There's definitely some similarities there.
Owl_Eagle
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
it was probably sarcasm)
Posted on 08/24/2005 7:23:16 AM PDT by manny613
Movie theater attendance has been trending downward for years. Everyone has an opinion on the reason.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
Movie theaters used to have balconies and allowed smoking there. They were so high above everyone else it's doubtful the smoke bothered anyone, but then this was before anyone became hysterical about the subject. Even people who didn't smoke migrated there inasmuch as it was also a place where petting-lite was allowed. I'd be willing to bet theaters lost about 25% of their customer base once those things were outlawed.
Right now one of the better comedies I have seen recently "The 40 Year Old Virgin" is out and Ashton Kutcher isn't in it. Steve Carrel is, and he is just as funny it as he is in everything else. And from what I have seen of him that says something.
I stay away for one reason: I hate Hollywood's politics. These pretty people who act need to understand that acting does not make them any smarter than anybody else.
I intend to stay away until their politics go away.
Why go?
well if I see a movie that I think will interest me, then I will go to it regardless of who is in the movie.
But for most movies, I can either rent them via Netflix or I can just buy the DVD in 4 or 5 months for the same price as tickets and popcorn and sit in my own house....
the movie companies did it to themselves. They have rushed the movies and then rush the DVDs out there to increase their profits.
And yes, the worst are the kooks who react to the movie screen like they are the only ones in the theatre, like they've never seen a movie before and they think it's real. Hollywood has these people hooked good, these are the types who watch All In The Family reruns every day and DON'T see the punchlines coming. Ever. Followed by the people who laugh loudly at all the wrong times.
Don't forget Night of the Lepus, the "giant bunny" movie with Deforrest Kelly!
My reasons for avoiding the cineplexes:
1. Screaming kids.
2. Cell phones.
3. Nothing worth seeing. What I see advertised is made for someone with an IQ equal to a rock. And then there are movies with left-wing useful idiots like Baghdad Babs Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, and our all-time favorite, Hanoi Jane Fonda. Sorry, but I have better things to do with my time.
With regard to reason number 3, when I learned that "The Great Raid" was going to be released I perked up. Finally, after many years, there was going to be something at the cineplex for me! Unfortunately, none of the movie theaters in this town chose to show "The Great Raid."
Oh, well. I have a big-screen TV and a well-stocked library of movies that were made back when people knew how to make movies. Hey, Hollywood! Call me when you get relevant.
Steve Carrel was the best part of Anchorman, a movie that I was so disappointed with.
When we saw The Great Raid a couple of weeks ago the price for a small bag of popcorn was $3.75. The bag size was about 1/3 of the size of a microwave bag of popcorn.
Small fountain drinks were $3.75 as was a 16 oz. bottle of water.
A large order of canned cheese nachos was $9.00.
I like multiplexes, lots of movies and lots of times to chose from, I like being able to chose from a showing eveyr half hour when something big opens up. The problem with the old grand theaters is you watch movies with the lights off, who really cares about the decorations when the lights are off (like the old Motel 6 commercials "here's what their room looks like while you're sleeping and here's ours"). Yeah concession stand prices are outrageous but concession stand prices have been outrageous for as long as I've been alive, that's what a wife with a large purse is for (she smuggled home made steak and veggie dinners into one of the LOTR movies, best eats I ever had at a theater).
This year has a weak crop of summer movies, happens sometimes, Harry Potter 4 comes out in November, X-Men 3 next summer, Spidey 3 the summer after that, the money will recommence rolling in shortly. And, of course, the dirty little secret of Hollywood is that American theatrical release has represented a tiny portion of total movie revenues for a long long time. If Hollywood is really panicing about anything this year it's the general lack of cross marketing this summer's movies are making. Toy and video game knock-offs, that's where the real money is.
>>>Theater popcorn became uneatable when they stopped using coconut oil and real butter. >>>
No kidding!! I took the kids to see Valient over the weekend (very boring, even for a kids movie) and the popcorn tasted like plain popcorn with melted Crisco poured over it. No flavor at all, same great life threatening fat though.
The first time I saw Lindsey Lohan, I thought she MUST be related to Ann Margaret. Am I the only one who sees a resemblance of her and Ann?
If Jack Valente was around, i would have asked him if he could recommend some good priates so I could actually watch all the movie I paid for.
There's definitely some similarities there.
Owl_Eagle
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
What's missing today in movies is quality.
That's exactly correct and the main issue I don't and can't take my wife and four kids out to a flick. That's sixty bucks before popcorn or soda for usually a 90 minute film!
Bingo! Remember the days when we could see movies in theaters like this:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0760314926/ref=wl_it_dp/002-1621819-8851230?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=I2ZP0KCUN4VJ39&v=glance&colid=3U02OO258IDGC
You must be reading the industry trades. The entertainment business could care less whether or not people 'go' to see movies. It's all about promotion and awareness for much wider home-entertainment distribution.
This means coordinated marketing via magazines, TV, radio, etc to build up expectations and sell through DVDs. Part of this promotion crescendo is based on, as you state, simulcast/release to theatres and home broadcast.
The core need to be entertained has never dissipated; just the technology in which to communicate the product.
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