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Star Wars Producer Says Box Office is Doomed
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."
Just like to point out that most actors don't make anywhere near as much money as the big ticket names. While it's true that they do make a significant amount of money, a 200,000$ per film take isn't an excessive amount of money when you look at the cost of living for California.
Perhaps that's why our local theator (not really local as the company is Consoladated) is starting to employ some strange tactics to make more money. Ever heard of "premium seating"? They rope off the front row of the second section (stadium seating), reserving it for those that buy some season seating pass. So now, my $8.50 ticket can't even buy me a good seat.
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
--an unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys--
Thanks to the theatres hiking up the prices to go see a movie in the theatre is the real reason! Right now it is $13.50 to go see a movie at our theatres here on the West Coast. Why not wait for the DVD in 5 months when I can just buy the movie for $10 more?
:D
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.
I've been in many where people get on their phones as soon as the credits roll... And have heard a cellphone ring in a theater before.
9. Food prices. I can get a whole meal at JMU with a meal punch for the price I would pay for a drink ($3.50) at the local theatre.
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
There are theaters in my area that feature "crying rooms", where parents with crying babies can sit and still watch the movie.
It's a nice feature. Too bad nobody uses it.
psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo
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.
Doesn't matter how many folks are in the theater. The studio gets 95% to 100% of the ticket sales to their first-run movie. So 100 times 0 equals nothing from those 100 folk who watch the movie and don't buy the pop and popcorn
In Japan, the cost for me to go to see a movie is 1800 yen. About $16.50...to see a movie...at matinee hours.
The theater experience is not, but it ain't that nice. Gimme DVD any day.
Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
Yes, this is true.
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.
No Comment.
It's worth mentioning this cinema is independant by the way, could that have anything to do with it?
Yes.
Check prices in London, 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!
Troll?!
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.
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.