Caught on Film: A Growing Unease in Hollywood (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

New York Times ^ | August 19, 2006 | LAURA M. HOLSON

[Milhous]

. . .

Films like the Peter Jackson “King Kong” were considered disappointments, despite bringing in $547 million at the worldwide box office. And like many of her industry peers facing similar oversight, [Ms. Snider] regarded the scrutiny of the studio’s quarterly returns as, at times, oppressive.

. . .

Hers is a common refrain in Hollywood these days. Despite a domestic box-office surge after years of declining attendance, 2006 is shaping up to be a time of Hollywood discontent. Studio executives have waged war on actor salaries, as high-profile projects with stars like Jim Carrey have been put off. Movie production deals, like the one Tom Cruise has at Paramount, are being renegotiated. Studios are also making fewer big-budget movies.

But while Hollywood has undergone periodic shifts like this before, many people here agree that there is something different this time, a permanence to Hollywood’s new austerity plan. Executives are facing too many unknowns, among them, changing moviegoer habits, rising costs and the threat of piracy.

. . .

The concern so far seems largely psychological, although many here predict dark days ahead. Movie-making is no longer a growth business, and has lost its luster among investors. Even the most well-run large movie studios often return only 5 percent to 7 percent annually. And other forms of entertainment — the Internet, sports and video games — are fiercely competing for consumers’ attention.

“When you hear what people are afraid of, it’s that movies are not special anymore,” said Terry Press, who runs worldwide marketing at DreamWorks Animation. “It’s the single issue no wants to think about or say out loud.”

[Vision]

I think it was the rotting scenes. She's a silly lib out in San Fran now.

[Milhous]

Hollywood's commercial trend illustrated in this excerpt also seems to oppress Ms Snider's inner artiste:

What’s more, the [Disney] said it would focus mostly on Disney-branded films like the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, which it can exploit across all divisions.

“Where Disney may have sent ripples, it begged the question, Who knows what others will do?” said Leonard Goldberg, the movie producer and former business partner of Aaron Spelling who was known for television shows like “Charlie’s Angels” and “Fantasy Island.”

I like Mr Goldberg's take in this story:

Whatever the challenges ahead, Mr. Goldberg, the producer, said Hollywood would adapt as it did when silent movies became talkies, and three decades ago, when the VCR was perceived as a threat.

He had no sympathy for those who do nothing but complain. “Let them get a real job,” he said. “They get paid a lot. They go to great parties. They fly around in jets, not only for business reasons, but for personal things, too. I think there are worse jobs to have.”

[GOPJ]

What do you think, people getting tired of having left-wing politics and homosexuality shoved down their throats while paying ever-increasing prices at the theater?

Yeah, can't these guys entertain us without insulting us ? Or does that take too much "creativity" for these idiots?

Note to Hollywood: you don't have to be edgy, surprising, or out there. It's easier than all that - just quit being rude to us, quit rubbing our faces in it, quit talking down to us, quit sexualizing our children, quit preaching the liberal line, and preaching nutty California and just quit preaching. We heard you. If you want to preach all things liberal start a Unitarian Church and give up making movies. If you want to make movies and have us pay to see them, STOP PREACHING to us - we've heard it - and heard it - and heard it. DO YOU HEAR ME? Hollywood, DO YOU HEAR ME?