Quite possibly the end of the movie theater experience......

[JohnnyWalkerBlackLabel]

BusinessWeek reported yesterday that an unnamed source has told the magazine that iTunes will start selling downloadable movies mid-September. Aside from plans to sell new releases for $14.99 and older movies for $9.99, details are limited; the BusinessWeek story is actually about how pissed off Wall-Mart (who apparently has a 40% DVD market share) is about the potential lost revenue. News of an industry sea change is a little premature, as Disney--a company for which Steve Jobs is the largest shareholder--is the only studio to sign on. Unconfirmed rumors place Fox Entertainment and Lion's Gate next in line for iTunes distribution, but you can be the judge of how trustworthy "Hollywood sources" can be.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I can finally sit back in my home and watch Snakes on a Plane on my 60" LCD computer screen...................

[Mylon]

Movie theaters suck. You pay $8.50 or more to get into a room crowded full of other people, you have to pay $3+ for each thing you eat/drink, you can't rewind, and you have to go to a movie theater.

People are spending 3,000+ on a home theater that gives a comparable experience with much more convienance. The only reason to go to the theaters nowadays is because movies are there first. Otherwise home theaters are much better, and there's no point in spending so much on a home theater only to never use it, too.

[johnb]

i agree. we're americans for god's sakes. let's ride in cars by our selves. let's sit at home by ourselves. god forbid i ever have to sit next to a stranger and carry on a conversation with them. they might be a terrorist...fuck em, let's nuke em all, by god!!!

[JohnnyWalkerBlackLabel]

I miss the drive-in
you could take a broad to a drive in, get some head during the flick, possibly some pussy, eat popcorn, etc. and partially watch the flick

[johnb]

and smuggle three guys, a case of beer, and a bag of weed in your trunk. but my guess johnny is, if you're gettin head, you ain't gonna unlock the trunk

[JohnnyWalkerBlackLabel]

lol, hell no, but thanks for reminding me about that, I forgot about the trunk sneak

[Taom]

I completely agree, I had many a good time at the drive in. You could get in for six bucks per vehicle, no matter how many people were in it, and watch two flicks during the week and three during the weekend.

As fas as downloading movies goes, they'll never make movies available at the same time as they hit the theaters. Theater attendance may be down, (mostly due to high ticket cost, or maybe another cause is those damn commercials they force you to watch nowadays) but it's still a big source of income for the studios. Eventually most movies will be available to download online though, the industry will do anything for a buck. Cash is the almighty god of capitolism.

[RawNY]

Well, the dvd market helped close most of the remaining porn theater (that and assholes who practiced unsafe sex and got out of hand.)

Manypeople still wait for a first run movie to come out on dvd or appear on HBO. Judging from the lack of quality films comming out of the major studios there is no reason to run to theaters to see any film as soon as it comes out anyway.

[suckseed]

Personally, I like the theatre experience. I was kind of amazed that Tom Cruise's contract wasn't renewed by his longtime company. Sure, he's done some wacky stuff, but he's also been in some damn good films - I think people just resent him being Handsome Boy. That being said, we'll probably see a continuation of the trend of studios balking at paying huge salaries and giving points to a handful of megamillionaire stars. I enjoyed 'Sideways' way more than any Mission Impossible flick. It probably cost a couple mil. And speaking of bloated, that last Charlie's Angels was just stupid with the stunts. I'm sure they were having a great time editing it, thinking, 'these over the top stunts are just going to kill 'em!', but I just thought it was stupid.
I'll take LA Confidential over Gone in 60 seconds being remade anyday.
But, I prefer Deadwood to WWF too, so obviously there's a lot of shall we say easily amused types out there that can't imagine a movie without wire-flying fight scenes or 200 foot tall fireballs. They're like cats chasing laser pointer beams to me.
All of this is just to say - if lower budget movies that rely on story, script, and character development are the result of lower studio profits, that's just fine with me. Finally...I don't get needing portable video. Who wants to watch a movie on a three inch screen, for fuck's sake? What's wrong with renting or buying dvd's? If the music industry and movie industry are gutted by everyone expecting entertainment for free, listen to these same people start bitching and whining about how everything sucks anymore.

[BeardedOne]

Ah, the movie experience.

Occasionally, I have a "Day of me" wherein I just go out and indulge myself.

Earliest show at the googleplex, buy a ticket from the cute, one-armed girl in the booth (Shades of Funky Winkerbean), grab a tub o' ex$pensive popcorn and a large $oda, and catch a real film on the large screen, with all of the detail. Especially good for watching space operas like SW and ST.

Sometimes, I will be the only one in the theatre. Best scenario. :D See the detail, =FEEL= the sound. :jerkoff

The rest, I rent and play on the PC. But they're widescreen and it's a 17" monitor. :)

[kukm4]

Do they say what size these movies will be from Itunes?
aAre they geared solely for Video Ipod (320x240) display.
If thats the case, I dont think I would pay 14.99/9.99 for a small version of the movie. Will they let you burn it to dvd?

[rick_932]

i cant even remember the last time i watched a movie in the theater. the bootlegs of in-theater movies are such good quality now that id rather stay at home and watch movies instead of going to the theater. dont have to worry about people making noise, cell phones going off, people bumping the back of your seat, sticky floors, over-priced snacks, 20 min previews before the movie, having to take a piss and missing part of the movie, etc...i think you get the picture, hah

[Solitary Brother]

Is the "movie theather experience" THAT great?
It once was but not anymore.
The home theather experience rivals the move experience based on HDTV technology alone.
You can even configure rudimentary 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems(depending one your technical savvy of course).
The "theather experience" has been significantly degraded by cultural factors I wont go into.

Steve Jobs the brillant leader of Apple/Disney has been working on a movie content delivery system for a while now.
This coming tuesday we should see some of the fruits of that work.
The media/TV experience is changing RADICALLY mainly because of increasing computer bandwidth.
This is a good thing.
Prepare to be amazed next tuesday!