Is Hollywood Getting Screwed? Are We?

[NyteWing]

If they rally cared that much about it, they would spend some of the money they're supposedly losing to make it tougher to burn the movies. They just use it as an excuse to charge me $10 to see a (usually) bad movie. I'm only 25, but I used to be able to go the the expensive place for $6. In 8 years, it's doubled in price. So I don't really go anymore. I bet they're losing a lot more money there than piracy.

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

As for boo-hooing about people who lose their jobs - maybe it should be the production companies like Universal & Sony and their big-wigs who bring home the fat paycheques who should be thinking of that.

Why should a guy like Tom Cruise be paid in 10s of millions for portraying a fictional character while the boom operater makes $20/hr?

Maybe it's the production companies as a whole who need to look at this and possibly impose some sort of "salary cap" for actors so they can market & sell their products at reasonable prices to curb piracy etc.

your point? i can make the same argument on why a heart surgeon makes more then a janitor.

i can understand putting a sallary cap like 13.5 mill being the maximum. but if your trying to say everyone should be making the sameamount of moeny..well then welcome to communism.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

your point? i can make the same argument on why a heart surgeon makes more then a janitor.

i can understand putting a sallary cap like 13.5 mill being the maximum. but if your trying to say everyone should be making the sameamount of moeny..well then welcome to communism.

Not really. Because a heart surgeon does far more complex and mentally taxing work (plus went to 8 more years of school) than the janitor with a GED. Tom Cruise is a drop out however who makes more than a heart surgeon.

 

[Alpha and Omega]

^I see your point Shadow, but Paramount has used the image of Tom Cruise to make billions of dollars for their company. Tom's received a fraction of that.

But - as difficult as it is to become a successful doctor, there are many more doctors out there than there are Hollywood mega-stars. Can a doctor pull in 100 million dollars in one week? Is there a single doctor whose name is on the lips of millions of people at any given moment?

I'm certainly not saying that what the actor (or producer, director, athlete, etc) does is more important or noble than the doctor, but the actor creates a revenue flow and media focus that can't be matched by any worker who operates on a more localized level (teachers, doctors, etc).

The American public has only itself to blame. Our spending habits dictate the pay scale in Hollywood, pure and simple.

Lizard's post gave the concise explanation, esp. the last part.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

^I see your point Shadow, but Paramount has used the image of Tom Cruise to make billions of dollars for their company. Tom's received a fraction of that.

That may be, but the fraction he's recieved compared to writers, casting directors and advertisers who went through real school and studied hard to make less than he does deserve better. At his expense I feel.

 

[Alpha and Omega]

Of course, a mass amount of people work towards a successful film effort, but the brand 'Tom Cruise' will fill the seats.

writers, casting directors and advertisers

Sometimes, those categories mentioned above do thankless jobs, and they deserve much more credit.

However, they're not marketable, and for the majority of people, they're not going to see a film because of the 'casting director'; they're seeing the star of the picture.

I don't really approach films in way, but so many people do.

It's why Nicholson, Hanks, Cruise, Dicaprio, Crowe, Depp, Damon, etc. . . are paid 10-20 million per picture. They're a valuable commodity.

Currently, the industry is lowering its payments, even for pricey A-listers, but the 'bread and butter' often comes from the star.

How many people will dismiss the concept of a movie, but elect to see it because Christian Bale[or any other popular actor with a fanbase] is in it?

 

[jaguarr]

The ironic thing is that people are starting to vote with their dollars and refusing to see some of the schlock that is being churned out. So in response, the fatcats in Hollywood start crying about how piracy is ruining their business (despite having no real statistics to back up this claim). The entertainment industry enjoys some rather amazing protection by the law in comparison with other industries. I don't hear McDonald's crying foul because people started buying grills and making their own burgers. They changed their marketing and their product line and kept the ball rolling instead of trying to hide behind some archaic IP laws to protect their archaic, outdated business models. If a business doesn't evolve with the times and technology and find a way to adapt, they will die off. This is something that the entertainment industry has really had a hard time coming to grips with.

jag

 

[The Apatow Crew]

If you think a movie looks like it sucks don't be like i think its not worth paying to see in the theaters but i think i'll download it anyway. Why?

If you were in a hurry t osee the movie you'd see it in the theater.

Can't you wait a few months for the dvd to come out?

 

[jaguarr]

If you think a movie looks like it sucks don't be like i think its not worth paying to see in the theaters but i think i'll download it anyway. Why?

If you were in a hurry t osee the movie you'd see it in the theater.

Can't you wait a few months for the dvd to come out?

That's not the point I was raising. Go back to being creepy.

jag

 

[The Apatow Crew]

That's not the point I was raising. Go back to being creepy.

jag

I wasn't trying to make a point to your response.


I was making was making my arguement. Thats what i was doing.

 

[jaguarr]

I wasn't trying to make a point to your response.


I was making was making my arguement. Thats what i was doing.

I see. Then answer me this. If a movie tanks at the box office or has less than stellar receipts because people genuinely don't want to see it, to the point that it's not even being downloaded off the internet en masse, how does that in any way validate the movie studio's crying foul that piracy is ruining their business? They have no statistics to back up their claims. They're just trying to justify their losses on an inferior product by blaming it on a nefarious (and somewhat unquantifiable) concept like piracy. Since it's difficult to quanity true pirating statistics that are anywhere near being worth a damn, how do you separate these cases of "cry wolf" from legitimate instances where a film is being pirated en masse by people who would otherwise have paid to see it in the theater? How do you quantify any of them really would have seen it in the theater at all if the option to download it was not there?

jag

 

[Holly Goodhead]

I see. Then answer me this. If a movie tanks at the box office or has less than stellar receipts because people genuinely don't want to see it, to the point that it's not even being downloaded off the internet en masse, how does that in any way validate the movie studio's crying foul that piracy is ruining their business? They have no statistics to back up their claims. They're just trying to justify their losses on an inferior product by blaming it on a nefarious (and somewhat unquantifiable) concept like piracy. Since it's difficult to quanity true pirating statistics that are anywhere near being worth a damn, how do you separate these cases of "cry wolf" from legitimate instances where a film is being pirated en masse by people who would otherwise have paid to see it in the theater? How do you quantify any of them really would have seen it in the theater at all if the option to download it was not there?

jag

Try putting yourself in the shoes of an artist.

 

[jaguarr]

Try putting yourself in the shoes of an artist.

As I stated in the beginning of the thread, I am an artist. An artist who understands how badly studios, publishing companies and record conglomerates screw over their artists, cutting them out of the lion's share of the proceeds from their work. An artist who understands how true, artistic merit is quite often passed over in the name of forumulaic schlock that some marketing guy greenlit because they thought it would make a lot of money. Like I said, I'm a big supporter of independent artists in large part because those factors I just named don't affect them nearly as much.

jag

 

[Holly Goodhead]

As I stated in the beginning of the thread, I am an artist. An artist who understands how badly studios, publishing companies and record conglomerates screw over their artists, cutting them out of the lion's share of the proceeds from their work. An artist who understands how true, artistic merit is quite often passed over in the name of forumulaic schlock that some marketing guy greenlit because they thought it would make a lot of money. Like I said, I'm a big supporter of independent artists in large part because those factors I just named don't affect them nearly as much.

jag

Pick a ****ing side. Christ, youre always straddling the fence on issues and it's just silly banilly. I'm sick of your duality.

 

[jaguarr]

Pick a ****ing side. Christ, youre always straddling the fence on issues and it's just silly banilly. I'm sick of your duality.

I'm on the side of the artists, you silly ****e.

jag

 

[Holly Goodhead]

Youre not allowed on my side.

 

[jaguarr]

Youre not allowed on my side.

:meow:

jag

 

[Alpha and Omega]

An artist who understands how true, artistic merit is quite often passed over in the name of forumulaic schlock that some marketing guy greenlit because they thought it would make a lot of money.

This is why 'Beerfest', 'Jackass 2', 'The Covenant', etc, are currently in release.

I'm sorry, but if Hollywood releases this kind of garbage, they can't blame decreasing sales on 'piracy' alone.

Jag's made an excellent statement.

 

[jaguarr]

This is why 'Beerfest', 'Jackass 2', 'The Covenant', etc, are currently in release.

I'm sorry, but if Hollywood releases this kind of garbage, they can't blame decreasing sales on 'piracy' alone.

Jag's made an excellent statement.

I've said it once and I'll say it over and over; once the bean counters and marketing pukes took over the entertainment industry, creativity died. It's all driven by demographic studies and selection of works that will appeal to them while being the absolute cheapest to produce with the greatest chance for successful marketing in order to maximize profits. That's why there are so many horrible pop acts that are successful (notice most of them are one hit wonders that fade away after one or two albums; the record companies work hard to not let them get TOO big so that they can't start demanding bigger cuts of the profits and sweeter contractual deals). That's why there's ridiculous films like the one A&O mentioned. That's why there's Danielle Steele books and Harlequin Romances. America is largely easily lead by the nose and smart marketing people know this and take advantage of it. It's really kind of tragic. Thank God for the independent filmmakers, small publishers and indie record labels, not to mention the self-distribution and marketing channels so many artists take advantage of.

jag

 

[The Apatow Crew]

This is why 'Beerfest', 'Jackass 2', 'The Covenant', etc, are currently in release.

I'm sorry, but if Hollywood releases this kind of garbage, they can't blame decreasing sales on 'piracy' alone.

Jag's made an excellent statement.

Well there's stuff the teen crowd likes. You can't help thay like that stuff.

But stealing is against the law. That's the one point it's wrong. If its okay to download movies off the net then why shouldn't it be any different if you steal dvd's frm the store? Your both taking stuff without paying for it.

 

[jaguarr]

Well there's stuff the teen crowd likes. You can't help thay like that stuff.

But stealing is against the law. That's the one point it's wrong. If its okay to download movies off the net then why shouldn't it be any different if you steal dvd's frm the store? Your both taking stuff without paying for it.

The teen crowd will go see whatever is marketed to them as "cool". I never said it was okay to download movies off the 'net. I did point out earlier in the thread, however, that Hollywood contributes to it's own problems with piracy by producing inferior product and charging way too much to view it.

jag

 

[The Apatow Crew]

The teen crowd will go see whatever is marketed to them as "cool". I never said it was okay to download movies off the 'net. I did point out earlier in the thread, however, that Hollywood contributes to it's own problems with piracy by producing inferior product and charging way too much to view it.

jag

Oh just so you think its a "Inferior product" Its okay to view it without paying?

 

[Master Chief]

I only download movies if I really really really luffed it, in which case I would be buying the DVD. So. Whatever. Cool. I pirated it betch, then I paid for it, lol. Music is another story though. If I luffles the band or an album I'll buy the CDs, and usually they're all indie so kickass, otherwise meh. I'm selfish. Unless they're living in poverty or whatever I don't care.

If I ever became an artist though it wouldn't be for the money, I'd just want people to see/hear/use my s**t. But who knows. Maybe that'd change if I wanted to make a living out of it.

 

[jaguarr]

Oh just so you think its a "Inferior product" Its okay to view it without paying?

That's not what I wrote. Go back and read it again.

jag

 

[Holly Goodhead]

I only download movies if I really really really luffed it, in which case I would be buying the DVD. So. Whatever. Cool. I pirated it betch, then I paid for it, lol. Music is another story though. If I luffles the band or an album I'll buy the CDs, and usually they're all indie so kickass, otherwise meh. I'm selfish. Unless they're living in poverty or whatever I don't care.

If I ever became an artist though it wouldn't be for the money, I'd just want people to see/hear/use my s**t. But who knows. Maybe that'd change if I wanted to make a living out of it.

Shut up, we all know you DL everything. leech!