We took in Shrek the Third over the weekend, along with everyone else in rainy New England. We went early, for the morning matinee. It was expensive anyway. Then we got to sit through advertising for junk no one should feed their kids. After that, we got to sit through previews for other films they want us to pay too much to see, most of which appear not to be worth even a reasonable admission price. [Prediction: Seinfeld's bee movie will turn out to be a C movie.]
And what's with showing a preview for a movie with machine guns, missiles, and invading robots before a kids' film? And who thinks it's a good idea to show a preview with Queen Latifah making racial jokes to an audience of five-year-olds?
And why to do media outlets lead with the weekend take as if it were a sporting contest? When did the box office take become of concern to anyone outside the industry? Oh, and could we stop the stupid headlines on that topic ("Big Green Ogre Stomps Spidey")?
American culture isn't merely declining; it's dead.
Going to the theater is dead. Every time I have gone recently I have been reminded why I don't go. Wicked crowded, people texting during the movie, who brings a crying infant to a 9pm showing of James Bond?! Seriously. Tried to go to the theaters at Boston Common once, the computers were down so nobody could purchase tickets.
Blockbuster, Netflix, Amazon Unboxed (delivers content straight to your Tivo) and Apple TV are here. This is the year I will buy a flatscreen. Viacom is going to make a deal with Youtube (Google) because it sees the future...and it doesn't include Viacom unless they deal with the new generation of media companies.
Posted by: asdf | May 21, 2007 at 04:53 PM
And they wonder why movie attendance is down.
The last movie I saw at a theater was the Return of the King. I enjoyed the movie, but 25 minutes of previews and advertising that commenced at the advertised start time of the movie make for a very, very long time in the theater.
Posted by: GTL | May 23, 2007 at 03:10 PM