A sad state in American Cinema ?

I guess compared to disposable income. There are simply more alternatives now than we've ever had. High box office numbers doesn't necessarily equate to budgeted projections - hence the studios whining about fractured demographics.

dmc
 
i hear what you guys are saying. im not saying that pirating is killing movies but it does seem like a serious problem from what i have seen and its not the reason crap movies keep coming out. All im saying is that with tickets being some places by me as much as 12 dollars its now an alternatiive to casual film viewers that was never around. it used to be that if u wanted to see a movie you had to go to the theatre, and thats no longer the case. its not affecting the type of movies coming out but its giving people an alternative to going to the movies.
 
I agree, piracy does contribute - but I would say that it is a small percentage. That may soon change. I has certainly become a major concern within the music industry. Of course the technology has been easier/more available/for longer within that sector than it has within the film arena.



dmc
 
Yeah its definitly a bigger thing for the music industry, but they are developing all of these sites where you pay to download movies like itunes and I have even heard of this being possible for new movies. I dont like it and its not like its gonna happen tomorrow but its the way things are moving. I will always want to go to a theatre and I think thats the way most of us feel. like John said I dont care how nice my home setup is there is nuthing like seeing a movie in a theatre with a crowd.
 
I couldn't agree more!

Some of my fondest memories are of sitting in a theatre when I was a kid watching saturday afternoon monster movies (Roger Corman likely).

Ahhh.... a scratchy print, mono sound and stale popcorn. Good stuff!



dmc
 
the last time my eyes got wet at the theater was a few years ago at Return of The King....

the last time my eyes got wet from a DVD rental was a few nights ago with Nights of Cabiria... and it's Italian.

ever wonder why I almost always prefer renting DVD's then going to the theaters?
 
Piracy, for me, is not that much of a problem. Rappers and musicians still go to MTV to show of theyr ridiculously luxurious homes, somethimes even from bands I never heard of. Studios is the same. What they lose in direct sales they gain back in indirect publicity and word of mouth. What this did was to create an industry were terrible stuff just doesn't go so regularly to the big screen anymore, compared to, say, the eighties. The direct to dvd video is now a common factor to most second rate movies, and those aren't the target of piracy, i believe.

Of course, this constant battle and "campaigns"are essential to make piracy still an underground scene and not something you can come clean with, but the fact it exists is also a benefit for various parties, including the studio themselves. Countries like China and the middle east, for example, are strong in piracy, but also their income is pretty low per capita. What piracy does is give the possibility for poor people to learn and to experience culture.
 
snodart said:
if something is created with the primary purpose of making money (cough, cough, Thomas Kinkade), then it leaves the realm of art as far as I'm concerned and becomes Kitsch... AKA sh!t.

.....your name is really Jay Farrar, isn't it?
 
Look at how well Netflix has been doing.

http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2006/07/netflix_profits.html


I use to work in a theatre about 6 years ago, a friend of mine still does and says sales have continued to rise over the years, even if movies are getting "worse". Most people enjoy the comfort of their own home and can watch a movie there, if the phone rings, no prob, if you have to go to the washroom, just pause it. But the experience in a theatre is great, I love watching films with others, even if you risk have jerkoffs in the theatre. I saw Fellowship of the Ring 4 times in the theatre. The first time I noticed people shifting when the orc was going to finish off Boromir. The next three times, instead of watching the screen, I watched the audience for that part, and each and every time, pretty much everyone in the theatre, shifted back into their chair, as if the arrow was going to hit them.
 
c.g._eads said:
I met this girl that I've been hanging out with for a few weeks. Cute girl. Really like her. Then she told me that she willfully CHOSE to see Jackass 2. I stopped calling her and have no interest in ever talking to her again.

Ouch, that sounds like quite a loss.

I guess opposites don't always attract. Maybe she just went for a laugh and didn't need something intellectual that time. At least she may not be drawn to garbage like "Friends" or "Yes,Dear" which you could argue is more mind-numbing.
 
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