The sincerest form of self-flattery…
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Short of the Week explains how Hollywood has lost its way…
Much has been said over the last few days about the bleak year for theatrical films with year-end box office sales down 3.8% compared to last year and attendance down 4.7% (Box Office Mojo). But there’s been less coverage of a bigger problem looming over the film industry—one that would be hard to blame on a bad year—the growing scarcity of original stories coming from Hollywood…
And if that isn’t frightening enough, the success of The Lion King 3D is already kicking off what may become a new creative low—re-releases. The Lion King 3D, at a cost to Disney of less than $10M, took in nearly $100M—not a bad ROI for a struggling industry. Titanic, Beauty and the Beast, and Star Wars, all planned for 2012 releases, may mark the dawn of an era of blockbuster re-releases as Hollywood longs for its glory days…
As Roger Ebert observes, “Americans love the movies as much as ever. It’s the theaters that are losing their charm”… the theaters and the unoriginal material produced to screen in them…
As we remember that this is the anniversary of Mrs. Lincoln’s extremely bad night at the theater, we might recall that it was also on this date (in 1912) that an event featured in the discussion above occurred: the collision of a state-of-the-art steamship, the “unsinkable” Titanic, with the iceberg that sent it under.
R.M.S. Titanic, headed for its appointment with destiny (source)