved a degree of cinema immortality most of today's so-called mega-stars will never know. A hundred, two hundred years from now people will still be watching his performance in "The Passion" (on whatever type of medium!) and it will touch them, inspire them and change their lives. The arrogant twits of today who pose and preen on the red carpet will be long forgotten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat
The Stainless Steel Rat refers to a fictional character and the series of novels involving the character. They were written by science fiction author Harry Harrison.
The Stainless Steel Rat, James Bolivar (or "Slippery Jim") DiGriz, is a futuristic con man, thief and all-round rascal. He is a master of disguise, an excellent bank robber, a brilliant breaker and enterer, and (perhaps most usefully) a skilled liar. It goes without saying that he is endlessly charming. A master of self-rationalization, the Rat frequently states his belief that he is doing society a favor by committing crimes.
There have been ten books in the Stainless Steel Rat series.
That's great news!
http://www.thezreview.co.uk/comingsoon/s/steelrat.htm
Stainless Steel Rat
This movie has been in talks and various stages of production for the last 16 years. The rights were originally bought by Producer Bill Mccutchen and Frank Agrama who have continued to option these rights ever year from Harry Harrison himself.
Harry Harrison is a SF writer who is probably best known for Soylent Green the Charlton Heston eco thriller.
(snip)
.... The planned budget for the movie kept rising and may now be in the $60 million range. This means that Mccutchen MUST get big money men behind him or a big star or director involved in the project.
It now appears that he has in the shape of Jan De Bont, director of Speed and Twister. Jan De Bont has come on board with his production firm Blue Tulip and partner Lucas Foster. Foster has apparently wanted to bring Stainless Steel Rat to the screen for the last eight years.
Jan De Bont has been quoted as saying "I love the characters and the setup, which is inventive, imaginative and fun, a space-aged James Bond" and also "It can be a major franchise" Mccutchen agreed to both De Bont and Foster coming on board to making it as a joint project.
A script is in preparation by TV screewriter Eric Blakeney who wrote the tv series Wise Guy and also directed Gunshy. It is not known if Harrison was involved in this.
(end excerpt)
Wow, I missed that !
And starring in a Jerry Bruckheimer-Denzel Washington summer blockbuster no less.
It wouldn't surprise me if Denzel (who strikes me as one together, righteous dude) specifically demanded him.
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