The movie industry loves tracking, and perhaps today's most relevant question is why young people aren't going to the same movie five or six times a la "Titanic."
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According to Rick McCallum, producer of "Attack of the Clones," "The Phantom Menace" and the "Young Indiana Jones" TV movies, one of the answers is DVD, Variety reports.
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As the cost of going to the movies has escalated to $20 or so for a ticket, parking and popcorn, teens are paying more attention to the fact that the movie will be out on DVD in just four or five months at a rental fee of $4 or $5 or a purchase price of $12-$15.
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And McCallum feels that the experience of watching the movie on DVD is superior to most movie theaters. "Filmmakers love it because it more closely resembles the film made," he says.
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That feeling is bound to grow stronger as more movies incorporate computer-generated effects and are even shot digitally, as was McCallum's "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," the DVD version of which is being released on November 12 and is the first major live-action movie to be captured from its original digital source and transferred digitally.
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Of course, McCallum and his filmmaking partner George Lucas have been vocal proponents for digital filmmaking, distribution and projection. But they recognize that it will be years before a majority of theaters switch to digital.
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"I don't think there's a single movie that can survive on box office gross alone; it just doesn't exist anymore," says McCallum. "A theatrical gross can't hack it anymore, and the business is barely surviving right now. This is the biggest potential growth area that we have. Studios need it, or they're gone. They're on the verge of collapse anyway. They are not making money. Anyone who says, or thinks, that they are, is out of their mind."
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And forget about DVDs -- college and high schoolers with access to high-speed Internet connections are setting up "film parties," where groups get together to watch current theatricals they have already downloaded and burned onto a DVD-ROM.
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"My passion about digital technology and the digital pipeline is just a small little brush fire," says McCallum. "This other thing is a tornado. The business will implode once you can download a movie, give it to your friends and not have a moral problem with doing it. Then we're screwed. Literally, our very lives are at stake now. George and I are just praying that we can finish 'Episode III' in time, before it's all over."
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News from cnn.com
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According to Rick McCallum, producer of "Attack of the Clones," "The Phantom Menace" and the "Young Indiana Jones" TV movies, one of the answers is DVD, Variety reports.
«
As the cost of going to the movies has escalated to $20 or so for a ticket, parking and popcorn, teens are paying more attention to the fact that the movie will be out on DVD in just four or five months at a rental fee of $4 or $5 or a purchase price of $12-$15.
«
And McCallum feels that the experience of watching the movie on DVD is superior to most movie theaters. "Filmmakers love it because it more closely resembles the film made," he says.
«
That feeling is bound to grow stronger as more movies incorporate computer-generated effects and are even shot digitally, as was McCallum's "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," the DVD version of which is being released on November 12 and is the first major live-action movie to be captured from its original digital source and transferred digitally.
«
Of course, McCallum and his filmmaking partner George Lucas have been vocal proponents for digital filmmaking, distribution and projection. But they recognize that it will be years before a majority of theaters switch to digital.
«
"I don't think there's a single movie that can survive on box office gross alone; it just doesn't exist anymore," says McCallum. "A theatrical gross can't hack it anymore, and the business is barely surviving right now. This is the biggest potential growth area that we have. Studios need it, or they're gone. They're on the verge of collapse anyway. They are not making money. Anyone who says, or thinks, that they are, is out of their mind."
«
And forget about DVDs -- college and high schoolers with access to high-speed Internet connections are setting up "film parties," where groups get together to watch current theatricals they have already downloaded and burned onto a DVD-ROM.
«
"My passion about digital technology and the digital pipeline is just a small little brush fire," says McCallum. "This other thing is a tornado. The business will implode once you can download a movie, give it to your friends and not have a moral problem with doing it. Then we're screwed. Literally, our very lives are at stake now. George and I are just praying that we can finish 'Episode III' in time, before it's all over."
«
News from cnn.com