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Cookie_Monster's avatar

Me have been thinking about this whole lot lately, and there also other idea to consider, which is that walls have completely burned down between every form of visual entertainment. When Bagel Monster and Cookie Jr. were little, their favorite shows were Adventure Time, Good Mythical Morning, and teenagers playing Minecraft on YouTube, and all of those things had equal weight in their minds. As teenagers themselves now, they give equal weight to Ryan George and Bob's Burgers — both are reliably funny things they can pull up on Roku when they get bored.

There still lingering idea that, say, Shang-Chi is bigger deal than Falcon and Winter Soldier because it longer and play in movie theater, but me suspect even that distinction fading. "Movie" "TV show" and "video" all seem more and more like arbitrary categories. They all visual entertainment we can watch on television or computer or phone — movies just have this extra place we can all congregate while eating popcorn. And that still will be special experience, at least me hope, but probably not essential one for lot of people.

But there also some freedom that come with that. We not have rigid formats of movie and television we grew up with. Sherlock was three 90-minute stories per season, and Martin Freeman suggested they might take ten years off and then do new season when characters are older and see where they are in life. Is that TV show same way Rockford Files was TV show? Or is it series of short movies that get shown on television? And does distinction matter?

As much as cinephiles love to attack Marvel movies, me fascinated at how that series break entirely new ground, with interconnected series of movies and TV shows that share characters and storylines but not are stricly Episode I, II, III, IV series. No one has ever done anything like that, and me feel like possibilities are endless for ambitious writer or director to create something outside of superhero movie that breaks boundaries in same kind of way. (Animatrix was maybe first glimpse we saw at possibilities outside strict model of theatrical release or 26-episode season of television)

Everything changing. And that can be scary, but also exciting. It what Homer Simpson call crisistunity for creative community. But me have friend in book publishing who once told me this when everyone was worried ebooks were going to destroy traditional publishing:

Radio not destroy books

Movies not destroy radio or books

TV not destroy movies or radio or books

Internet not destroy TV or movies or radio or books

Movies, and economics behind movie theater, will change. But all these new models not erase old things like going to movies. We just have more of everything. More content, more ways to experience it, and as someone who never say no to more cookies, me can step back and appreciate that.

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John DeCesaro's avatar

Tons to unpack here, and I can't help but share Keith's feeling of being overwhelmed. Sitting here as a 40-year-old, I think back to my first job that I started at the age of 16 and stayed with through college. I worked for a movie theatre company, first tearing tickets and scooping pop corn and then working up into managerial roles. I voraciously consumed movies during that time, fully believing the theatre experience to be the purest, best format for movies...all movies. It didn't hurt that in Wichita, KS, we were extremely fortunate to have independently owned luxury cinemas, which was where I worked. The focus on presentation and experience at the Warren Theaters was unequalled. They are still around in Kansas and Oklahoma, but now owned by Regal Theatres. Catch a film at one if you ever have the chance and see how spoiled I was.

All that said, I'm older, have a family, and so my theatre trips, even before the pandemic, were few and far between. I've really come to love that I can stream movies at home on my own time and that the windows between theatrical releases and home viewing have shrunk. This is because it allows me to see more movies, including independents that are being edged out of multiplex existence.

Which brings up another aspect of the new movie landscape. With the transition to streaming distribution, there has been much discussion about the unsustainability of studio movie budgets. It is getting harder and harder for a $100 million movie to be viable financially. While that might hurt theatres even more, it does make me optimistic for the future of independent cinema, which operates at a budget level with tons of room for profitability in the streaming landscape. Perhaps this is just what we need to balance the scales away from tent pole IP movies and endless sequels that exist to set up more sequels toward more fresh cinematic voices?

Can there be a bright side here? I hope so.

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