While the news of yet another major studio cutting hundreds of jobs is news, it is the side stories around it that make all these studio cuts, bankruptcies and failures interesting.

I could probably point to any number of sources for those who need proof. Take this article at deadline.com. It reports the news and you get a look at come internal announcements. Or here at Variety. The facts are the same: 450 laid off, 6 1/2% of Sony Pictures workforce.

But for those who don’t read comments, take another look at deadline.com.

There are some great discussions about DVD piracy (which Sony foolishly blamed as a cause for the layoffs), the future of blockbuster filmmaking and the potential regrowth of the indie film industry.

Honestly, it isnt pirated DVD’s that are the issue. Studios are making less films and earning bigger profits. This is because they generate their revenue from tentpoles such as TRANSFORMERS, HARRY POTTER, PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN, SPIDERMAN, IRON MAN, etc… So when studios make less films, their is less work out there. The studios are realizing that they dont need as many people as they have been using to turn a profit.

However, after a few more years of nothing but Blockbuster, studio tentpoles, I think that the indie scene will creep back up, and studios will begin buying and distributing those films again when the audiences begin to crave something new….its all a big cycle.

from user jakLA

Or direct to the point about dvd’s from user ‘Welcome ToTheFuture’ (I like the name and no it’s not me): “I haven’t bought a DVD since joining Netflix.” Exactly. Why are studios bitching about pirated DVD’s when the DVD’s are about to disappear anyway. Online video streaming is the future, as we have discussed here, here, and here.

The comments ended at the time of my writing on a fitting note from ‘ed’:

… and lastly, make better films. i think there’s something to the whole tentpole argument. the people running studios are focused on the bottom line, they are afraid to do anything interesting. if good stories can’t find a place in hollywood, they will find some other place to bubble up.

Who do the studios think they are kidding, when box office numbers continue to set new records each year. The reason people talk about the film industry being in trouble is because fewer and fewer films get made and most of those are huge blockbusters like Avatar. The select few filmmakers at the top of the game in Hollywood are doing fine. They might have to work a little harder to get their films made but they are getting films made. The studios are doing fine. Everyone else is struggling.

But… the good news is that this entire cycle, the very reason for starting this blog in the first place is the opportunity that is about to come around for all those on the outside of this Hollywood monster. The Hollywood part of the film industry makes $200m films that need to make $500 to a $1billion to make a profit. That is insane. That is not a good business model. They are going the way of the auto industry, making bloated SUVs that use to much fuel, cost too much money and take up too much space on the road. When a 14 screen cinema is showing Avatar on four screens, Sherlock Holmes on 3 screens, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel on 2 screens and you only have a few screens left, there is a problem.

They are hollowing out the middle. Mid-level movies are essentially impossible now. The best picture nominations should be proof enough: Avatar, District 9, and Star Trek. Really? Best Picture. Not Special Effects. Best Picture.

As pointed out before, there are opportunities for the indie filmmaker and new ways to think about distribution. All the indie scene needs to do is wake up and stop making ‘indie’ movies. This is getting into a topic for another post, but ‘indie’ has become a genre, just as stale as any other. STOP MAKING ‘INDIE’ FILMS and start making movies. Lack of money is not an excuse to be boring and pretentious. Make an entertaining movie that an audience might actually care about and you might have the next Paranormal Activity or Precious on your hands. The studios are doing a good job of killing themselves off and moving away from the market of intelligent, well made films. They are handing it to you on a plate, ready to eat.

by NoName

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Tags: Avatar, District 9, MGM, netflix, Paranormal Activity, sony, studios