Lyzsi SinclairWhere do you think cinema is headed?
So, The Dark Knight has made more money than everything except Titanic, and on top of sizeable hits such as Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Wanted and the fourth Indy film (despite the fact the last two, to varying degrees, sucked) the film industry as a whole is headed for its highest-grossing year ever.
But where to from here? There is no denying the gaming industry is taking pundits out of cineplexes and allowing them to exorcise their aggressive tendencies in the comfort of their own home. Witness the monster money made by Grand Theft Auto IV.
In addition, the internet is crimping film earnings as downloading becomes easier and more widespread (just wait until films can be downloaded more quickly than they can be watched). As if to hammer home this point, the writers' strike took the industry to task over internet royalties (which currently amount to bugger all, but may, possibly, somehow, sometime in the distant future be worth something.) Threats to earnings abound.
All this rigmarole has been led to some pretty hyperbolic statements about obscelesence, decline, rape, pillage, etc. Well, they are, after all, in the business of creating drama.
But are reports of the death of the film industry greatly exaggerated? Does this not simply imply the end of the stupid/mindless action hero movie? Even that seems to be in line for a resurgence, as the 3D revolution strikes us. James Cameron, the uber-director behind Titanic, is keeping tight wraps on Avatar, the $300 million epic that gossipy types in cyberspace are saying will herald a new cinematic golden era, which comes very quickly on the heels of the last one (mid 90s to 2001, for those who care). If the whispers are close to correct, we could all be headed back to the cinema just to marvel at the shiny new technology.
So, what's the verdict? A horrific crunching slide into irrelevance where it will join the pop music business, shaking its bejeweled fist at the internet and screaming 'Murderer!'? Or will cinema simply take the attacks in its stride and continue on fulfilling the dreams we weren't clever enough to have for ourselves?
But where to from here? There is no denying the gaming industry is taking pundits out of cineplexes and allowing them to exorcise their aggressive tendencies in the comfort of their own home. Witness the monster money made by Grand Theft Auto IV.
In addition, the internet is crimping film earnings as downloading becomes easier and more widespread (just wait until films can be downloaded more quickly than they can be watched). As if to hammer home this point, the writers' strike took the industry to task over internet royalties (which currently amount to bugger all, but may, possibly, somehow, sometime in the distant future be worth something.) Threats to earnings abound.
All this rigmarole has been led to some pretty hyperbolic statements about obscelesence, decline, rape, pillage, etc. Well, they are, after all, in the business of creating drama.
But are reports of the death of the film industry greatly exaggerated? Does this not simply imply the end of the stupid/mindless action hero movie? Even that seems to be in line for a resurgence, as the 3D revolution strikes us. James Cameron, the uber-director behind Titanic, is keeping tight wraps on Avatar, the $300 million epic that gossipy types in cyberspace are saying will herald a new cinematic golden era, which comes very quickly on the heels of the last one (mid 90s to 2001, for those who care). If the whispers are close to correct, we could all be headed back to the cinema just to marvel at the shiny new technology.
So, what's the verdict? A horrific crunching slide into irrelevance where it will join the pop music business, shaking its bejeweled fist at the internet and screaming 'Murderer!'? Or will cinema simply take the attacks in its stride and continue on fulfilling the dreams we weren't clever enough to have for ourselves?
