Oh, I don't argue the reality of what's happening. Like I said, i understand that finances and convenience make it desirable for many people to watch films at home. My wife's not so gung ho on going to the theatre as much as I am. I imagine that'll be more true once I get a widescreen theatre setup at home. And the Net's going to be a big player soon, the same way podcasts and stuff on the audio frontier are big. It's just that I still love the theatrical experience, and I worry about what may happen down the road. Will studios turn out cheaper films as the theatre crowd shrinks? (By "cheaper" I fear not just less money, but less quality, as they're wont to do). Will we get a lot of substandard stuff created for the direct-to-video/cable market? (Imagine all the in-da-hood movies starring the likes of Fat Joe and Mack 10 that now go direct to video). Most importantly, what would a emphasis on home theatre do to the flow, structure, and look of movies? One of the things that bothers me with a lot of folks who watch movies at home is that they often don't watch them in one chunk. I hear lots of people say stuff like "I watched the first hour of 'Return of the King' tonight, and I'll catch the rest this weekend". Or they'll start a movie, stop it to cook or talk on the phone, then start it up again an hour or so later. Happens a great deal. I think people miss the feel, the true overall experience, when they watch movies at home like that. I try my hardest to watch a movie like a *movie*, to watch it in one uninterrupted session so the overall experience builds, not gets broken up.But if you know your audience is watching movies like tV shows, would you start changing the structure of those movies, perhaps building in breaking points in the story akin to commercial breaks in episodic TV? And will the look of movies themselves--the camera shots, the panning of the screen--change as films are shot for smaller home screens instead of big theatre screens? I mean, much of the beautiful scenery of Middle EArth, such as the awesome mountains of New Zealand, is lost on the small screen. Unless everyone is assumed to have widescreens at home, perhaps Hollywood will start scaling back the very look of films, since most will be going direct to video. Just thoughts as to what the future holds...
-----Original Message----- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of g123curious Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 17:40 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Movie theater owners fire back at studios Unfortunately, it is not as simple as both sides to this argument portray the issue. As I see it, there are at least 5 sets of dates: 1) domestic theatrical release 2) international theatrical release 3) domestic cable release 4) domestic DVD release 5) domestic broadcast TV release Sometimes #2 happens before #1. More often, #1 is before #2. Either way, bootleg DVD copies circulate. Coming soon is the sixth release date: 6) Internet release The theatre owners are fighting an uphill battle as technology and change are against them. NetFlix comes to mind immediately. Economics is going to force it, too. With $3 a gallon gas by Thanksgiving, people in rural areas aren't going to drive as much to the movies. And if the rate of increase goes to $4 a gallon by Easter 2006, the shift in behavior will be even more dramatic. However, with comments like Iger's, the studios are acting short- sighted for at least 2 reasons: - lower production costs enable independents to enter the market and go straight to #4 or #6. Competition, baby... Atom Films and iFilm ain't going away. - Hollywood is no longer the only game in town. As demographics change, the audience is going around Hollywood and other areas such as Bollywood will gain more clout. The last unspoken reason for the behavior change is the reason few want to say publicly... perceived safety. In a post 9-11 world, some people are more comfortable just staying home and viewing movies there. Just my 2 cents... George Captain The USS Ronald E. McNair (Boston) --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Keith Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I know a lot of you are watching more movies at home, due to > reduced costs (no high theatre fees, overpriced food), comfort, > and convenience. I imagine that's especially true for those > with young kids. And I think that's great. I can't wait for the > day when I have a nice HD widescreen setup with great sound. > I'll be watching Lord of the Rings and playing Playstation games > all day in my own theatre setup. But I still love the movie going > experience. For one, even the best home system still doesn't > match the spectacle of a huge theatre screen. There's nothing like > watching larger-than-life action on thescreen. The panaromic views > afforded by a big theatre screen too can't be quite matched by > even the biggest home systems, no matter how costly. And, I love > the event of going to the movies: standing in line, talking to > strangers, sharing the humour and drama and action with a big > crowd, which further heightens the experience. I wonder, though, > if the DVD and downloadable movies will grow to trully threaten > theatrical releases? And if so, will Hollywood start making more > movies that are crafted to look and play better on the smaller > home screens? Will the quality drop if they step back from the > panoramic feel and look in favor of movies that play directly to > home screens? > > Movie theater owners fire back at studios > > Tired of being blamed for the box office slump, the nation's movie > theater owners returned fire Thursday, accusing the studios of > delivering sub-standard product. <snip> _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "scifinoir2 <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2> " on the web. * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . _____ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hcidjpj/M=362335.6886444.7839734.2575449/D=groups/S=1705034827:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1124777073/A=2894362/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOO&cmpgn=GRP&RTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/";>What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater?Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
