Air Talk Surveys the Economics of the Film Industry
As I drove on my recent trip to LA, I heard a segment on the uncertain financial future of the film industry, on KPCC‘s Air Talk. The segment was a very timely assessment of how the Internet and the changing tastes of moviegoers have put film industry in a bit of a crisis mode.
For students in my film industry class this semester, listening to this program should orient them to the issues facing the film industry at this very moment. But by the time we cover Hollywood’s second century in December, some of the crisis may have waned with the big Christmastime boom in attendance.
In either case, the program serves as a good snapshot of the film industry. Some of the issues include:
- decline revenue from DVD sales and rentals
- studios “tightening their belts” for “big” budget filmmakers and films
- consumers and distributors looking to the Internet, albeit for different reasons
- movie quality and whether audiences will come to bad movies anymore
Have a listen to these reporters and pundits outlining these challenges.