Is the cinema dead? Director David Cronenberg (”A History of Violence“) thinks so. Atom Egoyan (”The Sweet Hereafter”) believes technology has changed moviegoing forever, and Roman Polanski (”The Pianist”) says he’s seen it all before.
The directors all made 3-minute short films included in a tribute movie screened here on Sunday called “Chacun Son Cinema.” They also took part in a news conference that erupted into a debate over whether digital video, cell phone texting, Web downloading and home entertainment threatened traditional movie theaters with extinction.
“The form of cinema as we know it already is a thing of the past,” said Cronenberg, whose short film centered on the destruction of the last movie house on Earth.
Egoyan’s short followed two women in different theaters texting each other, videotaping the screen, and transmitting the images. Older film fans long for days when people sat in dark theaters, unbothered and engrossed in a well-told story.
“I’m concerned that a new generation (of kids) will not understand that,” Egoyan said. Egoyan also espoused the view that in the future, huge cineplexes will only show big-budget Hollywood movies like “Shrek the Third” while smaller, art-house and foreign films will be confined to home or personal DVD systems.
But in Polanski’s view it was an old dialogue only with a new set of gadgets. “I remember the same type of debate when videotapes and cassettes came out,” he said.
How will movie theaters change, and is there still room slower, thoughtful movies? Is texting in theaters good or bad? Tell us what you think.
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22 comments so far
If theatres continue to show dim pictures with their lamphouses at half power to save money, using old xenon bulbs; and with the picture being out of focus all the time because of carelessness and dirty equipment, then the theatres SHOULD go out of business, and leave the super-sharp amazing images now available on the high definition units in the home. Images on these monitors can be so sharp and crisp that one feels constrained to soften it a bit. The detail is incredible; while nobody talks and rattles popcorn bags or makes celphone calls etc.
- Posted by HalBesides of CDs and VHS tapes, people are getting fed up with hearing opinions on everything from actors/actresses, who, in most cases, barely finshed a high school, or was given the high school diploma just for looks…..
- Posted by HOWARD epsteinMedia and marketers have together decided that only 12 year olds are worth their attention.
- Posted by GustavTexting is retarded, …..
In or outside of the movies. It is just a technological vehicle to help you cover your inability for direct human interaction. If you need a psychological barrier to voice your opinion nobody wants to hear what you have to “text” anyway.
Jus my personal opinion of course.
- Posted by JeffI believe the segment for high production quality films will remain for years to come but will shrink as more obscure artists with lower budgets start posting more to the internet and getting more attention. DVDs have changed movie going habits. Youtube has changed who and what can be considered important by media consumers. Celebrity fetishism confined to the few and elite may begin to disappear as well.
- Posted by Jeff HarrisonI have always enjoyed going to the movie theater to watch a movie. I think there are a lot of people who still enjoy leaving their homes to go out to the movies. So I don’t believe that movie theaters will become extinct, there is still a demand for it.
- Posted by GRichinsThe cinema in its traditional form could very well be dying. Most movies are created by very large companies who, by their nature, avoid risk and do what’s “worked” before. As a result, they spend hundreds of millions on effects and actors and don’t consider that no amount of money will overcome a lousy script and lackluster production. The odds of seeing something original and entertaining are much lower then being able to pick from your choice of brainless, boring sequels to remakes. For the prices they charge to get in to see it, for most of us, it’s not worth it. Just catch it on cable.
- Posted by MattMovie going will be here for the forseeable future. It offers more than just a movie to those who go to movies. It offers an opportunity to escape the confines of your daily existence. It allows you to leave your humble abode and make an evening of the movie going event. You go to dinner and a show and it allows you to engage in conversation about how good or bad the movie is. I don’t see the movie theathers disappearing like the old drive-ins. Regardless of the technology that comes down the road, people want to go out and see movies. These other technologies allow us to enjoy movies in other venues, however, the majority of people still like to hit the theather for a new movie.
- Posted by EddieThe movie theatre experience is soo shabby now, I can’t stand it any longer. I rent and watch movies on my big plasma. Now I don’t get pulled out of the story suddenly, by a celphone, or have people narating the movie behind me. It’s such a pleasure!
- Posted by BBOf course, everyone said live theater was dead when film came along. It’s popularity and availability might have been diminshed, but it’s still here. Live performance learned to adapt to changes in techology and their audience, and so will cinema. Personally, I can see a time when independant theaters will contract with independant filmmakers to show their “films” digitally to small, targeted audience. Profits in exhibition will come from the ease and cost of technology, while those audiences that like the gestalt-concept of film going will still be served. Larger, blockbuster, SFX movies will always have a place in the remaining large-screen venues, but smaller movies will migrate to a more spreadout audience directly in homes, small digital theaters or personal internet broadcasts. Just the tech changes…the shadows on the cave wall will always be with us in some format or another.
- Posted by CharlesWhen Hollywood decides that it wants to make movies that entertain instead of making movies that are nothing more than propaganda for the extremist left agenda, then maybe they will start to see audiences increasing again. Make a move where America gets ou the military are kicks butt against the opposing enemy and the paople will want to see it. I REFUSE to watch a movie where queer is okay, or America is at fault, or the big corporation is corupt. Wake up Hollywood, you’ve been sending your message and people are sick of hearing it!
- Posted by Peteyou wanna save cinema? support independent film.
- Posted by RyanJust as Cinerama and Cinemascope (to name a few) came out in the 50’s to lure people back into Cinemas becuase of the impact of television, the same must be done in this day and age. Despite all the technical advancements in film making, most theaters are still pushing celluloid through sprockets and gears, technology that is over 100 years old, not to mention the dim bulbs that someone earlier commented on! Why bother going to a multiplex that shows a substandard picture, noisy and rude patrons and overpriced snacks when I can watch a BluRay disc of the film in the comfort of my own home in a resolution that surpasses what the theater can produce? Wake up Hollywood!
- Posted by Dave VUntil cinema-house Managers can figure out a way to inhibit people from sending/receiving calls, and talking to people across the theatre - moviehouses will continue to lose popularity.
I much prefer to watch a movie without listening to others conversations.
I also agree witht he above statements that movie producers are making movies now for the ‘lowest common denominator’. I miss good thrillers that do not require buckets of blood to get the point across. “Hitchcock save me from the mundane explosions!”
- Posted by JacquiI am currently a film student at the University of California Santa Cruz, and I have always had a passion for making films inspired by old classics. But I can say without hesitation that people like Cronenberg and Polanski are part of a film “society” essentially that currently operates in a way that shoves out anything without strong commercial potential. It is ironic then to me that they should lament when they are a part of and perpetuate this film “society” dominated by Hollywood. What I would like to see, and if the future of film truly is a concern for people like Cronenberg and Polanski, they should be using their money and influence to open other outlets for film to be successful, apart from in Hollywood.
It’s easy to complain and point out the faults in something, but it’s another to actually do something about it. For most film students, a future in film is very competitive and dim, especially if you have something honest and fresh to say in a film. I’m always hoping that more outlets will open to make smaller-budget films more readily available to an audience.
- Posted by Marc HumpertThe problem isnt texting, its how the next generation is being raised. To have your phone ringing in a theater is something i’ve seen more older people do than younger. Are theater houses going out, I think they will if they dont update to newer technologies.
- Posted by JesseTV and most movies are boring and unoriginal for most over 30. If i wanna watch something, i download it. movies = $$$
- Posted by stevoTo be honest you are all ignoring a very important factor. Not everybody owns a plasma TV which can bring the movie experience to their living room. The percentage of the population which owns excellent television sets is very small. I have no doubt that since in today’s world most people are un-educated actual cinema may not be in fashion much longer. All I see today is people going to multiplexes with their king-size pop-corn buckets, people no longer enjoy the quality of cinema.
- Posted by Panagiotis Angelopouloskind of a funny question, really. i don’t know, is opera dead? is theater dead? are books dead? musicals? live music? they’ve all been replaced by some form of technology and yet they all still exist.
if something is alive, it is not dead right?
i saw “inland empire” recently, and no-one texted, no-one’s cellphone went off, people weren’t talking and/or acting annoying. everyone was well behaved. if you go and see the new spiderman movie you will not have the same kind of audience.
me, i’m done with any sort of hollywood garbage. i refuse to spend my hard earned money on a cinematic experience that includes being forced to watch commercials that instruct me to join the army and be a “patriot”, being subject to insane amounts of product placement, really bad acting by “celebrities” i could care less about and really bad writing/storyline.
- Posted by cochonThis is all really great to read because it provides such a range of views.
- Posted by Bob TourtellotteGreat to see and good food for thought.
Thanks all.
There will be more to come from Reuters at Cannes.
cheers,
bob tourtellotte
The question is, what is the next most likely channel for delivering film and movies? you’d be very naive to discard the notion that most people will most likely watch their movies on their laptops via the internet as this becomes more seamless to do… and it will. Therefore, the only question is, how movie makers want to charge for this form of consumption in the near future. Picture you and your friends on Facebook or Myspace all watching the same movie online virtually at the same time, whilst you are all in different environments.
This is not fantasy…it’s becoming reality and a new lifestyle for a Y&Z generation that really dose’nt care how things were done in the past!
- Posted by Robert Haastrup-TimmiIf I were a theatre owner reading these comments, I would presume that a system to allow the use of earphones plugged into the seating could get everyone back into the theatre. That is, if you would still have to wait 6 months to see it anywhere else.
- Posted by Tom