DOWN, But NOT OUT!

 The movies have always adapted to 'BIG' changes and the COVID impact will be no different. 

The Movies Depict Our History

One of the issues this year is that the Oscars will not have any 'major' contenders. The studios mouth-balled their tent-poles, including such films as 'Dune' and 'West Side Story'.

The Awards will be dominated by 'small-fry' films which are great for the small screen but not so for the silver. Up until the pandemic, all filmmakers assumed their works would be viewed on the big screen. The Best Picture prize was relegated to epic productions or fantastic stories with great acting and directing. 

Now the new mantra is films that make the audience 'feel like its inside the film'. Much of the streamed content is 'modified to fit' the home screen and highly censored for a more 'family friendly' audience. Let's face it, a movie seen at home is not the same as seeing it on a big screen at a cinema - too much detail is lost.

Moviegoing is NOT Going AWAY!

Think I'm crazy. Well, since ever people have congregated to listen to storytellers - there is a need for a shared entertainment experience. Furthermore, there are too many people with too much at stake to see the industry disappear. It is financially important.

I've written before about how the movie industry survived TV and radio in the 1950s, the home video boom of the '80s, and 'pay-per-view' of the '90s and beyond. The pandemic will be no different.

In 1953, Walt Disney commented, "The movie industry requires constant adaptation and adventures in showmanship. We like to enjoy ourselves in crowds, at sports arenas, at picnics, fairs, and carnivals, at concerts, and in the theatre.  People are always going to demand and enjoy movies in the theatre. Movies will survive."

Well said Walt. I couldn't agree more!