or by 2025, so says Lucas. $15 mil for the average flick by then.
I didnt see the Oscars (shame! hehe) but i heard that there was something mentioned in the opening speech about how important it is to see movies as they were designed to be seen, in the theatres.
Some of the reasons given were: the big screen, ok i can see that, especially for the theatres with those reeeealy big screens; the surround sound experience, huh? these days its much easier to get that sort of sound in the home (for the most part)...not buying that; and finally, being around strangers, wow...i think he made a bad choice of words there, thats about the worst part for me. If he had said to go with friends and then dissect the movie apart afterwords in the pub with a few beers, i would have been all thumbs up. But strangers? kids crying, cell phones being answered, packed opening nights, and looking over someones shoulders....sigh.
Its an interesting theory by Lucas though, and I tend to agree that hollywood style production studios are going to need to rethink budgets, and almost follow the lead from indie films. In this digital age, and year of the home theatre 1080p HDTV, with 5.1 (7.1?) surround sound and on demand movies, the 'cinematic thrill' gap becomes much slimmer. When you add onto the price of that $12 ticket, some popcorn and a soda, then 'going to the movies' almost becomes limited to first dates (so you dont have to talk as much
I still enjoy going to the movies, although my regular saturday trips have become once a month or even less. I prefer going to either the first showing of the day, or the last. They are usually vastly different experiences, and thats actually why i like to go at those times.
The difference between home and theatre has become far less of an attraction for going to the local cinema than seeing a new film on the day of release. Ive also become a little naughty as of late, and download some movies via bittorrent....ssshhh! I dont do it that much, and I totally agree with supporting artists. I would happily pay for content like a newly released movie if it was available as a file download or a release to dvd the same day as Cinema. Steven Soderbergh recently did that with his film Bubble, and scared the Cinema owners silly, with quotes such as "completely collapse the domestic theatrical industry and you would have a spate of bankruptcies..". But i feel i would like to see a movie when i want, and how i want these days (and paying what they want!), is that too much to ask?
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