Morning, everybody. Been away from my computer for three or four days, so I’ll try to catch up. First, it appears that print editions of the venerable show biz bible Variety may be going the way of silents. Weekly Variety seems likely to go first. I work in a library, and processing publications is my primary job, and I expect to see mags and newspapers dropping like flies over the next five years.
Things aren’t so hot on the other end, either. Most ominous for the movie studios is a massive decline in DVD sales (must read article), from which they have been reaping an actual majority of their income, even over box office receipts from new movies. Indeed, Hollywood depends on DVD monies to push many new films over the break even point and into profit to start with.
Aside from the woeful econony, the fact is that many people (like myself) have enough DVDs that they aren’t buying as aggressively as they once did. Then add in the fact that consumers are starting to realize that movies and TV shows are going to start being available, often for free, over the Internet. Things have gotten so bad that the people long agitating for a strike over at SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) appear to have finally figured out that this isn’t the best time for it.
The worst part for buffs like us is that DVD sales of catalogue titles–older movies, in other words, as opposed to new stuff like Paul Blart Mall Cop — are especially hard hit. Man, you’d hate to see they stop releasing increasing weird older films, although that seems likely. Somebody needs to figure out a way to make money ASAP off downloads, because the free thing is incredible, but not if it kills the golden goose and we end up never being able to see a lot of stuff we’re still waiting on.
The extinction of Hollywood as we know it continues apace.
