When Moviegoers Vote With Their Feet (Hollywood Extinction Alert)

The New York Times ^ | March 16, 2006 | Sharon Waxman

[Ditter]

>>"independent film makers">>>

Funny you should mention that, a movie is being shot in Houston right now by a young independent film maker, a woman. She shot for 4 days last week in my house and yard. It is a romantic comedy, her first feature film, starring no one you ever heard of. I hope she does well with it.

[texas booster]

Most theaters couldn't reduce the price of concessions and stay in business.

Most of the money for first run movies goes back to the studios. Some cities even have a special tax on tickets. Now they are taking a bigger share of movie advertising. Concessions are all that is left to make a dime on.

Maybe if the big Hollywood studios would reduce their take on every movie, stop paying bloated (and incestuous) bureaucracies, then the financial dynamics of the industry might change.

[LS]

You should read Jason Apuzzo's "Townhall.com" column yesterday or the day before about why this reasoning isn't exactly accurate. There is NO "extinction" of the Hollywood left going on: all the Oscar winners made money, even though they didn't make as much money as, say, "Narnia." The trick, he showed, is that increasingly the leftists are making smaller budget films (most came in under $20 million) and they ALL get free advertising in the form of massive Oscar hoopla, self-reinforcing congratulations on all the "E" shows, and so on.

Apuzzo has poked a big hole in Michael Medved's claim that Hollywood's economics are working against it---they aren't. You can make MUCH, MUCH more money making a G-rated hit or a Christian film like "Passion," but you can still make LOTS of money and have your liberal ideology too if you keep the budget down.

Conservatives need to re-think the notion that Hollywood is committing suicide. We've been saying that for 30 years, and it ain't happenin', for good reason as Apuzzo shows.

[Little Ray]

They really don't care. Hollyweird makes plenty of money in foreign markets, on DVDs, merchandising, etc. They're not really losin' any money. That is why ya don't see much in the way of patriotic movies from that den of perversion and subversion. It won't sell in their REAL market.

Too bad. I'd like to see Hollyweird go belly up.

[Obadiah]

Let me get this straight. The movie industry's "stars" regularly assail President Bush, Republicans, anyone or anything resembling a conservative. They financially back liberal wacko candidates, they make movies with the intent on poking a stick in the eye of middle America. They insist on forcing such "entertainment" as Brokeback Mountain and other vulgur dreck and then they throw wild academy parties patting themselves on the back for their activities, and they wonder WHY there is declining movie attendance?

Yeah, let's hear more from George Clooney, Michael Moore, Julia Roberts and other luminaries about evil President Bush and evil American Republicans.

Their inability to make the connection is astounding.

[OpusatFR]

""...We are trying to understand what the public wants. And Galaxy does not yet have a handle on it." "

Hmmmm.....where to begin?

1. Stop talking down to us. It is consummately annoying to watch a movie dealing with subjects one works in day-to-day and the facts are completely missing, or blown out of proportion, or just plain wrong.

2. Entertain us. I go to movies to escape the gritty reality of life that isn't behind a gated community, not to be "enlightened" by people whose ideas are shaped by propaganda and fantasy.

3. Respect my values. Rubbing your intolerence toward my values tests my charity. Your charity toward me is non-existent.

So much...so little time....

[NRA1995]

Just my two cents here....too many comedy filmmakers overdo slapstick and airheaded behavior; it's funny for a little while, but not as a steady diet. Sitting through one of today's comedies is the equivalent of a "Three Stooges" marathon; after a couple episodes it gets old.

[Little Ray]

Gimme 20 million, and I'll start makin' Keith Laumer's Retief of the CDT into movie - SF action comedy with a nice dose of T&A added.
After I clean up on the first Retief move, I'll start make a Bolo movie - Bolo: For Honor of the Regiment. Sort of an anti-Terminator movie.
After that, I look at the feasibility of makin' John Ringo's Gust Front or March to the Stars into a movie.

With all the lovely material out there, makin' an old TV show into a movie is an effin' sin.

[yankeedame]

a dozen beefy, bare-chested men wearing chicken masks and black Lycra tights leapt from a wrestling ring onto the exhibition floor.

the aim is to whip up enthusiasm among movie theater owners for the coming summer blockbusters.

Yeah, that's gonna do it, all right.

================

LOL!!! Well...yeah...

[yankeedame]

Brokeback Mountain author, 70 year old Annie Proulx, probably agrees. Ticked off her story translated into film didn't get the best picture award,...

Yeah, but I bet she still cashed the check(s).

[righttackle44]

". . .undertake something similar to the "Got Milk" campaign. . . ."

After paying around nine bucks a ticket, the question is, "Get milked?"

[Enterprise]

I suspect that the damage is far greater than they can understand.

Not long ago, CBS was wondering where all the young male viewers have gone. Anyone with young male family members could have told them that they were in front of the TVs playing video games. CBS was not in their attention span at all.

Similarly, the older citizens of this nation were the main movie fans, and they in turn, took their children to movies. Since Hollywood has alienated a lot of this group, they have cut back their attendance, and are no longer motivated to take children to the movies with them. More damaging, the next generation of potential movie goers is not going to the movies either. They too, are tending to playing video games and spending more time on computers. It will take a lot of creativity to pry this group away from their games and computers and get them to the movies.

Combine all this then, with the poor quality of movies that Hollywood is producing, with a lack of courage and creativity, and you get an understanding of the true sense of why Hollywood continues to decline, and why it may simply become extinct. JMO however.

[CPOSharky]

Gimme 20 million, and I'll start makin' Keith Laumer's Retief of the CDT into movie - SF action comedy with a nice dose of T&A added.

After I clean up on the first Retief move, I'll start make a Bolo movie - Bolo: For Honor of the Regiment. Sort of an anti-Terminator movie.

If I had the bucks they would be yours. Just don't screw it up like they did "Starship Troopers."

[SouthernBoyupNorth]

If I had the money I would Bankroll ya!!!

[Exeter]

a dozen beefy, bare-chested men wearing chicken masks and black Lycra tights leapt from a wrestling ring onto the exhibition floor. the aim is to whip up enthusiasm among movie theater owners for the coming summer blockbusters.

Fake pro wrestlers? The mind boggles at the thought...

[longtermmemmory]

Why are theater owners blaming everything BUT the movie on the screen?

Left wing manure does not put posteriors in the seats.

[Bigs from Michigan]

Very true. Good Movies make money.

Look at the latest Harry Potter flick. US box office of just short of 300 million. World Box office of almost 900 million. This does not include the 9 million copies of the movie on DVD that have bee sold in the US alone. At an average price of $19.00 that is 228 million dollars in 10 days sales. they sold 5 million the first day alone. This does not include the millions made in other countries and the toys, games, and other marketing. I know that some here do not like the Harry Potter series and that is OK. But to millions, these are wonderful movies, they are funny, adventurous, scary, and an all around good time for all.

I can not understand why the holly weird types cant figure out that this is were the money is. The 4 movies have made a combined 4+ Billion dollars.

Isn't it ironic that the combined box office of the 4 top movies at the Oscars is less that that of a movie that was nominated for only two awards and got neither.

Thank goodness for peoples choice awards....

[Smokin' Joe]

I'll start make a Bolo movie - Bolo: For Honor of the Regiment. Sort of an anti-Terminator movie.

That is one book just aching to be made into a movie--and I thought that when I first read it well over 20 years ago.

[Enterprise]

I forgot to add one other thing. In advertising, it is imperative to keep attracting new customers. Thus when Coke or Bud advertise, it is to keep their present customers, and because there is always a new generation coming of age, they need to get their loyalty too. Hollywood has ignored this principle. They have both alienated their present core group, and they have failed to attract the next generation. Idiots in charge bring idiot results.

[cinives]

I read that, and I agree with it. But there's one point he didn't address - there will be fewer and fewer movies for the "big" stars, who command $10M-$20M per picture if the entire movie budget is $10M or so and the gross is only expected to be a small multiple of that.

So, the story will have to be the most important aspect if there are few or no stars in the credits.