Why do you think movie tickets sales are in such a big slump?

[johnsocal]

Besides a huge hit like SW's Ep3 movie ticket sales for the year aren't looking good.

Why do think people are not going to the movies as much anymore?

1. crappy movies

2. high ticket prices

3. Overloaded with home entertainment- cable, satellite, computers/internet, videogames, DVD's, Big-screen HDTV, and etc.

4. All the above


more info about sagging movie ticket sales can be found @ http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/19/summer.overview/index.html

[e1618978]

Originally posted by johnsocal
Besides a huge hit like SW's Ep3 movie ticket sales for the year aren't looking good.

Why do think people are not going to the movies as much anymore?

1. crappy movies

2. high ticket prices

3. Overloaded with home entertainment- cable, satellite, computers/internet, videogames, DVD's, Big-screen HDTV, and etc.

4. All the above

5. The other people at the movies. Nasty, crinkling celophane, cell phone jabbering, thuggish people.

I have a 120" projection screen. If I could get first run movies on it, I would never go to the theater again.

[ipodandimac]

ticket prices are STUPID. and there aren't any good movies. that's it.

[johnsocal]

Sometimes I think pure digital special effects have cheapened movies. Now when something happens like a major chase seen or something being blown up it doesnt have an element of danger with stuntman and actual pyrotechnics anymore. While I love digital effects in movies like SW's but explosions and etc have lost their WOW-factors since we just reduce them to "that's just a digital effect made on a Mac" .

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by johnsocal
Sometimes I think pure digital special effects have cheapened movies. Now when something happens like a major chase seen or something being blown up it doesnt have an element of danger with stuntman and actual pyrotechnics anymore. While I love FX in movies like SW's but explosions and etc have lost their WOW-factors since we just reduce them too "that is a just a digital effect made on a Mac" .

Agreed. As much as I like digital effects, when action sequences become too fantastic, they loose some edge. Now, there's a place for this, but it certainly gets overused.

But in line with the thread, I'm going to say that (4) is the answer. For me it's, "why am I going to spend $8 to see a movie when I can see it for $3.50 a few months later, and not have go through the trouble of going to the cinema." So that pretty much covers all the bases. I have a 46" HDTV and decent speakers. When combined with a comfy couch, it beats the cinema.

[johnsocal]

I have a 43inch Pioneer HDTV plasma with our surround sound integrated into the walls and the ceiling so it takes a big movie like SW's to get us to the movie theater. When my wife and I get a babysitter for our two toddlers we rather go to a nice restraunt and do something other then watch a movie when we have a opportunity for just the two of us to get out for the evening.

[giant]

Originally posted by e1618978
5. The other people at the movies. Nasty, crinkling celophane, cell phone jabbering, thuggish people.

I have a 120" projection screen. If I could get first run movies on it, I would never go to the theater again.
Same here (projector + surround sound). With a home theaters people don't have to put up with the BS they have to at theaters.

I'm to the point where the only way I go to the movies anymore is by taking afternoons off of work and seeing early shows at least two weeks after the film is released. But that's only the twice a year that I care enough to go. Ironic since I've been in the habit of watching 2-7 films a week for years now.

Long story short: all of the above

[CosmoNut]

Netflix ain't helpin' and home theaters are getting much better.

It's all about the media's "on-demandness." With TiVo, you watch your shows when you want. With Netflix, you get whatever movies you want for as long as you want. With an iPod, you keep your entire music library on one device and listen to whatever you want at your whim.

Driving to a theater to watch a movie at a specific time is SOOOO 10 years ago! :D :\

[Ebby]

For me:
#1) VERY Expensive to hit the movies. Dates/family = Cha-CHING!
#2) My home theater is a good substitute. (1200 Watts of sound and a 1400x1050 projector) 8) I'm looking at one of THESE (http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-NR801&class=Nettune&p=i) next. And maybe this... (http://www.us.onkyo.com/news.cfm?id=100)
#3) Few movies are trip-to-the-theater worthy. I'll usually wait for them on DVD. I do wish I saw The Incredible in the theater though and I WILL see Serenity, but probably not opening day. (I want to!):(

[Wrong Robot]

The price is the biggest thing for me. I basically never goto non-matinee showings, and even then it's $7.50 a ticket.

Additionally, There are rarely compelling enough movies that I feel like seeing, but if the ticket prices were cheaper(like under $5), I know I'd end up viewing movies that I might not normally be interested in.

[johnsocal]

I think movie prices should be staggered so that movies like SW's could charge like $10 a ticket but other movies that are not as popular could be $5. I think the idea of charging the same price regardless of the movie is absurd.

I do think George Lucas re-releasing SW's EP4 in an all-new digital 3D format in 2007 could be cool and might start a new trend. Right now there is only 80 digital projectors in the US which would keep that release very limted for a while.

[hmurchison]

For me it's a few things.


1. Ticket prices- Too high and concessions are out of this world.

2. The advent of Netflix and Home Theatre. For less than a grand I can get better bass at home than %60 of theaters out there.

3. Parking hassle- hate it..not theatre ever has enough parking


4. Content- Hollywood lived off of Star Wars and LotR but the megafilms are ending and the whole "Sword and Sandal" epics didn't fare well(Alexander, Troy). Nothing is really that exciting anymore from large studios.

5. Theatre comfort- poor riser seating, people with big heads or loud voices. Easy to wreck a good night.


I'm eyeballing a Front PJ system and a nice but modest 7.1 system and once that happens my movie going will drop even more. I got better things to do than be forced to watch crappy Coca Cola adds and trailers that i've already seen.

[giant]

Originally posted by Ebby
#1) VERY Expensive to hit the movies. Dates/family = Cha-CHING!
#2) My home theater is a good substitute. (1200 Watts of sound and a 1400x1050 projector) 8) I'm looking at one of THESE (http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-NR801&class=Nettune&p=i) next. And maybe this... (http://www.us.onkyo.com/news.cfm?id=100)
You have a $5000+ sxga+ projector for your home theater and going to the movies is prohibitively expensive to you? I guess you somehow got a nice discount on that.

[rageous]

giant: hahaha right on.

For me: There are just very few movies worth going to see. Movies suck. And I think many people are getting tired of going to see blockbuster movies that really have very little merit or relevance.

You can only see so many zombie, spooky thriller, teens highschool sexcapade, will smith/ben affleck/ben stiller/john woo shit flicks before you just get tired of it.

There's a reason people revolted against the latter Batman movies but have adored the Spider-Man ones.

In addition, the movie going experience just sucks anymore. You get so bored wating for the damn movie to start that you don't even care anymore when it does. You're just checking your watch. When I visit my girlfriend in Pittsburgh, we occasionally hit up the Lowe's Cineplex there. For a bit more than a normal ticket fare, you can get balcony seats in reclining leather chairs with a shared table for 2 people and they have waiters running to fetch your food and drinks. It's cool because you feel like you're actually getting something for your money other than a 90 minute product placement fest.

[Ebby]

Where I live, if you have a date, 2 sodas, 2 popcorns, and small candies that can be shared, your are nearing $45. The entertainment/value ratio is incredibly high. OTOH, same date, make popcorn, 2 liters of soda from safeway, and rent a movie it could run $5. Not to mention post-movie entertainment... ;)

The discount was called "NAB" and it was $3,600. Our last projector could only handle 640x480, was nosier than a full throttle G5, and besides, I needed an upgrade. :p But, we certainly got our use out of it. Since I bought a EyeTV500 for my G5, I wanted something near HDTV resolution, and this was the best bang for the buck. Now that I have this projector, who needs a theater?

[johnsocal]

Is anybody else sick of watching "The Twenty" before the trailers even start?

I don't mind seeing trailers since I look forward to seeing good ones like Chronicles of Narnia before SW's EP3 but the whole "The Twenty" advertising thing before the movie kind-of wrecks the theater experience for me.

I am all for the market-place pushing it as far as the market can bear but hopefully hollywood and theater owners will soon realize they pushed it too far and the better fix their problems quick because there is too much competition in the alternative entertainment industry now.

Just as the music industry blamed their problems on p2p networks instead of their insistance of pushing crappy recycled music the movie industry will recycle the same old argument as their profit tank as well.

All the big movies this summer/fall will either be sequels or remakes of books, tv shows, and even older movies done just a few decades ago so some fresh new ideas wouldn't hurt.

[Matsu]

Mass media is creating a highly personal entertainment sphere. Just look at the number of phones/radios/TVs in a community today. Used to be one per town, then household, then person, and now it's multiple units per person (depending on venue)...

This drift towards entertainment and leisure as a generally personal (private) experience has a lot of profound implications. Urban planning, vacationing, consumer trends... For our purposes here it means that people are more willing to spend money on content and delivery tech that they can control personally rather than pay for a shared experience. We are becoming introverts.

Industries that want to keep us coming to public venues have the challenge of offering a compelling argument in favor of public venues.

Why do people go to concerts, plays, sporting events, galleries?

Adrenalin, business, social call?

Can Cinema be adapted to those uses?

The product is only part of the problem. The delivery mechanism might need a redesign...

[Telomar]

Originally posted by johnsocal
All the big movies this summer/ all will either be sequels or remakes of books, tv shows, and even older movies done just a few decades ago so some fresh new ideas wouldn't hurt. When I last went to the movies someone mentioned every single trailer was for a remake or the movie of a book. I have to agree that that's probably the big one for me. I used to go to the movies tons but these days...there's just nothing to see.

I also agree that of course the MPAA will blame P2P. Could never be them, oh no they must be doing great work :no:

[hmurchison]

I also agree that of course the MPAA will blame P2P. Could never be them, oh no they must be doing great work


Hollywood is beginning to lose me. Not only was I charged $9.50 for my last movie but they had the nerve to force me to watch an anti-piracy advertisement.

How does that make sense? You just charged me $10 and now you're telling me not to pirate. You're speaking to the wrong people idiots. I'm sitting there thinking "damn...you mean I could have downloaded this movie and saved myself $19?"

Bright Hollywood...real bright.

[CosmoNut]

The anti-piracy ad was for all those shmoes who take their camcorders into the theater with them. "Just a reminder: What you are about to do is ILLEGAL!"

[Groover]

I agree that there are many factors that are contributing to movie ticket sales slump. I think price is a large part in conjunction with concessions. Home Theater is probably the biggest reason. I mean DVD sales are huge. Also the social life part is ending I mean with the commercials and disruptive audience at times. When I go out on a date a restaurant is a much better choice and alternative entertainment. Video Games must be creating an impact on movies. I mean the Video Game Industry has surpassed the Movie Industry. I went to a dinner movie theater it was great. the seats were spaced out and they also played old movies as well as new. It was nice to be able to order a beer and real meal. It was a treat to get there early as they would play short films and other shows related to the theme of the feature. The atmosphere before the film was great. The theater was the Alamo Theater in Austin TX visiting a friend.

[e1618978]

I must live in an abnormal area - new theaters all over the place with great seat comfort, $5 matenees and $8 evening shows, plus a few independent theaters that run indy movies.

The price of the movies does not deter me, it is just the other people in the theater that I dislike. I even like the book-based movies - many of my favorite books are being turned into movies (LoTR, Narnia, Hitchikiers guide - maybe it will be the amber series next).

[Xool]

I haven't been to a movie theatre in years. In fact, I don't remember the last time I went... Hmmm, actually I do... it was for Return of the King and one of the Producers was talking afterwards.

Most movies I watch are at home from Netflix. And my setup is a fancy 27" TV with the TVs built-in stereo speakers. W00t!

Recently I don't watch many movies at home either, so Netflix is not a good deal in that I'm overpaying. However, since it'll keep me away from Blockbuster forever, I'll gladly keep paying.

[giant]

I guess the short buzzword version is that technology is decentralizing cinema.

[johnq]

Originally posted by e1618978
5. The other people at the movies. Nasty, crinkling celophane, cell phone jabbering, thuggish people.

Bingo.

And disgusting loud nose-breathers.

The guy next to be was breathing like Darth Vader the whole movie. Anti-climactical.

[dmz]

Three reasons:

1. Story

2. Story

3. Story

[johnsocal]

Just as the Opera and plays use to be the entertainment of choice but now has been reduced to a niche in the entertainment industry, maybe the mega cinema might go down the same path.

I do think if George Lucas can produce a true high quality 3D version of EP4 in 2007 it might start a new wave of truly groundbreaking 3D films.

[Amorph]

I'm with a lot of people here.

The current belief that "technology allows us to do ANYTHING OMG!!!!!1" has, for one thing, taken films out of a human scale. Everything is spectacle, and so after a while nothing is spectacle.

The fact that ticket prices are out of control makes this worse. I'll see spectacular fluff for a few bucks. I won't for $8 in addition to food prices, having to sit through ads in a cramped theatre, and being treated like a thief.

Then, on top of all that, the theater owners hardly make anything. Food prices are exorbitant, and all those ads are there, because even with the ticket prices most theaters break even at best on the movies themselves. If this is because movies cost $150 million instead of $15 million, well, start making movies that cost $15 million again. They'll probably be better anyway.

This is a big one: The MPAA have been acting like jerks, suing innocent people and trampling copyright law. I feel no particular interest in supporting them. This extends to DVDs. Even if you buy one, using it is a nonstop stream of "warning" and "illegal" and "unauthorized." The thieves are telling me not to steal. Ha. The most obstacles you put in front of me and watching a movie that I paid to watch, the less interest I have in watching a movie. Currently, my interest is hovering near zero.

Oh, and one more thing: Films are currently made under the tyranny of marketers. Everything has to fit into a cookie-cutter mold, and good stories are routinely ripped up and corrupted for any number of incredibly stupid reasons, most of which (in my small experience with the industry) boil down to someone in marketing. Steve just recently said something about companies led by marketers that should be tattooed on the foreheads of movie executives everywhere.

[Not Unlike Myself]

The average American adult sees between 5 and 11 movies in theater each year.

Have seen (in '05):
Constantine
The Phantom of the Opera
Be Cool
Hitch
National Treasure
Steamboy
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Kingdom of Heaven
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Will see:
XXX: State of the Union
Madagascar
Sahara
Howl's Moving Castle
Batman Begins
War of the Worlds
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fantastic Four
The Island
Stealth

Even if I only make half of my 'will see' I'm well over average. (Considering the movies I've seen early in the year and the ones I'll see this fall and winter) Are they in *that* much of a slump? I'm going now more then ever.

[johnsocal]

Originally posted by Amorph
Steve just recently said something about companies led by marketers that should be tattooed on the foreheads of movie executives everywhere.

Considering the WOZ was the original genius and Steve was the great promoter/marketeer who has a uber sense of new trends, that statement is a little ironic.

I just think the business model for profitable movies and profitable theater-chains has changed. Even though entertainers like to pretend they are social revolutionaries they seem unable to make real changes within their own industry.

In the late 1990's everybody talked about the positive-side of the internet/technology revolution and now that its here, it's causing a revolution that has forever altered the business-formula for many industries. Even though this revolution is occuring right in front of our noses the movie indsutry still hasn't caught on yet and instead they try suing the internet by attacking P2p networks. While I personally don't use any p2p networks because I think its stealing, I dont think thats the reason why the music and movie indsustry are in such a slump.

DVD sales are they only thing thats saving the movie industry right for the most part and in the future if people bypass DVD's and decide to tivo or dvr HDTV movies for free instead the movie industry is really screwed. In the 1980-1990's must people just rented VHS but on the otherhand they went to the theater more, but now in the 2000's people are more likely to buy DVD's instead of renting them but it appears they go to the theater less.

[ragingloogie]

i vote for high ticket prices... i saw episode 3 and that the was the first movie i saw in a couple years or so.. thats my reason; tickets are 9$

[Zarathustra]

Content. Pure & Simple.


btw... I'm a little shocked that so many AI'ers who are happy with the content are so cheap! (This is a forum for Mac users right?)

Sounds like most of you are getting into a movie for - $10 (£5)....if for that you were seeing films like The Godfather, Apocolypse Now, Raging Bull etc..

loud, bright and on big screens I'd call that value.

(2 hours standing in a bar would cost a hell of a lot more than that....come to think of it that's an espresso & a cinnamon swirl at Starbucks!)

[Ebby]

The last movie I saw in a theater was Timeline. I read the book first and wanted to see the movie. I was a little disappointed, but it was also fun just to go out.

[johnsocal]

Another problem that faces both the music and movie industry is the enormous amount of content available to the consumer. Back in the day stores only kept new releases a few classics on the shelves. With the onset of superstores and the internet new CDs and DVD's not only have to compete with other new music and movies but now they have to compete with 50+ years of great music and movies as well.

Sometimes Im wonder if we are all jaded because we are exposed to way too much passive entertainment over our lifetimes .

[CosmoNut]

DVDs certainly have contributed significantly to the decline of movie theater success.

When VHS was the man on the block, the tapes were not up to snuff with the picture and sound quality in theaters. Now DVDs are. People are happy enough with the quality of a film on DVD that the "movie theater experience" isn't as necessary now.

When VHS was king, it took a LONG time for movies to come out on tape for purchase. Remember when tapes were available for rental only? Now, a film could be out on DVD before it's left the dollar theater. I can't count how many times I've stood in the DVD section of Best Buy and said to myself, "Wasn't that movie JUST in theaters?"

When movies were only on VHS, the cost of the tapes were the same or higher than most DVDs now. Look at the average price of DVDs today: For $19.99, you can get a movie that was in first-run theaters only 3 months ago. Along with the film itself, you get artwork, commentaries, deleted scenes, etc. etc. Back in the day of VHS, you got the film...and that was it.

If the studios knew better they'd slowly jack up the price of DVDs and wait longer to release movies after they've left theaters. I also think the film industry needs to make long-overdue improvements to theaters to take the movie-going experience to the "next level." You've got to give people what they can't get at home.

The Incredibles in OMNIMAX anyone? SW: EP III in 3-D virtual reality?

[pyr3]

Originally posted by CosmoNut
DVDs certainly have contributed significantly to the decline of movie theater success.

When VHS was the man on the block, the tapes were not up to snuff with the picture and sound quality in theaters. Now DVDs are. People are happy enough with the quality of a film on DVD that the "movie theater experience" isn't as necessary now.


You're right. And the movie companies make a killing on selling the DVDs vs. ticket sales. But I'm sure we will see the MPAA complaining about it and blaming it all on piracy. This is really just a shift in where people are willing to spend their money. They would rather spend the money to rent the DVD, or spend $1 or $2 more than the movie ticket price to buy the DVD itself once Blockbuster sells off the excess 'previewed' DVDs (these can go for around $9.99 last I checked). There are even people that avoid watching TV shows in their first run on TV so that they can buy the season when it comes out on DVD and watch it at their own pace.

SW: EP III in 3-D virtual reality?

I saw the Matrix: Reloaded in IMAX. And I know the IMAX theater has other popular films. And G.Lucas says he's going to redo the SW movies in some sort of digital 3D format of some sort. Change takes time in the movie industry because they have turned it into a business, and business men are generally afraid of change. Good businessmen can recognize when a change is good and hop on it. But there are 'bad' businessmen that would rather sit and stagnate because they have gotten used to a 'formula' for producing successful movies and they want to stick by that formula while reducing costs (not paying for new-fangled equipment, etc).

[DoctorGonzo]

Originally posted by e1618978
5. The other people at the movies. Nasty, crinkling celophane, cell phone jabbering, thuggish people.
Ding, ding, ding.

We have a winner.

You would think that theaters would attempt to provide an atmosphere conducive to actually watching movies, but no..they let everything slide and have really dropped the ball on it completely. I don't want to pay $10 and have to get up to complain about every rude person.

My average movie experience goes like this:

- I arrive early.

- People start filing in 5 minutes before the movie starts and this continues through the first 5 minutes of the actual movie.

- Middle-aged group starts a running whispering commentary along their row.

- Teenagers and Frat Boys start their cell phone call-a-thon and blabber endlessly to one another.

- Like clockwork 10 minutes after the movie begins, you have the Ghetto Thugs arrive. They begin yelling at one another about where to sit. Then they talk to the screen, one another and start burning cell phone minutes like crazy.

- You inevitably have Mr. Self-Important Cool Businessman get a call during the most dramatic scene - which he takes.

[hardeeharhar]

Actually, I think it is because of the rapid turn around to dvd. It takes a studio much less time to mass produce dvds and get them out to the public than it used to. this benefits them because the wow factor of the movie is still present when they are released but at the same time, it kills ticket sales because the viewer can always catch it on dvd.

other than that.

american pop culture is in the dregs.

[Mac The Fork]

Big budgets, fake effects, insipid stories and manufactured stars are not what make movies worth watching. Most of the big movies on now at the theatre miss that point and look so bloody boring I wouldn't consider seeing them at any time. At times, a movie may not be worth the price of tickets, but they might be worth the price of a rental. If a DVD will be available shortly afterward, then of course a theatrical release might not do as well as a result, but of course, that's something to do with quality. If something is really worth seeing, you'd think it'd be hard to hold off. It is for me, and I still enjoy going to the theatre with friends in those cases.

Long time no see (I think, at least), DoctorGonzo. :wow:

[DoctorGonzo]

Originally posted by Mac The Fork
Long time no see (I think, at least), DoctorGonzo. :wow:
It's been about 3 years since I posted regularly here.

A whopping 6 years since I registered. (July 1999) :wow:

[Omega]

Originally posted by DoctorGonzo
It's been about 3 years since I posted regularly here.


That would be how long it has been since I went to the movies.....kawinky-dink? :err:

;)

[tmp]

Reasons? How about my eperience seeing Revenge of the Sith:

Spend $13.50 on ticket, wait in a stupid long line to get to the candy area to spend 6 bucks on the Vat O' Diet Pepsi, spend two hours alternately hating a movie that was totally devoid of the decent acting, writing or the humor of the first three and hating the people who brought infants to the theater and wouldn't take them out when they started bawling, and then the capper: give the greedy bastages at the Grove 2 bucks to park. :mad:

I'd rather watch the DVD on my laptop, thanks.

[Protostar]

1.Price, although I can get in for $6.00 b/c I'm a student.


2.People on cell phones. God I hate when I'm in the movies in some dumb bitch (most of the time it's a girl) gets on her phone and talks. Not just for a couple of seconds to tell the person she's in the movie theater but they actually have a conversation! And what's more they get upset when you tell them to shut the fuck up!! Unbelievable. I think the movie theaters should be able to put cell phone jammers in the walls to prevent interruptions during the movie.


3.People with babies. I hate children, but when people bring their babies and toddlers to the movies it only excerbates my hatred for them. Why would you ever bring your 1 yr old child to the movie when he can't even understand what's going on? Is it to make everyone else suffer? Because that's what you're doing. I went to see Episode III and right when Darth Vader's mask was being put on his face, a baby started to scream. I was so enraged I wanted to turned around and force choke it to death. MY movie experience RUINED b/c of some stupid inconsiderate person and their stupid kid. I think children under 5 should be banned not only from movie theaters but on airplanes as well. I also think cell phones should be jammed on airplanes as well.


Like clockwork 10 minutes after the movie begins, you have the Ghetto Thugs arrive. They begin yelling at one another about where to sit. Then they talk to the screen, one another and start burning cell phone minutes like crazy.


I think these people should be escorted out of the movie theaters, by force if necessary.

[AquaMac]

Originally posted by ipodandimac
ticket prices are STUPID. and there aren't any good movies. that's it. I agree. The prices are too high. Some theaters won't even let you in if they think you have a can of pop or a snack. :rolleyes: I thought I lived in a free country. Sadly most movies are formula trash or trashy trash. There are only a few i'll go to see at all.

[dojobi]

I haven't heard a phone ring in a movie for over a year now.

Do you get the ads before the film starts to tell you to turn your phones off? Ever since they started reminding people to turn them off, I think people have become aware of it.

[His Dudeness]

I'll tell you why Hollywood is in a slump right now:

Lame-ass movies like Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

That's why.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by johnsocal
...
Why do think people are not going to the movies as much anymore?

1. crappy movies
2. high ticket prices
3. Overloaded with home entertainment- cable, satellite, computers/internet, videogames, DVD's, Big-screen HDTV, and etc.
4. All the above
...

I think there is no easy answer to that question.
Crappy movies? Debatable, but not necessarily true.
There are always some jewels in the muddle. Granted
the sheer mass of annual movie production produces
a lot of Crap. Part of the system, i guess. If you really
want to see the good movies, you ought to go for a
haunt - at festivals. What a pitty, however this is the
(fullfill yourself).

High Ticket prices? Compared to what? Ask yourself,
what do you get for the 8$ price tag? A thorough experience
of mass cultur with all the trimmings (including state of the art
movie presentation) . Now you can argue, whether
you do like it or not. The percieved price tag might be
high. But oftenly the same guys, who complain about high
theater price tags indulge themself much overpriced brand
sneakers on a 2-monthly basis.

No 3 Overloaded. This is quite a point. Maybe People are just
fed up with all sort of mass consumption press. Also, maybe this
means a big f**k you to all bland marketing suits. Hope so. ;)

Btw, i really love movies, the good ones, you know. ;)

[addabox]

Well, it's not so much that movies are worse now than at some other time (we always forget that our personal "golden era" of filmmaking included a lot of truly awful stuff), but the way that movies are bad now.

There's a kind of industrial brutality to movies as of late, like the people that make them actually hate you, and yours, and the whole idea of art and entertainment.

Summer blockbusters feel like "HERE YOU GO YOU DUMBFUCKS! HERE'S SOME MORE EXPLOSIONS AND SHIT YOU'VE SEEN A THOUSAND TIMES BEFORE! HERE'S THAT PLOT TWIST YOU SAW A MILE OFF! HERE'S THE "WITTY BANTER" BETWEEN BUDDIES THAT'S SO TIRED IT'S ROTTING AND THE FLESH IT COMING OFF IN GREAT SLIMY STRIPS, BUT YOU DON'T CARE CAUSE YOU ARE TOO FUCKING STUPID TO KNOW ANY BETTER! HERE'S THE TRASH TALKING BLACK GUY! YOU LOVE HIM, YOU PATHETIC LOSERS! OH, AND HERE'S A HOT NINJA CHICK. ASSHOLES. LOOK AT THE CG SPACESHIP/BIG BUILDING/NATURAL DISASTER."

But the really horrible thing is the whole deal is wrapped in state of the art production values, so it's like the slimiest corporate jackass you ever met in some kind of audio-animatronic cyber suit that gives him super powers.

I truly think it's the cognitive dissonance-- the fact that the louder and higher resolution and multi-tracked and CGed and jaw-dropping amazing the technical aspects of filmmaking get the more cynical and half-assed and pandering and brainless and chicken-shit derivative corporate ass-covering every other part of them gets.

Whether they realize it or not, I think people are getting pissed off at the movies, because some part of them know they are being played.

[e1618978]

HERE'S A HOT NINJA CHICK


mmmmmm, hot ninja chick, mmmmmm

[addabox]

Originally posted by e1618978
mmmmmm, hot ninja chick, mmmmmm

Careful, e#s, hell might be "Elektra" on continuous loop....

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by addabox
Careful, e#s, hell might be "Elektra" on continuous loop....
:lol:

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by addabox
Well, it's not so much that movies are worse now than at some other time (we always forget that our personal "golden era" of filmmaking included a lot of truly awful stuff), but the way that movies are bad now.
...


Absolutely. Also, once you get a glimpse how
an average movie project is gonna be developed,
you'll quickly understand that more than somewhere
else money is the driving force behind. Okay, nothing
new here.

As soon as actual cash money is invested in a film, and you all
know when it is real, it's real, when it has pictures
of dead Presidents on it, then an armada of smart marketing suits
take over. ;) This money almost always comes from the distribution
company or an outside investor, but it is REAL money in the bank...
not the PROMISE of money.

The paradox is: a movie is a promise of "art" and "entertainment",
which these guys don't even know to to spell. Sad.

[addabox]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Absolutely. Also, once you get a glimpse how
an average movie project is gonna be developed,
you'll quickly understand that more than somewhere
else money is the driving force behind. Okay, nothing
new here.

As soon as actual cash money is invested in a film, and you all
know when it is real, it's real, when it has pictures
of dead Presidents on it, then an armada of smart marketing suits
take over. ;) This money almost always comes from the distribution
company or an outside investor, but it is REAL money in the bank...
not the PROMISE of money.

The paradox is: a movie is a promise of "art" and "entertainment",
which these guys don't even know to to spell. Sad.

Right. Movies have always been a "let's make some money" business, but at one time the people who decided how to go about that were "movie" people.

Now it's "diversified holdings" people, and movies are manufactured in precisely the same way as any other mass market commodity whatever.

In fact, they are manufactured alongside and in cooperation with the rest of the mass market whatevers, the better to maximize "synergy" across a full frontal assault on the desired demographic. Watch the movie/get the manga/buy the shoe/eat the happy meal/download the cellphone ring-tone/etc.

Personally, I feel burnt out on the next big movie before it even hits the screen.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by addabox
...
Personally, I feel burnt out on the next big movie before it even hits the screen.
Yeah. Here's the problem from a different angle:
for a script (and therefor the final product, the movie)
to be good, it needs to be something personal and
emotional. But for a script (and movie) to sell it needs
to be something commercial that a couple of hundred
million people will pay to see. This is the main trouble
of commercial film making.

How do you find an idea that's both?
What if all of the commercial ideas you come up with
you aren't passionate about, and all of the personal
ideas you come up with aren't commercial?
How can you turn that personal and emotional idea into
something with commercial potential? No easy questions.
Noooow the marketing department pitch in. With all
their mighty numbers they have in mind...end of story;)
If you are going to spend $80 million dollars for a movie,
you want to be pretty much sure the final product will sell.
By any means. However, even the most intelligent, creative
and compelling projects will suffer to this proposition.

[addabox]

Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Yeah. Here's the problem from a different angle:
for a script (and therefor the end product, the movie)
to be good, it needs to be something personal and
emotional. But for a script to sell it needs to be something
commercial that a couple of hundred million people will
pay to see.
This is the main trouble of commercial film making.

How do you find an idea that's both?
What if all of the commercial ideas you come up with
you aren't passionate about, and all of the personal
ideas you come up with aren't commercial?
How can you turn that personal and emotional idea into
something with commercial potential? No easy questions.
Noooow the marketing department pitch in. With all
their mighty numbers they have in mind...end of story;)

I think at this point the marketing department is pretty much the whole thing.
And the only question is, "How can we minimize risk on our investment?"

The answer, of course, is "presold" product: sequels, comic books, remakes, video games, or (as so hilariously lampooned in Altman's "The Player"), cobbled together bits of Stuff That Did Well In The Past ("It's The Graduate meets Psycho").

Oddly, I think DVDs (and other distributions channels on the way) will actually improve the movies, by changing the economics of the "blockbuster" mentality and allowing for more personal films to find their audience.

"Donny Darko', maybe not a great film but certainly an interesting one, almost didn't get released at all (a little too interesting, apparently) but has done quite well in its DVD release, enough so to make money for its backers.

[The Installer]

Originally posted by e1618978
The other people at the movies. Nasty, crinkling celophane, cell phone jabbering, thuggish people.Very much so in my case. DVD rules, and not much more, if at all, expensive than a movie ticket.

Nothing like lying in bed with my Panasonic DVD-LX9 on my chest and the head phones on :wow:

- T. I.

[CosmoNut]

There are a few really good "emotional" films that have made it through and had a following in the mainstream. Two of my favorite movies from the past couple years were Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Garden State.

They weren't any kind of a financial explosion like Independence Day, Titanic, or the Star Wars prequels, but they did well.

Anymore, I'm finding the really good movies on Apple's trailer site and then searching them out in my area. When Garden State was first released in the Kansas City area, it was only showing in ONE theater. It did very well there and spread out to others in the area.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by CosmoNut
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This flick is puzzling all together. If i remember
correctly :lol: i've read the script before watching the movie.
After i've finished the book, i had a strong need to watch
that movie, because i simply couldn'd believe this
amazing book is gonna be produced.

This movie (and a ton of others) feeds a lot of
hope. I believe there is and always will be
people (read: producers) who are dedicated
to movies - and good storys. I strongly believe
that quality matters and quality will survive.
I know it. ;)

"Multiplex" is just temporal insanity. It occurs and
departs. Mark my word.

[addabox]

It's true, somehow good movies still get made, and good directors get to make the movies they want.

Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic), Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways), David Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees), anything written by Charlie Kaufman, etc.

On the other hand, all of these have that certain "indy" vibe which is threatening to become a genre in its own right-- you know, "small" feeling, quirky characters and a little bit "wacky" in their world view. I think the relatively small budgets that go with that approach account for them getting made.

I guess I miss the days when something like Apocalypse Now or Taxi Driver could get made, but I think the economics of feature film making have made that pretty much impossible.

[Vox Barbara]

Originally posted by addabox
It's true, somehow good movies still get made, and good directors get to make the movies they want.

Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic), Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways), David Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees), anything written by Charlie Kaufman, etc.

On the other hand, ...
Yeah on the other hand, let's play the inevitable
top list game. ;) No particular order in mind.
List to be continued;)

The Killing (Kubrick)
The Shining (same)
Alien 1 (Scott)
Shattered (Petersen)
Fargo (Coen)
Memento (Nolan)
Everything written by C. Kaufmann
and
Everything written and directed by D. Lynch

[nwhysee]

Humans suck. Dude next to me during 'Batman Begins' phone began to ring, instead of doing the obvious "act embarrased, and turn phone off" routine, this ninja had the audacity to talk to the person. I should have killed him then and there.

[Xool]

Originally posted by nwhysee
Humans suck. Dude next to me during 'Batman Begins' phone began to ring, instead of doing the obvious "act embarrased, and turn phone off" routine, this ninja had the audacity to talk to the person. I should have killed him then and there.

I wish you did... now this mofo will just keep on calling.

Why anyone would pay cutthroat movie ticket prices and then proceed to talk on their cell phone during the flick is beyond me!

[Dogcow]

Appears that AMC and Loews are going to merge, leading to even higher prices because of the lack of competition. More here:

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/06/22/coming_attraction_hub_theater_shake_up/

Tickets are already running $10.25 and expected to go up. It's completely ridiculous. Movies were created for the masses to enjoy - cheaply - and I think Hollywood is forgetting why they even exist.

[addabox]

Originally posted by Dogcow
Appears that AMC and Loews are going to merge, leading to even higher prices because of the lack of competition. More here:

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/06/22/coming_attraction_hub_theater_shake_up/

Tickets are already running $10.25 and expected to go up. It's completely ridiculous. Movies were created for the masses to enjoy - cheaply - and I think Hollywood is forgetting why they even exist.

They exist to aggressively distort copy right law and cripple technology so that everyone will have to pay for their grotesque cost structure every time they so much as glance at a single frame of any movie ever made.

It's the end game of a creatively bankrupt business. Stop thinking about how to make better movies and start leveraging assets and protecting markets and minimizing risk and synergizing profit centers.

My mother warned me this would happen if they let lawyers take over the studios.

[Northgate]

Do you really think $8.00 is a lot of money? Seriously? What a canard.

Last time I went out to lunch with co-workers to TGI Fridays it cost over $12.00. Last time I went out for a steak it cost $18.00.

The last time I went to the Dodger game a ticket cost $30. The Lion King broadway show cost $65 and that was for the crappy seats.

I just spent $9.50 to see "Batman Begins" and was entertained by a thoroughly entertaining and well produced movie for two hours. They spent $150M to produce a film that I can watch for less than $10. I think that's a completely fair price.

With that said...I still prefer to watch most of my movies at home. My TV and surround sound system is usually a better "experience" simply because I don't have to put up with rude people.

Speaking of rude people. Have we as a culture completely forgotten to teach the last two generations about theater etiquette?

I have a theory. I call it the "Blockbusterization" of today's movie watchers. I think we've grown so accustomed to watching movies on our couches, that we take all that liesurely behavior with us to the theater.

[The Installer]

Originally posted by Northgate

Speaking of rude people. Have we as a culture completely forgotten to teach the last two generations about theater etiquette?

I have a theory. I call it the "Blockbusterization" of today's movie watchers. I think we've grown so accustomed to watching movies on our couches, that we take all that liesurely behavior with us to the theater. Theatre etiquette should not need to be taught, really <sigh> :rolleyes:

I think you have a point with the Blockbusterization theory. I actually can't remember when the last time was that I went to the cinema, apart from press shows. As I said earlier, I prefer to watch movies at home, in fact I now hate watching movies in cinemas, apart from say at film festivals or in art house cinemas. And again, there is not that much difference in the price for a DVD and a cinema ticket.

BTW saw this http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1003940861/code-c/section-videos/ last night. Blew me away. There is a lot of talent in China, Japan and Korea these days which never or rarely makes it to Western cinemas.

- T. I.