Is There Now a New Evolution in the Global-American Entertainment Industry?

It's Oscar month. But remember that there are changes taking place in the Global-American Entertainment Industry that are becoming well known. Are the changes just "business as usual" or more evolutionary? The Management Style, Technology, Costs of Production and Marketing, Media Coverage and Government Monitoring are just some of the points of interest. There are in fact changes, but the extend and nature of them are very interesting. Will they continue in 2007?

One Hollywood Movie Production Company Chairman last year recently decided that they will no longer continue a business relationship with actor Tom Cruise. Paramount decision seems very surprising to many, but experts said it was in the making for a while. The Company Chairman said they will no longer agree (if they did at all before) with Cruise unacceptable behavior. His scientology religion, behavior on Celebrities Talk Shows, public rebuke of Psychology Treatment Procedures and others are all part of the decision against him. So, no longer will movie stars be allowed to behave contrary to a Movie Studio Philosophy of Business since that can adversely affect Box Office Revenues and the prosperity of the Studio. Never mind the actor (or actress) perspective, it is the Studio that has the real power.

But some will say a person's personal life should not adversely affect his/her business endeavors. It is said that Cruise (on behalf of the Company) made over US$100 million for the Company (especially in recent years) from each of his movie. And the movie experts and critics say this is good for business. But not even that is good enough to withstand his unacceptable philosophy and public behavior contrary to the Studio perspectives. Are there more actors/actress to receive the same treatment in 2007? I am not sure if or when that will occur but it will certainly be very interesting for movie supporters all over the world.

We also see that the technology in the industry is changing. But this is not new. Changes have always occurred. What is really interesting is the very advanced use of computer technology in movie making. Will this result in the use of less actors/actress in the next 5-10 years or so? Computer Graphics and other tools are becoming very essential to modern movie-making that they are demanding and generating a lot of attention. Gone for most part, are the old days of Bugs Bunny cartoons and such alike, to the new days of advanced computer games and computer animations. Producers and Directors (as seen in Lords of the Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and so on) are using new technologies more and more. Hence, the cost of making the movies, experts say, will increase more and more. Good technologies are not cheap but are very effective. So, can we expect the cost of cable rentals on demand, dvd rentals, online downloads, and others, to continue to rise in 2007? The cost of entering to view favorite movies at the "Movie Theatre" will also increase. Will our economists come up with a cost saving solution? I believe many of us hope so.

As the costs of making and marketing the movies increase dramatically, other costs will also rise. Some say a big-time movie will cost an average of US$98M to make and market globally. That is up from US$68M not very long ago. Basic reasoning tells us that since technologies are costly and changing constantly in the production of movies, it is normal to expect costs to rise. But are the increases excessive? Critics say if an actor (like Tom Cruise) will go into Independent Production (as Mel Gibson does sometimes) then, they say, at least about US$60-70M will be required to make and market each movie. That is expensive for Hollywood even by their high standards. Will more lending and investment institutions now objectively analyze the prospects of Independent movie-making profitability? Here again we see evolutionary changes coming.

Whenever Celebrities (actors, actress, singers, sports personalities and such alike) are in the spotlight (for good or more likely bad reasons) the Media can be very harsh. Any kind of celebrity news will potentially pull LARGE numbers of viewing public. So, which smart media house would not get-in on the action? But the speculation and accusation are becoming more harsh and unprofessional. We try to believe that the Media (for most part and on many occasions) do report the facts. And, they also do serious damage to people when they go overboard in their coverage into unprofessional speculations. Will this change for the better? Maybe, but that is unlikely. The media strive on news and almost any Hollywood celebrity news is good for them if it increases viewing and revenues from commercials. I think we can still hope for a better change without becoming too hopeful.

Then there was the report that the United States IRS was planning to charge a tax on gifts received by celebrities beginning with the Emmy Awards Participants and Gifts Receivers in August 2006. Now this is definitely new and evolutionary. The Emmy Awards for 2006 is now history. Maybe the Grammy, Oscars, Tony and others in 2007 are in the making for the same treatment. Or, has it started and we have missed it? We are not sure who thought of this fiscal policy, but we are watching to see how Hollywood and the Global Community respond. Taxing gifts is not new, but applying it in this manner to the Emmy, for example, is new. We are prudent to think that more on this will be coming from the government in 2007.

These are just some of the changes or evolutions in the entertainment industry. We are certainly seeing new dimensions in technology, management styles, costs and government monitoring. Will the changes enhance the industry or damage it in the long run? The experts and critics will have to educate us on that. But we can certainly see for ourselves that family costs and viewing of movies will always be changing. Hopefully this will be for the better and at lower affordable costs to families and friends.
END.