Star Wars Producer Says Box Office is Doomed 1203
Cutriss writes "Seen at CNN, this article interviews Rick McCallum, longtime producer at LucasFilms. McCallum says that DVDs will be responsible for the downfall of the movie industry *without* taking piracy into account, due to the fact that people think the home theatre experience is just as good, or better than the big screens, and they know that in five months, the DVD will be out on the market. Of course, his claim that "studios are barely breaking even" falls on deaf ears when I hear about 9-digit salaries for individual actors in a big-name film that's just some rehash of an old concept. He also mentions, of course, that DVD piracy and movie "sharing" groups will only speed up the cycle, and that they'll be putting Hollywood out of business, possibly within the next three years."
And yet, box office receipts keep rising... (Score:5, Informative)
It seems like that happens more weekends than not.
McCallum's predictions of doom sound like a bunch of BS to me.
Re:If hollywood goes out of buisness (Score:3, Informative)
Ever heard of "premium seating"? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Naturally... (Score:3, Informative)
You're either very much out of touch with what things cost, or more likely just bending the numbers to support your point of view.
Rentals cost 3.99 for new releases in blockbuster. In addition two, three or twenty people watching that same movie still cost $3.99. Compare this to any first run theater which is $8.50 minimum...per person.
One can throw together a very reasonable home theater system for under a grand. You invite who you want, decide when the movie starts, and most improtantly decide how LOUD the movie is.
It's really quite a thing to watch a movie in a nice home theater system with comfy seating and the volume cranked...I can assure you. And then of course there's the most important reason for having a home theater: Beer.
-Chris
This is Due to Expensive Theatre Prices (Score:2, Informative)
This is the REAL problem. Cut the cost of theatre ticket prices and maybe more people will go back to the theatres, rather than retreat to their PC systems and/or home theatres.
I don't have a home theatre setup, but a TV with DVD is fine by me.
Re:movie theaters suck... (Score:1, Informative)
4 more things (Score:3, Informative)
10. Inane local advertising in the theatre. I did not come to see advertising
11. Lack of leg room for those of us that are >5 feet tall
12. Turning the AC down so low that my gf has to look like a fsckin eskimo to keep from walking out a deep shade of blue
Re:Funny? He's serious (I think)! (Score:5, Informative)
It's a nice feature. Too bad nobody uses it.
Re:Funny? He's serious (I think)! (Score:4, Informative)
This is why you set up a linux box with ogle/videolan and use that as your DVD player. No FBI warning garbage, no macrovision, no regions, no disabled buttons, etc. Just the movie.
I read one comment in another thread where the guy was so annoyed that whenever he bought a DVD, he ripped it, removed all the crap, and then reburned it.
Re:Too Bad... (Score:1, Informative)
You think movies are expensive HERE? (Score:5, Informative)
The theater experience is not, but it ain't that nice. Gimme DVD any day.
Re:Too Bad... (Score:2, Informative)
Usually the distributors dictate what it will cost for a theatre to show a movie, and there are a number of ways of doing so.
Theatres can't buy the rights to show movie X as many times as they like, it costs them for EACH showing. Sometimes the actual cost is a set amount per screen, sometimes it's a set amount per seat capacity, sometimes it's a percentage of the ticket sales + a fee.
If I'm not mistaken, the last SW cost theatres something like half the take plus $1000 per showing or something ludicrous like that.
Re:They are also ridiculously expensive (Score:4, Informative)
Yes.
Check prices in London [londonnet.co.uk], and you'll find they're more in the £5 to £7 range.
When I go to the independent cinema here in Pennsylvania, it's more like $5 US. And you actually get movies that are worth watching!
Re:Too Bad... (Score:2, Informative)
I LIVE in Texas and was quoting a Simpsons episode, you simple-minded onion-skinned redneck jackass.
Harumph.
Karma? Bah, do your worst. Points to spare.
"Movies for Moms" (Score:5, Informative)
One of my local theatres has started running special "Movies for Moms" showings where noise and disturbances are *allowed*. They set up a row of tables at the back for diaper changing, keep the lights slightly brighter and the sound a LOT lower. They're doing a gangbuster business because they are giving people what they really want.
CNN is owned by one of the largest movie corps (Score:4, Informative)
It's not hard to imagine a scenario where an AOL executive tells CNN to start running stories that support the media industry's demands for favorable treatment by Congress. CNN would claim that its "ethics" would never allow such a thing to occur, but cross-promotion is the whole reason AOL has formed its empire, and if it comes to a choice between the axe and "bending the ethics," I'm sure CNN will be quite flexible.