Worlds Largest LED Cinema Screen

 Yes, LED screens are now cinema-sized and DCI-compliant.  Could this be the wave of the future for movie exhibition?

Timewaying's - LED cinema screen

On May 18th, Timewaying Ltd., a Chinese tech firm unveiled the world's largest LED for movie exhibition with a screen 65ft wide x 35ft high. DCI-certified, the screen is multifunctional for movies, live performances, conferencing, seminars, and even gaming. It also allows for naked-eye 3D viewing.

Currently, there are three main issues impacting cinema exhibition: limited content diversity, a lack of a really immersive experience, and a need for more social connection. Timewaying believes their screen solves all of these issues.

Without the need for a projection room, all that is required is space for sound system components.  Ultra-narrow width, high-powered speaker arrays are utilized that fit right into the rim of the screen.

Everything for your Cinema

LED screens are probably in cinema exhibitions' future but are a long way off. No price was given by Timewaying for the screen; however, they did announce that they were launching a financing plan for Chinese clients only.

CMG believes AI's creative abilities and iterative updating in restoration technology will provide new opportunities for the cinema industry. Playback on a large format, 4K, LED screen with 3D capability may provide the elusive fully immersive experience the future moviegoer will demand. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

Drive-in Theaters Celebrate 90th Anniversary

 June 6th celebrated the 90th Anniversary of the first drive-in movie theater with National Drive-In Theater Day.

Admission rates at first Drive-in in 1933

Drive-in movie theaters were an invention of Richard Hollingshead, who opened the first Drive-in in Camden, NJ on June 6th, 1933. By 1955 there were over 4,000 Drive-ins in the U.S., and about 300 of the culture-changing theaters, remain today.

On another note regarding Drive-in Theaters, the 3rd Annual World Drive-in Movie Festival and Jamboree will be held from October 6th - 8th at the West Wind Drive-in in Las Vegas. This event is a 3-day party hosted by Joe Bob Briggs and brings in Drive-in fans and owners from across N. America and Europe.

For tickets to this event go to: joebobsjamboree.com

Warner Bros.' CEO Called Out

Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Paul Anderson, and Ryan Reynolds have publicly called out Warner Bros./Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav for his plan to dissolve Turner Classic Movie (TCM) network in his goal to cut expenses at WBD by $4 billion.

Spielberg with Zaslav

Zaslav has already fired the entire TCM senior management team, so when word of the demise of the TCM archive was next to go the fearsome foursome went into action. They called Zaslav for an "emergency meeting" in what was described as the destruction of the most important and original films in cinematic history. 

Reynolds and Scorsese

Ryan Reynolds tweeted, "Don't F*** with TCM".

The discussions, thus far, have worked and the TCM archives are secure. Rumors have it is that Netflix is trying to work a deal to take over HBO and TCM from WBC.

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of Entertainment Equipment Corp.

Cinema Mucho Gusto's Take

Zaslav is sleazy. What he is doing is throwing out threats to dissolve TCM in the hope of increasing its value (along with HBO's) in the Netflix deal. It's that simple.

Let's face it. For anyone with even a little passion for movie history, the TCM archive represents a graphicly depicted historic timeline, which must be respected - it represents is our past in story-form. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp. 

Netflix to Strike Deal on HBO

 Warner Bros./Discovery (WBD), in an effort to get out of massive debt and decreasing viewership is contemplating selling HBO to Netflix.

Studios and Streamers Cozy-up

HBO is valuable. Its scripted shows are some of the best in adult entertainment. Now, it appears that HBO content will be streamed on Netflix as well.

The first show being considered as part of this deal is the hit comedy from Issa Raw, 'Insecure'.

This move would certainly help WBD's bottom line which goes hand-in-hand with WBD's strategy of cutting costs and increasing revenues. Licensing titles out to Netflix will provide WBD huge dividends.

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Cinema Mucho Gusto's Take

This is a win-win for WBD and Netflix. WBD get much needed revenue and Netflix gets great content to satiate their subscribers' unending thirst for new content. 

Netflix is the bigger winner, but WBD needs cash. Buy Netflix stock!

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

Eroding the Value of the Oscar

Many voting members of the Academy Awards are voicing their opposition to the Academy's new rules on diversity and inclusion that must be adhered to for Oscar nomination.

In looking, for example, at the requirements for 'Best Picture' nomination the criteria are, well very nebulous. 

Cinema Mucho Gusto posted on May 9th, 2023 'Have the Oscar's New Standards Gone Too Far?' where Richard Dreyfuss voiced his very strong rejection of the new rules, and he is certainly not the only one. Many voting members of the Academy are violently opposed to the new rules. For example, film producers and directors will be required to submit to the Academy a dossier of the race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status of their film's cast and crew members. 

Opponents to the new rules claim film such as 'The Godfather' and 'Schindler's List' and hundreds of other spectacular films would not have qualified for award consideration under the new inclusion guidelines. 

Schindler's List would not be considered for an Oscar.

The anti-woke view of many in the film industry think that no group should be given special treatment. According to Richard Dreyfuss, "I'm sorry, but I don't think there's a minority or majority in the country that has to be catered to like that."

Responding to the backlash from its members, the Academy issued a statement, saying "The aperture must widen to reflect our diverse global population in both the creation of motion pictures and in the audiences who connect with them. The Academy is committed to playing a vital role in helping make this a reality."  Translation, if a film doesn't adhere to the policy of employing enough people of color, people with disabilities, or people who identify as LGBTQ+ it would not be considered for an Oscar.

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Cinema Mucho Gusto's Take

Once again, the Academy has decided to diminish the 'value' of the Oscar. None of the other major Award groups, particularly overseas, have followed the Academy's lead and probably will not as it force what is an art form into a ridge rule structure.

Additionally, what prevents any cast or crew member from saying they are LGBTQ+ just to get the role or job assignment? "Yes, today I declare myself a woman."

CMG also believes that inclusion and diversity, unlike what the Academy postulates, DO NOT bring more moviegoers to cinemas. What brings moviegoers to cinemas are what has always brought moviegoers to cinemas - excellently executed and realistic storylines and not the number count on how many people who worked on the film are disabled or gay. 

By: Jim Lavorato                                                                                          Entertainment Equipment Corp. 

      

Study Shows That Concession Discounts Embraced by Moviegoers

 MOVIO, a market research company, specializing in the cinema industry recently conducted a study involving over 28,000 moviegoers. The study tested the different impacts that a $1, $2, and $4 discount on large-sized popcorn had on overall purchases.

The study found that a $2 discount was optimal and increased the overall amount spent per moviegoer with more items purchased.

The $2 discounted popcorn produced a 44% increase in spend-per-admit and had a positive influence on visitation.

Overall, the study found that:

- Discounted concession increases the overall spend rate and visitation rates of moviegoers.

- Motivate moviegoers who normally do not buy concessions, to take advantage of the discount.

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Go to: eecCinema.com 

Did You Know That Oscar Recipients DON'T Own Their Trophy

 Winning an Oscar is more than getting a trophy, there are financial rewards as well. For example, any actor who receives an Oscar can expect a pay boost of, at least, 20% for their next movie gig.

Great Win...but you don't own the trophy!

However, there is no money to be made with the trophy itself. If an Oscar winner ever tries to sell their award, they will receive $1, and the buyer will be the Academy!

You see, Oscar winners don't own their trophy. Ever since 1951 winners are forbidden from selling their Oscars. they are also barred from disposing of them in anyway, even donating it. This also applies to a winner's heirs as well.

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Entertainment Equipment Corp. 

Why The 'No Sell' Rule?

Simply to avoid the Oscar losing its prestige. To preserve its exclusivity. 

Leigh with 'Gone with the Wind' prize.

Pre-1951 Oscars however are owned by their winners and can be sold or donated. For example, Vivien Leigh's 1939 Best Actress award for 'Gone with the Wind' sold in 1993 for $563,000. In 1999, Michael Jackson paid $1.5 million for the 'Gone with the Wind' Best Picture award.

Jackson with his $1.5m Oscar

So, for winners, the physical Oscar has no value, in fact, no ownership rights. They do, however, have intrinsic value, and the more awards you possess the more your skills are valued. Even being nominated for an Oscar increases your 'personal' value. So, no one should be brooding over the fact that they can't sell their 'prize' and. I believe that is as it should be. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

The Next Bond?

There will be a new 007 portrayer for the next Bond film, as Daniel Craig departs after making his fifth and final film, 'No Time To Die'. 

There are rumors that the next Bond would in fact be a woman, or a person of color, a non-British actor, etc. But whoever is selected to play the iconic role created by Ian Fleming that actor will be the 7th 007.

The first Bond film debuted in 1962 with 'Dr. No' and while nothing has been inked regarding the next episode in the franchise a release date of 2025 is expected. 

So, what current actors are thought encapsulate the Bond 'qualities' and are the frontrunners in the selection process. Here's the lineup.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 32. British actor. Plays in 'Avengers' films.  

.

Sam Heughan, 42. Scottish actor. Starred

in very popular 'Outlander' series. Believes he "is right age for the role".

Idris Elba, 50. British actor. Elba is well known and has played in many very popular film and TV roles. He was quoted as saying, "No, I'm not going to be James Bond". 

Lashana Lynch, 35. British actor has appeared in many Marvel films. She, in fact, assumed the 007 number in the final scenes of the last Bond film.

Tom Hiddleston, 35. British actor has starred in many Marvel/Disney films and other dramas. A fan favorite for the role, Barbara Broccoli, the Bond films producer, was quoted as saying, "he's a bit too smug and not tough enough to play Bond." 

Henry Cavill, 34. British actor.

Superman portrayer and star on 'The Tudors' on Showtime.

He has expressed great interest in taking on the Bond role. 

Rege-Jean Page, 34. British actor. Has appeared in many BBC productions. Believes that a Brit should play Bond and is flattered he is being considered for the part.

So, these are the top seven candidates to carry forth the 007 baton. Which is not to say someone else may get the Bond prize.

Over half of all moviegoers polled consider Sean Connery to have been the best 'Fleming' Bond - a single British, middle-aged spy, debonair yet roughed womanizer with a license to kill. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

'Little Mermaid' Drowns in Red Ink

 The Mouse-house is having a lot of trouble these days and it may be finding that being too 'woke' is not always the best strategy, at least not from a financial sense. 

It appears that Disney's latest 'big film', 'The Little Mermaid', which cost $360 million to produce and market is falling far short of box-office expectations and will likely lose between $30-60 million, when all is said and done.

Obviously there will be revenues from streaming and merchandising but the numbers are far-less than Disney counted on. But why?

The first, 'Little Mermaid', an animated musical fantasy (based on a fairy tale authored by Han Christian Andersen) was released in 1989. This new film, a live-action remake, received very bad reviews from both film critics and moviegoers as being a very poorly constructed movie.

One-sheet from the 1989 movie

Additionally, there appears to be no demand within the international market (particularly in China) as the movie has grossed only $68 million globally to date. Word is, it does not follow the Andersen tale which has turned off many parents, as well as children as Disney decided to use a person of color to play the role of Ariel, a Dutch mermaid in the original story.

I get it that Disney wants to impart their diversity stance but unfortunately this woke view doesn't 'fit' into the moviegoer's mindset of what they (children for the most part) anticipated.

Not what was anticipated by moviegoers

Disney believed that 'The Little Mermaid' would replicate what 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Aladdin' banked - each grossing over $1 billion. But this was not to be.

Whatever the reasoning, this film was a no-show for moviegoers. Disney needs to have an intervention. It has major financial issues, recently laid off over 7,000 employees, and Bob Iger has no answers to the Mouse's problems.

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

Who Are the Oldest Oscar Winners?

So, who are the oldest people to have received an Oscar. In studying the records, it seems that many have. 

Plummer with Oscar for the 'Beginners'

Christopher Plummer was 88 when he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for 'All the Money in the World'. Anthony Hopkins was 83 when nominated for Best Actor in 'The Father'. He won the Oscar for that performance and is now the oldest actor to win that award.

Age seems to have no meaning when it comes to the Oscar as many in the entertainment business strive to achieve this accolade throughout their careers.  

Jessica Tandy with Oscar

John Huston was 79 when he got the nod for Best Director for 'Prizzi's Honor'. However, topping the list for nominations is John Williams with 53, receiving has last one at age 90 for Best Original Music Score on 'The Fabelmans'. 

Cinema Mucho Gusto is a publication of Entertainment Equipment Corporation                         

As far as winning the Oscar, Christopher Plummer won Best Supporting Actor at 82 for the 'Beginners.' While Peggy Ashcroft won Best Supporting Actress at 77 for her performance in 'A Passage to India'. But topping the age list for the Best Actress Oscar is Jessica Tandy, who took it for 'Driving Miss Daisy' at 80.

For oldest recipient for Best Director goes to Clint Eastwood, who at 74 won the award for 'Million Dollar Baby'.

James Ivory taking it home at 89.

The oldest Oscar winner to date is James Ivory for Best Adapted Screenplay - 'Call Me by Your Name' at the age of 89. 

Many strive for an Oscar, but few receive the Award. However, it seems it is never too late to achieve this ultimate recognition. 

By: Jim Lavorato

Entertainment/Media Industry CEOs' Pay Just Keeps Growing

Economic downturns. Massive employee layoffs. Share prices plummeting. Yet would it be a surprise to you to discover that media moguls' compensation has risen both in 2021 and 2022!

Apple's Tim Cook hauled in over $100 million in compensation is 2022. While Alphabet's (Google) Sundar Pichai raked in over $225 million. These outlandish pay packages are a combination of bonuses, salary, and peaks (stock options and other benefits) - placing all of these CEOs firmly in the 1%ers.

CEO pay is always increasing.

Compensation never goes down no matter what the performance of the company. Good times or bad...their pay packages never recede.  When things go well, which one would expect, they are geniuses but when things go wrong, it's always due to 'external' factors. 

Take for example, Disney, where Bab Chapek ran the company for three years and in that time amassed a debt load of over $29 billion while the stock price nose-dived. Yet, on his departure he received a $20 million 'outgoing' comp package.

Companies, like Disney, Fox, and Comcast are so tightly controlled that their compensation committees don't have to worry about angry shareholders. 

Other than bonuses, most of these CEOs' compensation isn't tied to performance but is determined relative to what every other CEOs are being paid which just keeps ratcheting up automatically. 

Company        CEO             Pay          Aver. Employee    Ratio

Disney       Bob Iger          $15m           $54,000                446/1

Netflix      Reed Hastings    51m            218,000               234/1

Comcast   Brian Roberts      32m             83,000                385/1

Apple        Tim Cook           100m            84,000             1,177/1

Warners     David Zaslaw       40m           172,000               227/1

Paramount  Bob Bakish          32m           110,000               291/1

Fox           Rupert Murdoch     18m           91,000                237/1

Amazon     Andy Jasey               1m          34,000                  38/1

Meta         Mark Zuckerberg      27m         296,000                 91/1

Google       Sandar Pichai          226m        279,000                808/1    

Are the people that fill the CEO suite the best?

So, you decide. Do you think these CEOs are worth their pay? In good times and bad? In making the right decisions or wrong ones?

Are they really great at what they do? Never forget, they all have cadres of experts in marketing and promotion, production, team building, legal and accounting, etc., etc. at their disposal. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

      

Cameron Doesn't Want to Helm 'Alita' Sequel.

James Cameron is at the apex when it comes to box office winners. His latest endeavor, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' booked over $2.3 billion globally.

Recent photo of Camerson & Iger at Avatar Land

Cameron has made big dollars for Disney, so Bob Iger, Disney CEO, wants Cameron to work his directorial magic on a sequel to 'Alita' and rug-pull Robert Rodrequez from the project.

The 'Alita' films are sci-fi action movies centered around a female cyborg. The first film, 'Battle Angel' grossed $405 million worldwide but with a cost of $200 million. The sequel has to do lots better.

Sources say that Iger is ready to green-light 'Alita 2' but not with Rodrequez at the helm. Disney is desperate for revenues at all costs as the Mouse-house is strapped with a massive debt load and marginal performances in its non-film divisions. 

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For his part, Cameron is not keen on the idea. At 68, he has committed to three more Avatar films, and other projects.

It would be no surprise if Cameron passes on this project. Given his age and other commitments. His comment regarding the latest turn of events was, "Our time as artists is finite."

By: Jim Lavorato

Disney's Decline Continues

 Disney+ lost over 6.4 million subscribers since start of 2023.

As a follow up to the CMG post of March 30, "Disney to Shed 7,000 Across the Company" we now report that the Mouse is feeling the hurt from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. 

Banking on the Marvel ('Blade' and 'Wonder Woman') and Star Wars sequels to bolster sorely needed box office revenues, all three of these productions have ceased due to the WGA strike. 

On top of that, Disney+, the Mouse's content streaming service, lost over 4 million subscribers in the 2nd quarter. This was on top of the loss of 2.4 million subscribers in the 1st quarter. 

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Bob Iger, Disney CEO, revealed that Disney is set to undergo massive restructuring. The massive layoffs are anticipated to save $5.5 billion, and it is planned to cut content production by $3 billion.

Disney carries a huge debt load at over $29 billion which needs to be addressed. This will be Iger's main target but with declining streaming subscriptions, the writers' strike curtailing content production, and a massive restructuring that needs to be skillfully executed the odds are against a short-term fix of anything.

By: Jim Lavorato

Have the Oscar's New Standards Gone Too Far?

 Apparently, the Academy Awards has taken the woke view to the extreme as regards to diversity, inclusion, and neo-sexualism standards...at least that's what Richard Dreyfuss thinks.

Dreyfuss in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

Oscar winner and longtime Hollywood stalwart, Dreyfuss criticized the new Academy requirements, saying, "they make me vomit."

Dreyfuss commented during a recent interview with PBS's Margaret Hoover, "It's an art. No one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is. What is at risk? Are we really risking hurting people's feelings? You can't legislate that? You have to let life be life. Sorry, but I don't think there is a minority or majority in the country that has to be catered to like that."

Dreyfuss is adhering to a belief that many Hollywood liberals believe - simply that woke beliefs and standards have gone off the rails.

The four newest standards that will be instituted for the upcoming 2024 Oscars which two are required to be considered for Best Picture are:

• Expanding on-screen representation of minorities
• Expanding representation among creative leadership and department heads
• providing industry access and opportunities to underrepresented demographics
• expanding representation in audience development

Dreyfuss in 'Jaws' with Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw

To Cinema Mucho Gusto, these standards are very nebulous and obtuse, and CMG agrees with Dreyfuss that it is impossible to control and legislate an art form and its creators.

 

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Dreyfuss went on the say in the interview that under the new rules he or any other white actors "would never be able to play 'Othello'."

"Am I being told that I will never be able to play a black man? Is someone also being told that if they're not Jewish, they shouldn't play in 'The Merchant of Venice'? Are we crazy? This is so patronizing. It's so thoughtless and treating people, artists, like children."

Richard Dreyfuss

AI...Hollywood Writers' BIG Foe

 A big part of the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike against the Hollywood studios and content streamers is to prevent machines from writing any 'literary material'... and, so far, this issue regarding the use of AI has been met with outright rejection!

From LA to NYC the WGA has been out in full force. Over 11,500 writers have put down their pencils and picked up a 'strike' sign. 

Strikers at studios in LA

WGA Strikers in NYC

At issue are negotiations regarding maintaining writers' rooms, guaranteed employment length, improved residuals from content streamers, and, the biggie, curtailing the use of AI in the entertainment industry. 

"We're fighting to stop the streamers and the studios from turning writing from a career into a gig-job, says Adam Conover, a writer and comedian. "They're trying to take away our jobs and employ us one day a week like we're Uber drivers. We're fighting for fairness."

The strike targets the rise of Artificial Intelligence, demanding safeguards against the use of AI in generating content. The WGA would require studios/streamers to regulate the use of AI on all projects: AI can't write or rewrite literary material and can't be used as source material.

Ray Romano and many other writers/actors have joined the strike.

For the moment, the studios and streamers outright rejected the AI limitations proposal and countered "by offering annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology."  Which is more of a placating posture than substantive discussion. 

The legal implications of AI add to the complexity of the issue. According to Leigh Brecheen, an entertainment attorney, "The legal system isn't designed with AI in mind. For example, you cannot copyright a work that isn't written by a human. This raises lots of questions about how precious intellectual property can be protected and when the threshold of human vs AI creation is passed."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on picket line in LA

AI is a rapidly developing and improving technology. While many dismiss the possibility of AI fully replacing writers, the truth is, no one really knows what can happen in the future. This begs the question: Would the WGA ever accept an AI as a member of the union?

Cinema Mucho Gusto (CMG) doesn't think the WGA would ever allow this to happen. But there is the real risk that in a few years, you won't need humans to write scripts, books, or anything else for that matter.

According to Leigh Brecheen, "The greatest challenge for all of us is to find ways to retain our humanity. We cannot let ourselves become slaves to any technology or ideology." 

The solution to Leigh's issue may lie in Web3. CMG believes that both the writers and studios may find the answer in blockchain technology. 

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From a content creator's perspective, blockchain technology really affords a lot of opportunity for control and ownership of your own content and the ability to leverage that content through smart contracts. This is very critical to the future of content creators as AI generated content is not considered intellectual property. Nonetheless, AI is rapidly ramping up on the tech, image, and video creation sides. 

In the flip side are the content users, which have not been discussed. AI, CMG believes, is actually pushing us into Web3 where control goes back into the creators' hands and the user can participate in the actual content creation, ownership, and special use and access to that content.     

Web3 maybe the answer

There is a final question to be answered. AI vs. AI. Which program will develop the best stories, the best scripts, the most 'thoughtful, meaningful, and humanistic' content?

Jim Lavorato

What's After the Mario Bros. in 2023?

 

'The Super Mario Bros.' is hopefully setting the benchmark for a super-summer box office. 

'Mario' has grossed over $1 billion putting it in rarified admission space. What its number point to is that moviegoers are BACK!

The movie, co-funded, by Nintendo and Universal, grossed over $37 million on its debut weekend, the highest ever for an animated film. With a PG-rating the Brooklyn plumbers, Mario and Luigi, are unplugging the post-COVID box office. It shows that consumers are craving good entertainment. 

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As it now stands, the 2023 box office is 37% higher than2022 and this upcoming summer roster of films is impressive. 

Going out on a limb, I'm predicting that at least 10 movies will exceed the $100 million mark this summer. They are Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-man, Mission Impossible, The Flash, Transformers, Little Mermaid, Fast X, Barbie, Ninja Turtles, Indiana Jones. Long-shots are Oppenheimer and Haunted Mansion.

True-to-form, the franchise films Guardians, Fast X, Spider, MI, Jones, and Ninjas will all do very well.

Jim Lavorato