With today's economy why are movies still in production. . . (unemployment, attorneys, millionaire)

[midchild]

Movies take millions upon millions of dollars to make, yes I understand that. But if people are loosing jobs left and right where do studios find/get the extra money to pay for everything and yet American$ spend so much money watching them, I mean there are other forms of entertainment. Will pixars or wb's stocks ever get to the point where they will have to "Go out of business?"

[BLAZER PROPHET]

During economic hard times people seem to find the money for personal entertainment (and then stiff what they owe to their dentists, doctors, attorneys...). Also, today with DVD revenue so high there is no longer a lot of pressure to make money at the box office.

[subsound]

Since people are no longer able to afford big trips and expensive vacations, movies often are a "cheap" alternative to those.

[Moth]

Well, unemployment is around 7%. That means 93% of the able population is working. Theaters should have no problem filling up with those numbers.

I would be interested if bar tabs and booze bills are up or down.

[GregW]

People are looking for cheap (relativly) distraction. In NH booze sales (state monopoly) are steady and lottery sales are down.

[Bluefly]

The same reason why in metro Detroit - perhaps the epicenter of this economic meltdown - it's still almost impossible to get a seat at a decent restaurant on a Friday night without a 2 hour wait.

Most people are still doing fine.

[backfist]

Originally Posted by midchild

Movies take millions upon millions of dollars to make, yes I understand that. But if people are loosing jobs left and right where do studios find/get the extra money to pay for everything and yet American$ spend so much money watching them, I mean there are other forms of entertainment. Will pixars or wb's stocks ever get to the point where they will have to "Go out of business?"

Good question. It would stand to reason that if banks don't have money to lend for houses and automobiles, then they don't have money to lend for movie productions. Yet they still seem to be able to fund Paul Blart - Mall Cop, as well as a variety of other mindless and useless movies and reality shows.

Seems to me that banks didn't really need those billions we "loaned" them.

[Valley Native]

It's not too hard to figure out. During the Great Depression, some of the most notable American motion pictures were made. "King Kong", "Gone With the Wind", and "Wizard of Oz" were all filmed during the Depression era of the 1930s, and they are still considered to be among the best movies ever made. Bette Davis, Fred Astaire, Mae West, Clark Gable, and the Marx Brothers (to name a few) were all huge stars in the 1930s, and they became legends.

So just because the economy is in the toilet right now doesn't mean that Hollywood has to cease production of movies. Going to movies might actually be a form of escapism in these tough times ... a way to enjoy a dose of fiction that differs from real life. We can only hope that today's version of the Great Depression (although certainly not anything like the '30s) produces some Hollywood legends we hold to high standards for long time ... although somehow I doubt it. I will say, however, that there have been some pretty good movies in the past six months or so, such as "Changeling", "Benjamin Button", and "Slum Dog Millionaire".

[Dopo]

Answer to your question:

Hollywood movies, like the car industry in the US, is a global industry.
Hollywood sells their movies to theathers all over the World.

The US economy might be bad, but I bet Hollywood is selling movies to countries that their economies are doing good.

[GloryB]

Beyond the above posts....I can't even begin to estimate how many people are employed due to a thriving movie business. Not only the people involved in the actual production and distribution, but movie theaters from coast to coast.