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Film's Present

Page history last edited by Zac Humphrey 11 years, 4 months ago

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DVDS


 

DVD is an optical disc storage format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions.

Pre-recorded DVDs are mass-produced using molding machines that physically stamp data onto the DVD. Such discs are known as DVD-ROM, because data can only be read and not written nor erased. Blank recordable DVD discs (DVD-R and DVD+R) can be recorded once using a DVD recorder and then function as a DVD-ROM. Rewritable DVDs (DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM) can be recorded and erased multiple times.

DVDs are used in DVD-Video consumer digital video format and in DVD-Audio consumer digital audio format, as well as for authoring AVCHD discs. DVDs containing other types of information may be referred to as DVD data discs.

 

 

BLU-RAY DISCS 


 

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Conventional (pre-BD-XL) Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs (50 GB) being the industry standard for feature-length video discs. Triple layer discs (100 GB) and quadruple layers (128 GB) are available for BD-XL re-writer drives. The name Blu-ray Disc refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser usedP for DVDs. The major application of Blu-ray Discs is as a medium for video material such as feature films. Besides the hardware specifications, Blu-ray Disc is associated with a set of multimedia formats. Generally, these formats allow for the video and audio to be stored with greater definition than on DVD.

The format was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, a group representing makers of consumer electronics, computer hardware, and motion pictures. The first Blu-ray Disc prototypes were unveiled in October 2000, and the first prototype player was released in April 2003 in Japan. Afterwards, it continued to be developed until its official release in June 2006. As of June 2011, more than 2,500 Blu-ray Disc titles were available in Australia and the United Kingdom, with 3,500 in the United States and Canada. In Japan, as of July 2010, more than 3,300 titles have been released.

During the high definition optical disc format war, Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format. Toshiba, the main company that supported HD DVD, conceded in February 2008, releasing its own Blu-ray Disc player in late 2009. 

 

 

 

 

PIXAR


 

 

Pixar broke off from LucasFilm  in 1986, where they were the computer graphics group. They did this with finatial backing from Steve Jobs.They were later bought by Disney in 2006 for 7.4 billion dollars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Films

TitleYearDirector(s)Writer(s)Producer(s)Composer(s)
Toy Story 1995 John Lasseter Original Story: John Lasseter & Pete Docter & Andrew Stanton & Joe Ranft
ScreenplayJoss Whedon & Andrew Stanton & Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow
Ralph Guggenheim
Bonnie Arnold
Randy Newman
A Bug's Life 1998 Original Story: John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton & Joe Ranft
Screenplay: Andrew Stanton & Donald McEnery & Bob Shaw
Darla K. Anderson
Kevin Reher
Toy Story 2 1999 Original Story: John Lasseter & Pete Docter & Ash Brannon & Andrew Stanton
Screenplay: Andrew Stanton & Rita Hsiao & Doug Chamberlin & Chris Webb
Helene Plotkin
Karen Robert Jackson
Monsters, Inc. 2001 Pete Docter Original Story: Pete Docter & Jill Culton & Jeff Pidgeon & Ralph Eggleston
Screenplay: Andrew Stanton & Daniel Gerson
Darla K. Anderson
Finding Nemo 2003 Andrew Stanton Original Story: Andrew Stanton
Screenplay: Andrew Stanton & Bob Peterson & David Reynolds
Graham Walters Thomas Newman
The Incredibles 2004 Brad Bird John Walker Michael Giacchino
Cars 2006 John Lasseter Original Story: John Lasseter & Joe Ranft & Jorgen Klubien
ScreenplayDan Fogelman & John Lasseter & Joe Ranft & Kiel Murray & Phil Lorin & Jorgen Klubien
Darla K. Anderson Randy Newman
Ratatouille 2007 Brad Bird Screenwriter: Brad Bird
Original StoryJan Pinkava & Jim Capobianco & Brad Bird
Brad Lewis Michael Giacchino
WALL-E 2008 Andrew Stanton Original Story: Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter
Screenplay: Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon
Jim Morris Thomas Newman
Up 2009 Pete Docter Story: Pete Docter & Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy
Screenplay: Bob Peterson & Pete Docter
Jonas Rivera Michael Giacchino
Toy Story 3 2010 Lee Unkrich Story: John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
ScreenplayMichael Arndt
Darla K. Anderson Randy Newman
Cars 2 2011 John Lasseter Original Story: John Lasseter & Brad Lewis & Dan Fogelman
ScreenplayBen Queen
Denise Ream Michael Giacchino
Brave 2012 Mark Andrews
Brenda Chapman
Story: Brenda Chapman
Screenplay: Mark Andrews & Steve Purcell and Brenda Chapman & Irene Mecchi
Katherine Sarafian Patrick Doyle

 

 

THE DIGITAL AGE


 

Quentin Tarantino talks about digital vs 35mm Film

  

 

 

NETFLIX


 

In 1998 Hastings and Marc Randolph co-founded Netflix, offering flat rate rental-by-mail to customers in the United States.  Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, Netflix has amassed a collection of 100,000 titles and over 20 million subscribers.  "I got the idea for Netflix after my company was acquired," said Hastings.  "I had a big late fee for 'Apollo 13.' It was six weeks late and I owed the video store $40. I had misplaced the cassette. It was all my fault. I didn’t want to tell my wife about it. And I said to myself, 'I’m going to compromise the integrity of my marriage over a late fee?' Later, on my way to the gym, I realized they had a much better business model. You could pay $30 or $40 a month and work out as little or as much as you wanted."

Hastings said that when he founded Netflix, he had no idea whether customers would use the service. "Netflix was originally a single rental service, but the subscription model was one of a few ideas we had—so there was no Aha! moment. Having unlimited due dates and no late fees has worked in a powerful way and now seems obvious, but at that time we had no idea if consumers would even build and use an online queue."

 

 

Reed Hastings says netflix is now a streaming company

 

Netflix is one of the main reasons that so much pressure was put on traditional video retail, ultimately leading to the bankruptcy filing of Blockbuster. Netflix has been changing its business model to keep up with consumer trends that are migrating from DVDs to streaming content.

Netflix offered up its financial data for Q3 2010 this week and the company is doing very well. During Q3 2010, Netflix added 1.9 million new subscribers bringing the total number of subscribers to the service up to 16.9 million. The 16.9 million figure is a gain of 52% from the same quarter of 2009. Netflix also stated in the earnings release that 2/3 of the customers of the service now stream content, up from 41% last year and 61% in Q2 2010.

Netflix grew its revenue significantly from $431 million in Q3 2009 to $553.2 million in Q3 2010 for a growth rate of 30% compared to last year. Interestingly, the number of DVDs that Netflix sent to users by mail declined in areas like San Francisco and grew overall by only 10% despite the significant amount of new users that signed up and the growth in revenue. That is a clear indication that more and more users are streaming content only. Netflix did note that it still spends more than $500 million to ship discs.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said, "We are very proud to announce that by every measure we are now a streaming company, which also offers DVD-by-mail. In Q4, we’ll spend more on streaming content than DVD content, and we’ll deliver many more hours of entertainment via streaming than on DVD. More impressively, a majority of our subs will watch more content streamed from Netflix than delivered by us on DVD. DVD-by-mail shipments are still growing, but streaming for us is much larger and growing much faster."

Hastings notes that the company is able to retain more customers thanks to word of mouth marketing by customers and high customer satisfaction. The cost to acquire a new subscriber dropped to $19.81 for Q3 2010 compared to $26.86 for Q3 2009. The huge growth in streaming use also lead to Hastings stating that streaming only subscriptions could be introduced this year. Netflix also plans to expand its service to more countries.

Netflix launched its streaming service in Canada in September marking its first venture outside America. AllThingsD reports that the earnings for the quarter were very close to Wall Street expectations with non-GAAP earnings of $0.70 on expectations of $0.71, missing the mark by a penny. However, Wall Street expected revenue of $551 million, which Netflix beat with $553 million.
 

        

-NETFLIX has 23 million subcribers and last year they watched over 2 billion hours of streaming movies. There are only 8766 hours in a year.

 

 

REDBOX


 

 

Redbox Automated Retail LLC was initially funded by McDonald's Corp. In 2002, the company placed four automated convenience store kiosks, that sold grocery items such as milk, eggs, and sandwiches, and 11 DVD rental kiosks in Washington Metropolitan Area locations. While Redbox withdrew the grocery kiosks within a year, the DVD-rental kiosks it had also installed in the area succeeded, and the company changed its focus to that market. In 2005, Coinstar bought 47 percent of the company for $32 million.  In early 2008, Coinstar exercised an option to increase its share from 47% to 51%  . In February 2009, Coinstar paid McDonald’s and other shareholders between $169 and $176 million for the remainder of the company.  

The company passed Blockbuster in 2007 in number of U.S. locations,  passed 100 million rentals in February 2008,  and passed 1 billion rentals in September 2010.  Competitors include Netflix and Blockbuster. As of Q2 2011, kiosks currently have 36 percent of the disc rental market, with 38 percent to rent-by-mail services and 25 percent to traditional stores, according to the NPD Group. As of Q2 2011, 68 percent of the U.S. population lives within a five-minute drive of a Redbox kiosk.

Mitch Lowe joined Redbox in 2003 after spending 5-years as a co-founder of Netflix. At Redbox, he started first as a consultant and then as VP of Purchasing & Operations. In 2005, he became the Chief Operating Officer of Redbox.  Lowe had experimented in 1982 with a short-lived VHS movie vending company named Video Droid. Mitch Lowe was named President of Redbox in April 2009.

In July 2010, Redbox announced that they were beginning to rent Blu-ray movies at 13,000 kiosks nationwide, and Blu-ray was available across the Redbox network by the fall of 2010.  In October 2010, the company began testing video game rentals in Reno, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; Stevens Point, Wisconsin; Austin, Texas; Wilmington, North Carolina and Corvallis, Oregon. In June 2011, Redbox launched video game rentals nationwide. Games for all major platforms are offered, including Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. 

In February 2012, Redbox announced the purchase of former competitor, Blockbuster Express (NCR), for $100 million. The acquisition included over 10,000 DVD kiosks, certain retailer contracts, and DVD inventory. As part of the agreement, Redbox will enter into a supplier arrangement where they will purchase product and services from NCR.  On June 27, 2012, Redbox sent an email to its customers announcing that it had completed the purchase of Blockbuster Express on June 23. 

Redbox began internally testing its own video streaming service, dubbed Redbox Instant, in July 2012. The service is a joint effort between Redbox and Verizon.

The founder of Redbox, Gregg Kaplan, exits Coinstar as president & COO of Redbox. Anne Saunders is the new president of Redbox.

 

 

 

 

Digital movie projectors end Hollywood's film era

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The 122-year reign of the celluloid 35-millimeter film projector is about to come to an end.

In just two months, digital will overtake film as the predominant movie projector technology in the world's cinemas, according to a study released this week by IHS. It will be the first time since the advent of the motion picture in 1889 that film projectors will be used to screen a minority of movies.

The most amazing thing about the transition is not how long film stuck around, but just how dramatic and rapid the shift to digital projectors was. Film projectors were in more than 99% of theaters as recently as 2004 and 85% in 2009. That number slid to 68% last year, and by the end of next year, film will be present in just 37% of cinemas.

 

 

AMERICA DOMINATES THE MARKET- In many countries, American films capture up to 90% of the market. In, striking contrast, forgein films constitute only a tiny fraction-less than 2% 

 

1999 Blair Witch Project cost $30,000 made $125 million making it the most profitable movie in hollywood history  

 

 

 

 

Annual Ticket Sales

 

 
  1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Tickets (billion) 1.22 1.27 1.42 1.45 1.44 1.39 1.44 1.58 1.55 1.49 1.40 1.41 1.40 1.39 1.42 1.33 1.30 1.34
Revenue ($bn) $5.29 $5.59 $6.51 $6.78 $7.30 $7.48 $8.13 $9.19 $9.35 $9.27 $8.95 $9.25 $9.63 $9.95 $10.65 $10.50 $10.28 $10.49

 

Note: Figures for 2012 are at an annualized rate.

 

 

 

Top-Grossing Distributors 1995 to 2012


 

  MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share
1 Warner Bros. 542 $23,752,805,434 $43,824,364 15.56%
2 Walt Disney 461 $21,395,030,112 $46,410,044 14.01%
3 Sony Pictures 547 $20,227,757,830 $36,979,448 13.25%
4 Paramount Pictures 360 $18,177,018,143 $50,491,717 11.91%
5 20th Century Fox 372 $17,193,946,868 $46,220,287 11.26%
6 Universal 343 $15,876,083,149 $46,285,957 10.40%
7 New Line 196 $5,151,566,342 $26,283,502 3.37%
8 Dreamworks SKG 75 $4,083,551,613 $54,447,355 2.67%
9 Lionsgate 235 $3,892,382,936 $16,563,332 2.55%
10 Miramax 375 $3,825,952,450 $10,202,540 2.51%

See complete chart

 

 

 

Top-Grossing Genres 1995 to 2012


 

  MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share
1 Comedy 1,751 $44,792,158,044 $25,580,901 23.48%
2 Adventure 521 $38,199,674,469 $73,319,913 20.03%
3 Drama 3,132 $33,621,012,632 $10,734,678 17.63%
4 Action 570 $32,066,637,809 $56,257,259 16.81%
5 Thriller/Suspense 561 $15,495,734,985 $27,621,631 8.12%
6 Romantic Comedy 403 $11,286,883,357 $28,007,155 5.92%
7 Horror 329 $9,093,205,812 $27,638,923 4.77%
8 Documentary 1,076 $2,063,950,710 $1,918,170 1.08%
9 Musical 113 $1,865,013,970 $16,504,548 0.98%
10 Black Comedy 85 $781,440,299 $9,193,415 0.41%

See complete chart

 

 

Top-Grossing MPAA Ratings 1995 to 2012


 

  MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share
1 PG-13 2,028 $85,955,147,762 $42,384,195 45.08%
2 R 3,575 $54,833,115,390 $15,337,934 28.76%
3 PG 986 $36,830,727,925 $37,353,679 19.32%
4 G 276 $10,634,593,071 $38,531,134 5.58%
5 Not Rated 2,279 $1,760,744,156 $772,595 0.92%
6 NC-17 21 $72,872,987 $3,470,142 0.04%
7 Open 5 $7,678,311 $1,535,662 0.00%

See complete chart

 

 

Top-Grossing Sources 1995 to 2012


 

  MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share
1 Original Screenplay 4,372 $93,337,986,618 $21,349,036 48.82%
2 Based on Book/Short Story 1,351 $42,732,118,849 $31,629,992 22.35%
3 Remake 243 $12,198,347,542 $50,198,961 6.38%
4 Based on TV 172 $10,545,801,765 $61,312,801 5.52%
5 Based on Comic/Graphic Novel 109 $9,432,906,250 $86,540,424 4.93%
6 Based on Real Life Events 1,482 $9,297,787,641 $6,273,811 4.86%
7 Based on Magazine Article 62 $2,440,949,404 $39,370,152 1.28%
8 Based on Play 179 $2,135,717,747 $11,931,384 1.12%
9 Disney Ride 7 $1,626,298,611 $232,328,373 0.85%
10 Traditional/Legend/Fairytale 35 $1,477,688,363 $42,219,668 0.77%

See complete chart

 

 

Top-Grossing Production Methods 1995 to 2012


 

  MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share
1 Live Action 8,036 $158,174,499,158 $19,683,238 82.91%
2 Animation/Live Action 105 $14,433,864,669 $137,465,378 7.57%
3 Digital Animation 145 $12,837,560,468 $88,534,900 6.73%
4 Hand Animation 112 $4,195,530,200 $37,460,091 2.20%
5 Stop-Motion Animation 20 $481,507,093 $24,075,355 0.25%
6 Rotoscoping 3 $10,645,898 $3,548,633 0.01%
7 Multiple Production Methods 13 $5,925,453 $455,804 0.00%

See complete chart

 

 

Top-Grossing Creative Types 1995 to 2012


 

  MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share
1 Contemporary Fiction 3,993 $87,731,318,391 $21,971,279 46.01%
2 Kids Fiction 323 $20,447,016,938 $63,303,458 10.72%
3 Fantasy 467 $18,487,186,258 $39,587,123 9.70%
4 Science Fiction 338 $17,701,317,278 $52,370,761 9.28%
5 Historical Fiction 823 $17,006,323,922 $20,663,820 8.92%
6 Dramatization 553 $9,323,312,841 $16,859,517 4.89%
7 Super Hero 55 $7,245,650,889 $131,739,107 3.80%
8 Factual 1,113 $2,627,873,051 $2,361,072 1.38%
9 Multiple Creative Types 15 $27,334,858 $1,822,324 0.01%

See complete chart

© 1997-2012 Nash Information Services, LLC. All rights reserved.
For comments or corrections, please email us at
corrections@the-numbers.com

 

The Colorado Shooting and it's impact on the movie industry

below is a link to a short video about the recent(2012) shooting at a movie theater in colorado at the realease of "The Dark Knight Rises"

 http://www.necn.com/pages/video?PID=WEPCF4s0xrXQY6tbYNiMX6hlAu2C90Jk

 

 

Political :


REDBOX'S LEGAL BATTLES WITH THE MOVIE STUDIOS

 
With growing concern in 2009 that DVD kiosks may jeopardize DVD sales and rentals, three major movie studios,
20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal Studios, separately refused to sell DVDs to Redbox until at least 28 days after their arrival in stores.[12] Since Redbox’s business model relies upon new releases,[12] and Fox and Warner Bros. represented 62 percent of home video rental revenue in 2008–09, analysts have said that this “windowing” of new releases by the three studios may make Redbox’s business model unviable.[25][26]

Redbox responded by filing lawsuits, first, against Universal in October 2008,[27] then against 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. in August 2009.[28][29] In these lawsuits, Redbox has asserted three claims against the studios: copyright misuse, tortious interference and antitrust claims. In August 2009, the federal judge hearing the Universal case rejected the first two claims, but allowed the antitrust claim to continue.[30] While the judge found sufficient merit in the antitrust claim to allow the case to continue, some independent observers doubt it can succeed, since Redbox "must show that the studios worked together as a cartel... There is little evidence of an industrywide conspiracy."[25][29] In October 2009, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. filed motions to dismiss Redbox's lawsuits against them, with Fox arguing that "antitrust law does not require a seller to provide its product through the distribution channel that the buyer demands, on the date that the buyer demands, or at the price that the buyer demands,"[31] and Warner Bros. saying that "This is precisely the type of routine business dispute, motivated solely by a merchant’s attempt to protect its profits rather than to protect competition, that the antitrust laws are not meant to address."[32]

Other major studios, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Lionsgate signed distribution deals with Redbox.[12]The Walt Disney Company permits third-party distributors to sell to Redbox, but has not entered into a direct relationship with the company.[12] Both sides of the studio lawsuits have pointed to these revenue-sharing deals to shore up their argument, with Redbox President Mitch Lowe saying "our growth can lead to theirs [the studios' growth]. For example, Redbox currently estimates we will pay more than a combined $1 billion over the next five years to Sony, Lionsgate and Paramount to purchase and then rent new release DVDs to consumers,"[33] while Warner Bros. says the deals are proof that far from being shut out by Hollywood, "Redbox’s business has thrived since its suit against Universal, underscored by lucrative distribution deals with Paramount Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and Lionsgate."[32]

 

CENSORSHIP AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT

 

In the 1915 case of Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio, the Supreme Court observed that motion pictures do not constitute part of the “press” in the State of Ohio. For this reason, motion pictures were held not entitled to First Amendment protection from censorship. This case arose in response to the passing of a statute, whereby the Board of Censors had to approve all motion pictures prior to their exhibition.

Later, in 1918 the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry voted for self-censorship. A code of standards which specified unacceptable subjects and situations for depiction in motion pictures was also specified.

The case of Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on the matter of censorship and first amendment. In this case it was held by the court that the First Amendment protection is bestowed upon motion pictures. The ban of the Italian film “The Miracle” in New York City and New York State was challenged. After considering the matter, the Supreme Court, ruled that:

1) Motion pictures are included within the free speech and press guarantees of the First Amendment;

2) the New York Education Law prohibiting the exhibition of any film without a license was void as a prior restraint on protected expression; and

3) a movie cannot be banned on the charge of sacrilege.

Therefore the ban on the film was lifted.

http://entertainmentlaw.uslegal.com/censorship/first-amendment-and-censorship/

 

After a pathetic debate performance, liberals are no longer so confident that Barack Obama is a lock for re-election!!!

With a weakened president now exposed as an empty suit, liberals are scared that the debate may have changed the dynamics of the race. They need to pull out all the stops to boost his chances.

Another method of helping the president is to remind everyone of the Osama Bin Laden mission, which is obviously the highlight of the Obama administration. Hollywood filmmakers produced two movies about the raid, with one of them airing on national television right before the election.

The movie, “Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden,” will premiere on the National Geographic Channel on Sunday, Nov. 4, two days before the presidential election. It will then be available on Netflix the next day, conveniently right before the election...

                                

 

 

     

STRUGGLES OF THE FILM INDUSTRY:


 

The top 10 problems with the Movie Industry.

  1. The MPAA. Most movie theaters will not carry movies that aren’t rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA is a tool the industry uses to shape the collective opinion of society. Make no mistake, the reason that the average American believes that violence is more appropriate in entertainment than sexuality is because that’s what the movie industry wants us believe. The MPAA’s history of being more lenient on violence and condemning of sex isn’t a reflection of society. On the contrary, we believe that sexuality in film is bad because the MPAA says that it is. If anything, there should be more sexuality in films, and much less violence. The MPAA also charge fees for their rating service, which help to keep low budget movies from even getting a rating.
  2. Censorship. The movie industry exercises censorship. This is due to the fact that the rating system in question has its roots in Catholic dogma. The rating system evolved from The Hays Code, which was originally devised as a way to keep movies from “lowering the moral standards of those who see it.” That is a direct quote. While society has evolved outside of this principle, the movie industry hasn’t moved very far from the concept of controlling what is considered moral or not. This is the main reason why the 2002 film “The Profit” has been banned in the United States. The movie quite simply pissed off some powerful people who wanted to see the movie go away. And away it went.
  3. The Glass Ceiling. The industry has a glass ceiling. As far as movies have come within the last 20 years, there is still very little money or success to be made unless a powerful executive lets you have it. You can release a movie independently, but in order to gain an audience in this country, the movie has to have millions of corporate dollars behind it. An independent film scene could grow and become prosperous, allowing for many people to share their viewpoint and artistic expression, but since this would cut into the industry’s bottom line, they try to prevent it from happening.
  4. Actors are paid way too much. As evidenced by the fact that actors get paid too much is how little some of them have to work. By definition, when someone “does” something for a living, he or she must actually do it more than one time a year! Otherwise, the actor “did” something for a living. Even considering the ridiculous, out of touch lifestyle that these people live, they still make more than enough money to not have to work very often. And these are the people that we are supposed to “connect” with when we watch movies. There are a few exceptions though, such as Samuel L Jackson, who have a great work ethic, but these are few and far between.
  5. The industry blames piracy, instead of their own decision to turn movie theaters into a free for all when it comes to unruliness, the presence of cell phones, demographics, the declining span of time between theatrical and video release, and the very concept of paying what is now over $10 for a ticket only to be assaulted with 15+ minutes of advertisements! Trust me, piracy is a byproduct of the industry’s total disregard for the audience. Piracy is NOT the problem, it is a symptom of the problem. But what does the industry do? They put us on a guilt trip!
  6. Lack of Artistic Direction. Nowadays, movies are being planned in boardrooms and business meetings. The aim has become to make money, and because that is so common in Hollywood, we are led to believe that it’s okay. Well, it’s not okay. Movies are an extension of the human desire to tell stories. The stories are what’s important. The money comes into play so that an artist has the OPPORTUNITY to tell his story, and not the bloody OBLIGATION to! Filmmakers are making movies, so that greedy executives can live out their lavish lifestyles, and so that movie theaters can continue to churn out more new releases every single Friday. The movie industry is nothing more than a glamorized assembly line.
  7. Movies are no longer events. The appeal of seeing a movie in the theater is diminished when the viewer knows that it will be on DVD within three months. And not only that, but the average moviegoer has turned into such a prude about other people enjoying the movie. If you don’t believe, try cheering or clapping the next time you go to a crowded movie and see how well that goes over. When was the last time you went to a film, and considered it to be an event that you would remember for many years? Movies should be that way EVERY time you go, and if you believe otherwise, then you are a victim of the diminished value that the industry has created.
  8. Advertising. There is no reason that advertising has to be so prominent in movies. People have shown that they WILL pay money to watch movies. With outlets such as movie theaters and pay per view being profitable ventures, it shows people will even pay to watch a movie one time! The ability for movies to make money is there. Why punish your loyal customers by making them watch commercials in the theater, disable the “next” button on DVD trailers, and cutting in with countless product placements? The time has come for the common people to show that this is NOT acceptable.
  9. Political Agendas. Some people say that the media in general has a liberal bias, while other people think that the media is ran by conservative tycoons. What is for sure is that movies are used too often as a primary source of a person’s information on a given subject. Movies can be one of the most powerful media in the world, and it sucks that it is being misused by some people. I won’t name any names, but they’re out there.
  10. Lack of Responsiblity. Ultimately, the movie industry’s number one problem is their lack of responsibility for their own faults. Movie ticket sales are down. Way down. And instead of looking to simple concepts such as supply and demand, the movie industry places the blame solely on you, the viewer. There are many, many reasons why movie attendance is down, but rather than adapt to changes in society, and adjust their business to fit these changes, the industry decides to increase ticket prices, and insert more advertising.

http://www.swollenthumb.com/2009/02/top-10-problems-with-the-movie-industry/

 

 

 

 

 

 Star Wars and Political Influence


 

 

 

 

With the first decade of the War on Terror behind us, it is relevant to review the important media that influenced thought processes and culture. Throughout history, movies and all forms of entertainment have influenced history and been influenced by it. Fewer have had a greater sociological impact than George Lucas and his Star Wars epics. What started thirty years ago as a (according to Lucas) "rather silly story", largely borrowing heavily from other science fiction authors, has instead turned into a running treatise on political and historical allegory. With the Star Wars series now eclipsed by the movie Avatar in revenue, it is relevant to remember the influence of the franchise from a social and political perspective, and the impact on the moviegoing public.

With the 2005 release of Return of the Sith, Lucas managed to pull movie reviewers (and actors in the films) into perhaps drawing parallels they wouldn't have. Perhaps, by pulling actors into thinking that they are living parallels with the events of their time, Lucas believed he could extract better performances from them. Most fans fell into the trap of watching the movie, assuming the similarities reflect reality. Lucas' private assertion was that the war on terror has a negative side effect of increasing executive power. Daniel Froomken, in a special for the Washington Post in May 2005, attests Revenge of the Sith can "also be seen as a cautionary tale for our time -- a blistering critique of the war in Iraq, a reminder of how democracies can give up their freedoms too easily, and an admonition about the seduction of good people by absolute power."

Some film critics suggested it could have been the biggest anti-Bush blockbuster since Fahrenheit 9/11. While Lucas publicly asserted that these movies do not seek to rewrite history or create it out of thin air as Moore's fiction has, privately he acknowledges that the movie "has parallels that may be close to home." Lucas continues to the Associated Press: "I never mentioned the president by name but was eager to speak my mind on U.S. policy in Iraq, careful again to note that he created the story long before the Bush-led occupation there. "When I wrote it, Iraq didn't exist (although Nixon and Vietnam clearly did) We were just funding Saddam Hussein and giving him weapons of mass destruction. We didn't think of him as an enemy at that time. We were going after Iran and using him as our surrogate, just as we were doing in Vietnam . . . The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable." Lucas said he has long been interested in the transition from democracy to dictatorship. "In ancient Rome, why did the senate, after killing Caesar, turn around and give the government to his nephew? Why did France, after they got rid of the king and that whole system, turn around and give it to Napoleon? It's the same thing with Germany and Hitler. You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption." The implication is rather thick. At Cannes recently, Lucas openly revealed his perspective in late 2004, stating "Star Wars is a wake-up call to Americans about the erosion of democratic freedoms under George W. Bush." Some of the dialogue in "Revenge of the Sith" also seems inspired by post-9/11 United States policy. "You're either with me, or you're my enemy," Anakin tells his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the film, while the Jedi Knights clash in a lightsaber duel. And soon after 9/11, Bush declared to the world, "you are either with us or against us." There are other lines in the film that reflect current U.S. politics. When Samuel L. Jackson's character, Mace Windu, leads a group of Jedi to arrest Palpatine, the power-hungry tyrant hisses, "I am the Senate." One can't help but wonder if Lucas stole that line from the Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who reportedly once said: "I am the government."

 

 

 

 

                                              FILM INDUSTRY INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CULTURE                                                        


 

     

More and more, Hollywood is betting on its powers of social engineering. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Charlize Theron have taken pay cuts and strolled red carpets for features that further humanitarian or political agendas. Big-name directors have put their reputations on the line, and rich men have risked fortunes for passion projects.

 

 

 

 

 

NOTABLE EXAMPLES


 

 

BLOOD DIAMOND

Had the requisite Hollywood love story to doll it up. However it was in large part a vehicle to expose the awful reality of the slave labor used by warlords to mine diamonds, sell them, and use the money to fuel their civil war with government armies from 1996 to 2001. It served Hollywoods humanitarian desire to expose the awful atrocities that the general public was unaware were happening. 

 

 

 

 

HOTEL ROWANDA

Again, Hollywood humanitarians depiction to the world of the 1994 upheaval of Rwandas government caused by the mass genocide the Hutu people were executing against the Tutsi people. It drew attention to the estimated 800,000 people who had died during the 100's of years of these tribes warring in the Sudan.

 

 

 

SICKO

 

Controversial documentary film maker Michael Moore's outing of the disgusting relationship between insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies that control our healthcare system as we know it. It exposes the illusion of our countries company line that, private healthcare is superior and socialized healthcare inferior by contrasting our system to the socialized healthcare systems of Cuba, The U.K., and Canada. It's strikingly clear which healthcare model is full tilt for the people, and which is in it for the$

 

 

 

 

AVATAR


 

Director James Cameron said in a private early screening that; "As an artist, I felt a need to say something about what I see going on around me.

 

 

 With its depiction of mineral exploitation on a distant planet and a cadre of trigger-happy mercenaries charged with instituting a scorched earth policy -- is very much a political film

 

 

 



 


 

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