Here’s an interesting story about DVD sales collapsing. For the last five years or so, studios have been relying HEAVILY on DVD sales, as theater attendance has been tanking and the profit-sharing deals for feature films has left the studios with less and less cash. Add on top of this the fact that Hollywood has been churning out one CGI crapfest after another, with little imagination amidst all that generic animation, and it’s been a recipe for disaster for all involved (but mostly – let’s be honest – for people who actually like watching good movies).
We read the talented Nikki Finke’s blog, Deadline Hollywood Daily, every day, first thing in the morning, not for Hollywood news but to see how what’s going on there could impact politics.
Hollywood and trial lawyers are Democrats’ two biggest money streams. If either, or both, of those dry up, Dems are in serious trouble for 2010 and 2012, when they will need all that money most.
No one in the political commentary world is picking up on this — but it seems obvious to us. All of the studios, agencies, and entertainment companies are cutting staff. Magazines like Gourmet and Modern Bride are shuttering, laying off hundreds of Ivy League educated, white, urban, professionals — all indoctrinated in the same schools, with the same Dem blinders forever on.
All of these people being fired are liberals…liberals who, until so recently in this The Golden Age of Hope and Change and Rainbow Sneezing Unicorns, made a lot of money and used to give heavily to Democrats.
Now that these people are unemployed, doesn’t it seem like political donations will be the first things they cut?
Hera knows they won’t be skimping on the Mystique Tan or the Rogaine, folks. And the charitable donations to Greenpeace or the Sierra Club or whatever are still great for PR. But, what can donations to the DNC really do for these Hollywood types when they’re unemployed?
They’d rather keep their vanilla soy cinnamon pumpkin mocha-chinos and their Itunes bebopping, thank you very much Bob’s Big Boy Governor Tim Kaine, DNC Chair.
Just watch…there is a very, very good chance an entire network will go down before the 2012 elections. NBC is in very dire straights, and MSNBC is consistently lower rated than the Cat Fancy and Model Train Enthusiast channels on cable. In fact, completely unplugging the cable and watching blank, nails-on-the-chalkboard, Heather O’Rourke-style white static on the TV is more enjoyable than spending an hour with Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann.
Hollywood and the MSM at large bet everything on Dr. Utopia and linked themselves inextricably to him.
As his popularity and power fade, so will theirs, it seems.
And as it does, things come full circle so that impoverished Hollywood has less money to prop up The Lightbringer and all his cronies.
Keep your eyes on Hollywood for no other reason than what happens there, doesn’t stay there…unlike Vegas, it all resonates in Washington, for sure.
******
Related: Here’s Nikki Fink’s take on why David Letterman won’t be investigated for sexual harassment by CBS. In a (withered, disgusting, pervy) nutshell, it’s because Letterman’s boss, Les Moonves, also sleeps with subordinates…and the ultimate big boss over there, Sumner Redstone, does the same damn thing. So, since all of them diddle the helpless wage-slaves under them, believing they are gods with invincible thunder sticks for weiners, they protect each other and Letterman’s allowed to do the vile, porcine things he does with reckless abandon.
October 6, 2009 at 9:48 pm
While all of those are very good points I have to point out the original reason I started following you guys (loathing of “fearless leader” aside):
“…So, since all of them diddle the helpless wage-slaves under them, believing they are gods with invincible thunder sticks for weiners…”
Pure, simple wit. Brilliant. Thanks for all the smiles you guys give me :)
October 6, 2009 at 9:52 pm
The “buzz” in L.A. is a film titled “Paranormal Activity” is kicking booty at the handful of theaters at which it’s being shown. e.g., Arclight Theater, midnight showings only, SRO. It stars nobody you or anybody else has ever heard of and was made for the vast amount of $15,000. Getting rave reviews (sort of a Blair Witch Project, or so I’m told.) Paramount’s going to distribute it all over sometime later this month. The so-called “stars” had better wise up and adjust their stinkin’ attitudes or their standard of living might be seriously curtailed. Bummer.
October 7, 2009 at 9:34 pm
When picking up some Mexican food they had a flat screen.
The trailer for ‘Paranormal’ came on that only showed the audience’s reactions to the film and some of the reviews. And then stated if the movie isn’t showing in your town ‘demand it’.
The audience was creeped out.
http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/trailer.html
October 6, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Hillbuzz, what can we do to help Glen Beck?
I see that more companies are pulling their ads.
Are these companies big ‘The Won’ supporters?
Who is the Color of Change? Seems they are calling or writing to put pressure on those companies?
Can we not do the same in reverse?
They are hell bent on shutting him up. How dare he expose Barry’s criminal friends and connections.
October 7, 2009 at 9:16 am
The Color of Change is an agitator group that Van Jones is a part of. He may have founded it – not sure of the specifics.
October 7, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Color of Change?
Aren’t they like the KKK but they wear striped sheets instead?
October 7, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Noodlenoggin, from what I’ve read, Beck may be sponsors, but they are simply moving to other Fox shows to advertise on.
That fact, along with the fact that Fox is very very very much aware that Beck is now pulling in more and more listeners than ever, means Fox is keeping Beck in the line-up!!!!!!!!!
October 7, 2009 at 12:20 pm
“may be losing” that is….
October 6, 2009 at 11:30 pm
http://colorofchange.org/about.html
Most of that’s pretty informative but the most relevant connection is right at the bottom:
Former Staff
Van Jones (Co-founder, inactive)
October 7, 2009 at 9:16 am
silly me – should have kept reading!
October 7, 2009 at 7:34 am
I truly get more entertainment from the reality shows these days. The Hollywood stars want too much money for voice-overs on a cartoon. Have you seen the amount of money they get for several hours work? They are finding that they are hot one day and then a has been the next. They seem to have to create some controversy to keep their name in the forefront. Their homes are going into forclosure too.
October 7, 2009 at 12:43 pm
You know, we really don’t watch hollywood movies at all anymore. Might be lifestyle/demographic – suburban parents. But more pertinently, I am leery of letting my kid watch those animated/pixar movies either. Those are where hollywood makes its real money. So why would I want to help them? Frankly I would rather help bollywood.
So we don’t watch any of that stuff, but as my son gets older it may be more difficult. Right now we watch small production type things about trucks and diggers, not made in/by hollywood at all.
October 8, 2009 at 8:36 am
You might want to give Pixar’s productions a try, depending on the age of your kid. They are high-quality, *very* family-friendly without being preachy or saccharine, with meticulous attention to the art and the script. Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc are better for smaller kids.
October 7, 2009 at 8:21 am
Funny I see this thread…I was thinking about this topic last night after watching Michael Moore on Hannity. Here is a great idea as it pertains to movie making and will at the same time help reduce the gov’t's debt.
Movies will still cost the same amount they do now $7-$10 bucks. Then the government should regulate the pay scales of EVERYONE in the movie business…so producers and studios can only make so much PROFIT (say a couple hundred thousand dollars), actors will paid a fair hourly wage for the movies…say $40 a hour. Smaller part players can make $20 an hour (again, I’m just throwing numbers out there but they should be based on average salaries in California, taking into account the standard of living etc.).
Then anything left over after all employees of the studios and cast are paid…ALL of the profit that will inevitably huge since they aren’t paying actors and directs millions anymore, will go to the government with the sole purpose of paying down the deficit.
I should run for mayor…nah, nobody listens – from “Seinfeld”
October 7, 2009 at 9:18 am
Why, Hollywood ought to looove that.
This is actually a great idea – to make a loud noise with. Isn’t it Alinsky #4 to make the target live up to his own ideals?
October 7, 2009 at 10:43 am
XACTLY! I still want to see a bunch of homeless people make a run on all the Hollywood celebrities mansions in Beverly Hills and claim them as new public housing (ala Dr. Zhivago). Let the celebrities keep one room in their house of course, they still need some place to keep all their Golden Globes and Emmys). LOL
I mean if they are really willing to go down the socialist road then they better be prepared for what comes with that!
October 7, 2009 at 12:11 pm
That’s a great idea. If the Hollywood libs love socialism so much, then socialize Hollywood.
October 7, 2009 at 8:23 am
“Hollywood and the MSM at large bet everything on Dr. Utopia and linked themselves inextricably to him.”
and they are counting on Dr. U coming through for them with some sort of bailout if needed. If not in the light of day, then the dark closets of back rooms.
October 7, 2009 at 10:59 am
Heh. Additionally, this is much of the same scum that thinks Roman Polanski should be freed. That if nothing else shows the stark contrast between Hollywood and regular people.
Maybe, just maybe, enough people have had enough of the Hollywood types to really hurt their bottom line.
October 7, 2009 at 11:36 am
NBC is already the “fourth” network with Fox, CBS, and ABC ahead of it.
Didn’t NBC introduce only one new show for fall 2009?
October 7, 2009 at 12:14 pm
http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-is-cbs-really-going-bankrupt-2009-10
Is CBS Really Going Bankrupt?
As the banking collapse illustrated, any time a company denies that it’s about to go bankrupt, it makes sense to assume that the company is indeed about to go bankrupt–and then analyze the situation for yourself.
We’ve now done that for CBS. Here’s the bottom line:
CBS is not on the verge of bankruptcy. The company is, however, highly leveraged, and its cash flows have been deteriorating rapidly. So if current trends continue, the company will be forced to cut more costs or risk violating debt covenants. If CBS’s cash flows keep deteriorating after that, it will very much be on the verge of bankruptcy.
CBS has also blown billions in recent years stupidly buying back its own stock at much higher prices–shareholder value destruction at its finest. So the company’s weak financial position is very much of its own making.
October 7, 2009 at 12:39 pm
More reading along that line of thought….
http://slate.msn.com/id/2123286/
Hollywood’s Death SpiralThe secret numbers tell the story.
October 7, 2009 at 8:03 pm
No wonder with those bloated costs.
This story is blowing up big time – just like the “MSM media/entertainment industrial complex” is blowing up!
More….
Heads roll as Hollywood becomes land of the lost box office
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,26177189-5017996,00.html
Like zombies who keep getting up, the turkeys of 2009 just won’t stop coming: Land of the Lost, Gamer, Surrogates, Funny People, Love Happens, The Taking of Pelham 123…
It is now clear that only a fraction of the $US400 million ($450m) total outlay will be recouped at a time when DVD sales are vanishing.
Inevitably, heads are beginning to roll.
This week, Walt Disney and Universal Pictures announced changes in their executive line-ups, with the Disney studio chief Dick Cook – whose moment of glory was the blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean – being replaced by his younger rival Rich Ross, and Universal’s joint chairmen, Marc Shmuger and David Linde, standing down for the studio’s marketing and production heads.
Hat tip to No Quarter.
Star Dust Losing Its Glitter … and Studio Heads Starting to Roll
http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2009/10/07/star-dust-losing-its-glitter/#more-34284
October 7, 2009 at 10:34 pm
We don’t watch as much tv and often channel surf past commercials so we have very little connection with the movie trailers these days.
Previously, I would walk Blockbusters and have a better understanding of what the movie was about. And could pick movies that complemented eachother nicely.
I’m lost now over most of the titles. And we are huge movie buffs with a two movie unlimited pass that was on fire in years past.
Lame TV shows and the loser MSM isn’t doing the movie industry any justice for keeping the boob tube on.
And if the boob tube isn’t on…then you can’t see the trailers….