Hollywood starts '09 with little to celebrate (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Los Angeles Times ^ | January 2, 2009 | Claudia Eller and Richard Verrier

[abb]

There is no Hollywood ending in sight in 2009 for the entertainment industry, which along with the rest of the nation is experiencing its worst economic slump in decades.

The fallout from declining local TV ad revenue, weakening DVD sales and diminishing sources of film financing will continue to pound Los Angeles' signature industry, which employs more than 200,000 people and pumps an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion into the local economy.

Many expect that will trigger further layoffs at the studios, networks, independent production outfits and other media companies on top of the thousands of job losses that have already occurred in recent months. Industry executives contend that the steep downturn will force Hollywood to fundamentally change the way it does business.

snip

This is occurring against a backdrop of declining DVD sales, which have propped up studio profits for years. Consumer spending on DVDs, already slowing, is believed to have dropped about 5% to 7% in 2008, according to Adams Media Research, which projects a similar decline for this year. The slowdown in DVD sales reflects the maturity of the business, which began to slow in 2005, but is now exacerbated by a drop in overall consumer spending that began a few months ago, said Tom Adams, president of the research firm.

snip

Nonetheless, Fithian acknowledged that if the recession dragged on, it could affect moviegoing at a time when consumers are getting more of their entertainment at home with their big-screen TVs, video games and the Internet. A recent study by market research firm Parks Associates found that nearly 66% of U.S. consumers altered their spending habits in the fourth quarter of 2008 as a result of the bad economy.

snip

[Guenevere]

A large portion of my personal movies are British made....a lot of BBC Drama, etc.

I even have a recently released 12 part British series (Against the Wind..made in 1978) about the colonization of Australia....it is spot on excellent.

But hard times are hitting the British film colony too...

[Guenevere]

Actually my #41 should have been directed to you :)

[GOPJ]

Hollywood has so little talent the only people holding up Hollywood are teenage boys ( yeah they’ll buy sex) and overseas monsters who feed on violence. Maybe 10 more awards shows will keep them from noticing.

[abb]

Watch the money. Always follow the advertising, the financing and so forth. Since I’ve been doing these threads, I’ve tried to find articles about the money flow. None of these dinosaurs can live without food, and advertising revenues and box office revenues is what feeds them.

[Enterprise]

I can just smell something like this coming. The liberal media print will cease to exist. Then, there will be a crisis so compelling that even liberals will be shocked. And then, they will complain that they were prevented from doing their public watchdog duties because the they went bankrupt.

[abb]

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/01/02/opinion/parker/ze2398866d16849c8882575300079bf6d.txt
PARKER: Don’t read ‘em —— and weep

http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=13754
GateHouse discontinue 401K matching program

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/31/BUR51525GH.DTL
AsianWeek to cease print publication Friday

[abb]

http://iowaindependent.com/10140/gannett-register-cuts-extend-into-eastern-iowa
Gannett, Register cuts extend into eastern Iowa

[Forward the Light Brigade]

Hey Hollywood! Listen up! Make movies people in the USA want to see! Make films that depict Jesus Christ as savior, Make sure American Heroes are shown as heroes (yes with feet of clay—but heroes anyway). Make movies from classic works rather than comic books. Make movies with a good STORY and not all special effects. Make movies with good acting and not a lot of sex. Make comedy’s without toilet humor.
Some ideas I give away for free! Script writers steal what you want.
1. A movie about Lt Cussing sinking the CSS Albamarle in the Civil War (he won the metal of honor for this act).
2. A movie on the voyage of the Rebel raider CSS Alabama (Ted Turner—you would love this project).
3. A movie about Cherokee Indians in the Civil War.
4. A movie about Mack Sennett the silent movie director who invented the Keystone Kops.
5. A Movie on the Perry Mason and his cases.
6. A movie on Andy Jackson and his term in Office as President of the USA.
7. A movie on Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars books.
8. A comedy re-make of Hellsapoppin

[GOPJ]

Follow tax benefits too.

[RayChuang88]

I remember an interview with Clint Eastwood where he actually said something like..many of his pictures did not make money but that was okay because he made movies “he” enjoyed and liked to make.

He could say that because unlike almost everyone else in the movie industry, Eastwood is well-known for keeping production costs as low as possible. Remember the movie Mystic River with its all-star cast? Eastwood completed the movie in a amazingly short period and everyone involved with the production were amazed how fast and efficiently he worked on the movie.

[abb]

http://milwaukeerising.net/wordpress/2008/12/30/modest-my-eye-thats-a-50-price-increase/
“Modest,” my eye — that’s a 50% price increase!

http://sbutki.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/31/2262177-my-interview-with-the-authors-of-no-time-to-think-the-menace-of-media-speed-and-the-24-hour-news-cycle-
My Interview With the Authors of No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/12/31/vicki-iseman-is-she-a-public-or-private-figure/
Vicki Iseman: Is She a Public or Private Figure?

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2009/01/the_cuts_keep_coming.php
The Cuts Keep Coming

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/74454-Dailies-go-Darwin/
Dailies go Darwin

[Temple Owl]

Which do you think are the ten best movies ever made?
I’d start off with Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind,How Green Was My Valley,The Longest Day, It Happened One Night.
Please add your opinions.

[apocalypto]

They do sneak left wing messages into TV shows and films, and sometimes the entire show is left wing propaganda.

btw, I heard of a film made last year which dealt with marriage and how porn damages it. Does anyone remember the title?

[Tribune7]

The Searchers

[60Gunner]

My top ten all-time favorite movies, in no particular order, are:

The Maltese Falcon

Stagecoach (John Ford version)

Gone with the Wind

The Quiet Man

Moby Dick (with Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab)

Bridge over the River Kwai

Mister Roberts

The African Queen

Tora! Tora! Tora!

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

[Tribune7]

Very good movies and not one made after 1970 (or whenever Tora! Tora! Tora! was made.