This is what runs through my head as I sit hear waiting on the Steelers vs Patriots. I thought it would be fun to
post and get feedback on.

Anyone who follows the financial markets hears it every day. Investors moved the market. Investors didn’t like the
information released today. Investors are looking forward to the unemployment statistics. According to every
and any media outlet, if a market moves, it’s due to investors.

Wrong.

When it comes to public markets in particular, I don’t know if investors even exist anymore.

We as individuals can do any of 3 things with our money.

1. We can spend it.

2. We can save it in a manner where we have 99 pct certainty our principal cannot decline (Typically a
bank)

3. We can decide to accept some level of risk in order to earn a return on the cash or assets we have available to
deploy.

If we decide we want some risk in our lives, we have the choice to decide where to put those assets ourself, or
hire someone else to do it, or some combination.

At this point the decision is made to speculate or invest.

The difference between the two is very simple. If you spend the money and the only way you can earn a return on
that money is by selling whatever it is you have purchased. You are speculating.

If you give your money to a person or company, and that money is used directly to create commerce or to create an
asset that will be used in commerce and if there are profits from that commerce that can be returned to you as a
result, that is an investment

If you buy a house, rent it out, maintain it and make money from the rent and increase its value through your
efforts, that’s an investment. If you give money to someone to do the same, that’s an investment.

If you give the kids next door 20 bucks to help setup a lemonade stand in exchange for splitting the profits.
That’s an investment.

If you help fund a startup and you are due your percent of the profits, if any. That’s an investment. If that same
startup has an exit strategy of going public and the only way you can earn a return is if the company goes public or
gets bought, thats speculation.

If you buy a share of stock that doesn’t pay dividends that reflect the company’searnings, a baseball card,
artwork, a coin or stamp collection, in hopes of making money by selling it at some point in the future. That’s
speculation.

If you hang that art on the wall. Get excited about having a 1968 proof set, or the history behind First Day
Covers. Tha’ts collecting. The price movements are just a bonus.

If you buy acorporate or municipal bond. That’s still speculation, butat least you were smart enough
to buy something with a “get your money back ” schedule.

If you buy stock in an IPO or secondary. If the money goes to the company and is actually used for operations and
that company returns earnings to its investors from operations in the form of a dividend. That’s an investment. If
the only way to get your money back is to sell the stock, that’s speculation.

If you give your money to a mutual fund or hedge fund that puts money into public stocks and bonds, that’s super
speculation.

Why Super Speculation? Because there is a 99 pct certainty that you are 3rd in line to get paid with whatever
earnings the fund generates with your money.

First the fund itself has to get paid. They take money off the top.

Then the person who makes the investment decision has to be concerned about keeping their job. You see if the fund
doesn’t outperform its peers or comp indexes, then the person who is responsible for the fund is out of a job.

Do you think that person cares more about putting a roof over his family’s head or you? Which means when push comes
to shove, unless there are strict limitations, that fund manager is going to take the chances necessary to outperform
his comps. And I can tell you that its par for the course to “go down swinging” than it is to take a called 3rd
strike. Meaning, they risk your capital in hopes of keeping their jobs if that’s the only way to keep their jobs.

Are you an investor or speculator?

It’s not that it’s right or wrong to be either, but it does make a huge difference in our economy and national
well being.

When money goes to create commerce, that’s capitalism at its best. Money going to smart people to do smart things.
If it has good results, everyone makes money. The economy grows. Expectations are based on the prosperity of the
company, typically over a longer term. New ideas create new wealth. It’s not a zero sum game. It can be an
everyone wins game.

Speculation isn’t a bad thing. It can serve many purposes, but it primarily just results in redistribution of
wealth. If I speculate better than you, even if you are investing in apples and me in oranges, then its just a
contest to see who does a better job. The winner gets the cash. Across all the different levels of speculation, the
trillions of dollars, its a zero sum game.

IMHO, and this is obviously just my opinion, the problem is when the balance between the two shifts from heavy in
investing to heavy in speculation.

Speculators invest purely to gain an annualreturn based on the risk they are willing to accept. This has
lead to huge businessescompeting to attract speculative money. This has lead the public equity markets to
evolve from being primarily a source of capital for growing businesses to primarily a means
ofextractingwealth for insiders and speculators. Companies don’t go public to grow, they go public so
people can get rich.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with making money anyway you can in the market. There isn’t.

I do think it’s important to understand the expectation behind money. It can help us understand why irrational
exuberance is rational. It can help us understand why bubbles happen. It can help us understand why markets don’t
react like you would statistically expect them to so often.

When most of the money being ingested into our public markets is speculative, then the competition for returns
increases. When the majority of speculative money is deployed by funds, who must compete with each other, and within
which fund managers must compete to keep their jobs, the amount of risk acceptable for any given level of return
increases.

This only works as long as new money continues to come in. As long as people keep streaming part of their
paychecks every payday to mutual funds. When the money stops flowing in, there is no one for the speculators to sell
to and the prices start falling and everyone starts freaking out.

On the other hand, when money is invested to create and grow companies, that leads to economic growth and
jobs. When returns are based on corporate performance and paid in cash, thats a return on investment.

If we want to see the economy grow faster, eliminate taxes on cash returns paid to investorsfrom operating
profits. If someone investsin a business, any profits returned to the investor in a year,up to the
amount in profit declared to the IRS and on which taxes are paid by the company, that amount should be tax free.
Every year in which they are paid.

HOWEVER, if I sell my investment in that company, I pay taxes on the gain at that point and that tax
immunity doesnot travel with the investment. Whoever I sell my shares of lemonade inc to pays taxes on
any dividends they receive from the company.

This would be a way to see capital redeployed from speculation to investment. I personally think that we
would see a positive impact on the economy as capital would be more readily available for small business startups,
and it would make it more patient capital since there would be an incentive to get tax free dividends rather than
executing on an “exit strategy”

All of which is a good thing for the long term economic health of the country.

But this is all just my opinion.

ShareThis

This is what runs through my head as I sit hear waiting on the Steelers vs Patriots. I thought it would be fun to
post and get feedback on.

Anyone who follows the financial markets hears it every day. Investors moved the market. Investors didn’t like the
information released today. Investors are looking forward to the unemployment statistics. According to every
and any media outlet, if a market moves, it’s due to investors.

Wrong.

When it comes to public markets in particular, I don’t know if investors even exist anymore.

We as individuals can do any of 3 things with our money.

1. We can spend it.

2. We can save it in a manner where we have 99 pct certainty our principal cannot decline (Typically a
bank)

3. We can decide to accept some level of risk in order to earn a return on the cash or assets we have available to
deploy.

If we decide we want some risk in our lives, we have the choice to decide where to put those assets ourself, or
hire someone else to do it, or some combination.

At this point the decision is made to speculate or invest.

The difference between the two is very simple. If you spend the money and the only way you can earn a return on
that money is by selling whatever it is you have purchased. You are speculating.

If you give your money to a person or company, and that money is used directly to create commerce or to create an
asset that will be used in commerce and if there are profits from that commerce that can be returned to you as a
result, that is an investment

If you buy a house, rent it out, maintain it and make money from the rent and increase its value through your
efforts, that’s an investment. If you give money to someone to do the same, that’s an investment.

If you give the kids next door 20 bucks to help setup a lemonade stand in exchange for splitting the profits.
That’s an investment.

If you help fund a startup and you are due your percent of the profits, if any. That’s an investment. If that same
startup has an exit strategy of going public and the only way you can earn a return is if the company goes public or
gets bought, thats speculation.

If you buy a share of stock that doesn’t pay dividends that reflect the company’searnings, a baseball card,
artwork, a coin or stamp collection, in hopes of making money by selling it at some point in the future. That’s
speculation.

If you hang that art on the wall. Get excited about having a 1968 proof set, or the history behind First Day
Covers. Tha’ts collecting. The price movements are just a bonus.

If you buy acorporate or municipal bond. That’s still speculation, butat least you were smart enough
to buy something with a “get your money back ” schedule.

If you buy stock in an IPO or secondary. If the money goes to the company and is actually used for operations and
that company returns earnings to its investors from operations in the form of a dividend. That’s an investment. If
the only way to get your money back is to sell the stock, that’s speculation.

If you give your money to a mutual fund or hedge fund that puts money into public stocks and bonds, that’s super
speculation.

Why Super Speculation? Because there is a 99 pct certainty that you are 3rd in line to get paid with whatever
earnings the fund generates with your money.

First the fund itself has to get paid. They take money off the top.

Then the person who makes the investment decision has to be concerned about keeping their job. You see if the fund
doesn’t outperform its peers or comp indexes, then the person who is responsible for the fund is out of a job.

Do you think that person cares more about putting a roof over his family’s head or you? Which means when push comes
to shove, unless there are strict limitations, that fund manager is going to take the chances necessary to outperform
his comps. And I can tell you that its par for the course to “go down swinging” than it is to take a called 3rd
strike. Meaning, they risk your capital in hopes of keeping their jobs if that’s the only way to keep their jobs.

Are you an investor or speculator?

It’s not that it’s right or wrong to be either, but it does make a huge difference in our economy and national
well being.

When money goes to create commerce, that’s capitalism at its best. Money going to smart people to do smart things.
If it has good results, everyone makes money. The economy grows. Expectations are based on the prosperity of the
company, typically over a longer term. New ideas create new wealth. It’s not a zero sum game. It can be an
everyone wins game.

Speculation isn’t a bad thing. It can serve many purposes, but it primarily just results in redistribution of
wealth. If I speculate better than you, even if you are investing in apples and me in oranges, then its just a
contest to see who does a better job. The winner gets the cash. Across all the different levels of speculation, the
trillions of dollars, its a zero sum game.

IMHO, and this is obviously just my opinion, the problem is when the balance between the two shifts from heavy in
investing to heavy in speculation.

Speculators invest purely to gain an annualreturn based on the risk they are willing to accept. This has
lead to huge businessescompeting to attract speculative money. This has lead the public equity markets to
evolve from being primarily a source of capital for growing businesses to primarily a means
ofextractingwealth for insiders and speculators. Companies don’t go public to grow, they go public so
people can get rich.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with making money anyway you can in the market. There isn’t.

I do think it’s important to understand the expectation behind money. It can help us understand why irrational
exuberance is rational. It can help us understand why bubbles happen. It can help us understand why markets don’t
react like you would statistically expect them to so often.

When most of the money being ingested into our public markets is speculative, then the competition for returns
increases. When the majority of speculative money is deployed by funds, who must compete with each other, and within
which fund managers must compete to keep their jobs, the amount of risk acceptable for any given level of return
increases.

This only works as long as new money continues to come in. As long as people keep streaming part of their
paychecks every payday to mutual funds. When the money stops flowing in, there is no one for the speculators to sell
to and the prices start falling and everyone starts freaking out.

On the other hand, when money is invested to create and grow companies, that leads to economic growth and
jobs. When returns are based on corporate performance and paid in cash, thats a return on investment.

If we want to see the economy grow faster, eliminate taxes on cash returns paid to investorsfrom operating
profits. If someone investsin a business, any profits returned to the investor in a year,up to the
amount in profit declared to the IRS and on which taxes are paid by the company, that amount should be tax free.
Every year in which they are paid.

HOWEVER, if I sell my investment in that company, I pay taxes on the gain at that point and that tax
immunity doesnot travel with the investment. Whoever I sell my shares of lemonade inc to pays taxes on
any dividends they receive from the company.

This would be a way to see capital redeployed from speculation to investment. I personally think that we
would see a positive impact on the economy as capital would be more readily available for small business startups,
and it would make it more patient capital since there would be an incentive to get tax free dividends rather than
executing on an “exit strategy”

All of which is a good thing for the long term economic health of the country.

But this is all just my opinion.

ShareThis

This is what runs through my head as I sit hear waiting on the Steelers vs Patriots. I thought it would be fun to
post and get feedback on.

Anyone who follows the financial markets hears it every day. Investors moved the market. Investors didn’t like the
information released today. Investors are looking forward to the unemployment statistics. According to every
and any media outlet, if a market moves, it’s due to investors.

Wrong.

When it comes to public markets in particular, I don’t know if investors even exist anymore.

We as individuals can do any of 3 things with our money.

1. We can spend it.

2. We can save it in a manner where we have 99 pct certainty our principal cannot decline (Typically a
bank)

3. We can decide to accept some level of risk in order to earn a return on the cash or assets we have available to
deploy.

If we decide we want some risk in our lives, we have the choice to decide where to put those assets ourself, or
hire someone else to do it, or some combination.

At this point the decision is made to speculate or invest.

The difference between the two is very simple. If you spend the money and the only way you can earn a return on
that money is by selling whatever it is you have purchased. You are speculating.

If you give your money to a person or company, and that money is used directly to create commerce or to create an
asset that will be used in commerce and if there are profits from that commerce that can be returned to you as a
result, that is an investment

If you buy a house, rent it out, maintain it and make money from the rent and increase its value through your
efforts, that’s an investment. If you give money to someone to do the same, that’s an investment.

If you give the kids next door 20 bucks to help setup a lemonade stand in exchange for splitting the profits.
That’s an investment.

If you help fund a startup and you are due your percent of the profits, if any. That’s an investment. If that same
startup has an exit strategy of going public and the only way you can earn a return is if the company goes public or
gets bought, thats speculation.

If you buy a share of stock that doesn’t pay dividends that reflect the company’searnings, a baseball card,
artwork, a coin or stamp collection, in hopes of making money by selling it at some point in the future. That’s
speculation.

If you hang that art on the wall. Get excited about having a 1968 proof set, or the history behind First Day
Covers. Tha’ts collecting. The price movements are just a bonus.

If you buy acorporate or municipal bond. That’s still speculation, butat least you were smart enough
to buy something with a “get your money back ” schedule.

If you buy stock in an IPO or secondary. If the money goes to the company and is actually used for operations and
that company returns earnings to its investors from operations in the form of a dividend. That’s an investment. If
the only way to get your money back is to sell the stock, that’s speculation.

If you give your money to a mutual fund or hedge fund that puts money into public stocks and bonds, that’s super
speculation.

Why Super Speculation? Because there is a 99 pct certainty that you are 3rd in line to get paid with whatever
earnings the fund generates with your money.

First the fund itself has to get paid. They take money off the top.

Then the person who makes the investment decision has to be concerned about keeping their job. You see if the fund
doesn’t outperform its peers or comp indexes, then the person who is responsible for the fund is out of a job.

Do you think that person cares more about putting a roof over his family’s head or you? Which means when push comes
to shove, unless there are strict limitations, that fund manager is going to take the chances necessary to outperform
his comps. And I can tell you that its par for the course to “go down swinging” than it is to take a called 3rd
strike. Meaning, they risk your capital in hopes of keeping their jobs if that’s the only way to keep their jobs.

Are you an investor or speculator?

It’s not that it’s right or wrong to be either, but it does make a huge difference in our economy and national
well being.

When money goes to create commerce, that’s capitalism at its best. Money going to smart people to do smart things.
If it has good results, everyone makes money. The economy grows. Expectations are based on the prosperity of the
company, typically over a longer term. New ideas create new wealth. It’s not a zero sum game. It can be an
everyone wins game.

Speculation isn’t a bad thing. It can serve many purposes, but it primarily just results in redistribution of
wealth. If I speculate better than you, even if you are investing in apples and me in oranges, then its just a
contest to see who does a better job. The winner gets the cash. Across all the different levels of speculation, the
trillions of dollars, its a zero sum game.

IMHO, and this is obviously just my opinion, the problem is when the balance between the two shifts from heavy in
investing to heavy in speculation.

Speculators invest purely to gain an annualreturn based on the risk they are willing to accept. This has
lead to huge businessescompeting to attract speculative money. This has lead the public equity markets to
evolve from being primarily a source of capital for growing businesses to primarily a means
ofextractingwealth for insiders and speculators. Companies don’t go public to grow, they go public so
people can get rich.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with making money anyway you can in the market. There isn’t.

I do think it’s important to understand the expectation behind money. It can help us understand why irrational
exuberance is rational. It can help us understand why bubbles happen. It can help us understand why markets don’t
react like you would statistically expect them to so often.

When most of the money being ingested into our public markets is speculative, then the competition for returns
increases. When the majority of speculative money is deployed by funds, who must compete with each other, and within
which fund managers must compete to keep their jobs, the amount of risk acceptable for any given level of return
increases.

This only works as long as new money continues to come in. As long as people keep streaming part of their
paychecks every payday to mutual funds. When the money stops flowing in, there is no one for the speculators to sell
to and the prices start falling and everyone starts freaking out.

On the other hand, when money is invested to create and grow companies, that leads to economic growth and
jobs. When returns are based on corporate performance and paid in cash, thats a return on investment.

If we want to see the economy grow faster, eliminate taxes on cash returns paid to investorsfrom operating
profits. If someone investsin a business, any profits returned to the investor in a year,up to the
amount in profit declared to the IRS and on which taxes are paid by the company, that amount should be tax free.
Every year in which they are paid.

HOWEVER, if I sell my investment in that company, I pay taxes on the gain at that point and that tax
immunity doesnot travel with the investment. Whoever I sell my shares of lemonade inc to pays taxes on
any dividends they receive from the company.

This would be a way to see capital redeployed from speculation to investment. I personally think that we
would see a positive impact on the economy as capital would be more readily available for small business startups,
and it would make it more patient capital since there would be an incentive to get tax free dividends rather than
executing on an “exit strategy”

All of which is a good thing for the long term economic health of the country.

But this is all just my opinion.

ShareThis

Very Simple. Take out the speculators.

Make it a requirement that only thosewho actually are hedging theiruse and sale of oil and gas are able to buy and sell oil and gas futures.

It’s that simple. There is plenty of liquidity in place, the market won’t miss the speculators and prices will go down.

It amazes me that while watching all the talk about oil prices on the QVC for stocks channels, that no one I have heard has talked about the role of speculators. They think it’s a problem for housing, even though 70 pct or more of new housing purchases arehomes for the buyers. For some reason the “pundits” seem to think that price movements are driven purely by supply and demand for the commodity. What nonsense.

That’s like saying no one ever speculates on stocks. That speculators had nothing to do with the internet stock bubble.

Speculators influence the prices of oil and gas as much as they have impacted the pricing of TASR and TZOO

Doesn’t anyone remember all those ads on TV that talk about the huge profits that could be made in commodities? The ones we all knew were rip offs? Well, they haven’t disappeared. They are promoting the hell out of how much money can be made in trading oil and gasfutures.

Does any remember momentum “investing” that drove up the price of stocks in the late 90s, early 2000? Well momentum speculators are alive and well and they are all over the oil and gas pits and electronic exchanges. Just do a search on E Mini Crude Oil or trading futuresfor a sample of those that are happy to help you speculate on futures. I know that any day now Stuart is going to be back in a commercial telling his boss its time to “Light that Candle” and trade futures.

Day trading in oil and gas futures. You better believe it. It’s alive and well.

Want to jump in and day trade? Just try the E-Mini Crude Oil Futures. Like the brochure says, “Volatile energy prices make for some terrific trading opportunities” And for the truly excitable, you can trade them electronically 24 hours a day. Now that’s whatI want to see Jim Cramer do .

The Chicago Merc has training seminars, or you can really get a trading edge from BreakoutFuturesTrading systems…one of the many “systems” to help you spend your speculative dollar.

It’s just as easy to speculate on oil and gas as it is to speculate on stocks.

Unfortunately there is one HUGE difference. With stocks, the company’s whose stocks are being bought by speculators can manufacture and distribute through secondaries and employee options and acquisitions as much stock as the market wants to consume.

The list is long of companies who have sold more in stock in a year than they had in revenues in that year. Heck, you can find companies who have had insiders sell more in stock than they had in revenues. At some point the people last in line tobuy all that stock are the losers. Just like in a ponzi scheme. For better or worse, they are the victims, butthe wounds are self inflicted. They bought nothing but the right to sell that stock in hopes of selling it for more and it didnt work out.

With oil and gas its different.There is a finite supply at any given point in time. The current and future availability of which can be impacted by any number of issues, from natural disasters to man made events. When enough speculators come in and start going long, it drives up prices not of a piece of paper, but of products whose pricing impacts me, you and everyone we know and don’t know.

When a bunch of “momentum speculators” jump in trying to make money off the price movement and push up the price, everyone in this country is the loser with higher gas and oil prices.

It needs to stop.

Then gas and oil prices will come down.

ShareThis

If only I was taller. If only I was thinner. If only I was richer.

If only the RIAA could sue the P2P networks, music piracy would be reduced and artists of the world would cheer. The chorus of music from the increased creativity (That is what the RIAA has promised isn’t it ?) unleashed by the P2P ceiling placed over every keyboard and cymbal across the world would cause music sales to skyrocket.

Or will they?

Well Grokster vs MGM has apparently removed the “if only” lid from the RIAA. They now are going after LimeWire,Bearshare, MX and their peers (sorry, had to do it) for as they wrote in their cease and desist notice, “We demand that you immediately cease-and-desist from enabling and inducing the infringement of RIAA member sound recordings.” Now personally, I think the inducement was to get unknowing users to download spyware so they could profit. But that’s me.

More importantly, it starts to put the RIAA in put up or shut up terrority.

I hope the RIAAwins this case. I hope they shut them down. I have no more love for these guys than I do Grokster. What I do have love for is protecting individuals rights to use the music they own as they see fit. For making it easy to do backups and protecting our purchases. For protecting the ability of technologists to be creative and invent new and amazingthings without having to invest more in legal fees than theirideas.

Bearshare, MX, Limewire and 4 others have become the sacrificial lambs.

Will their consumption satisfy the RIAA?

Will their destruction reduce the amount of P2P file sharing? We will find out.

Will that satisfy the RIAA,or will it just embolden them? Maybe it willgive them confidenceto monitor every high school software programming class. Who knows how far they will take it.

The good news, it helps removes the excuses. No more “if only”. It will put them on a shakyfence between protecting their copyrights and technology terrorists. This gets us closer to seeing who they really are and what they really are trying to accomplish.

ShareThis

If you ever really want to get me mad, just bring up this phrase or something comparable in a business conversation. “That’s the way we have always done it.” Could there ever be a worse reason for doing something.

Do it because it’s the right thing. Do it because it’s the only thing. Do it because it’s all you know how to do or because it’s all you can afford. But please, don’t do it because its the way you have always done it.

Reading reviews and having conversations about our films and others here in Toronto lead to a discussion about reporting on budgets of movies. The amount of money spent to develop a movie is no one’s business but the people involved. Once the movie is completed, either the viewer is going to like it or not. How much people got paid is irrelevant.

Yet for some reason, coverage of entertertainment has gotten so difficult for those who write about it that they have to play the “salary card” or “boxoffice card”. Want to say something derogatory about a player but don’t want to actually have to write something of substance, just mention their salary. Want to chastise a movie that you havent seen? Just mention the box office.

If making salaries public is so important, why don’t reporters disclose their salaries? If weekly box office is so important, why don’t newspapers report daily sales and subscription numbers? If box office is the ultimate reflection of the quality of a movie, shouldn’t a newspaper, or magazines ‘ daily or by issue sales be a reflection of the quality of that issue?

It’s not hypocritical is it?

Which leads me to the stupidest of all financial disclosures.

Why in the world do sports teams disclose our attendance for games? Does it make even a little bit of difference to anyone at all? Do people bet on the number? No. Does it change the outcome of the game? No.So Yogi Berra knows it’s too crowded and no one goes there anymore?

Does it help competitive entertainment outlets know how our business is doing Yes. Could it give them an incentive to spend more money on promotion to compete with us if attendance is good? Yes. Could it give them more incentive to reference our attendance if it’s down? Yes. I know I read the attendance figures of the other Dallas teams and it certainly impacts the marketing decisions we make in our market.

What’s more, since teams do report attendance, it gives media something more to analyze. They want to dissect how we get to the number. Is it paid attendance? If the number was X, why were there so many empty seats? Which in turn allows them to speculate even further about what they think is impacting attendance. How stupid are we for reporting attendance?

So why do the Mavs report attendance?

I think it was 2 years ago that I told the management at the Mavericks not to report our attendance for a game. After each game, we turn in the boxscore, and I told them to leave the attendance blank. The league got all upset. They called us. They threatened to fine us. I told them I was of course going to report the numbers to the league, but I didn’t want the media to report it because it was competitive information.

Sorry they said, you have to report your attendance after every game.

Why?

Because that’s the way we have always done it.

ShareThis

If you ever really want to get me mad, just bring up this phrase or something comparable in a business conversation. “That’s the way we have always done it.” Could there ever be a worse reason for doing something.

Do it because it’s the right thing. Do it because it’s the only thing. Do it because it’s all you know how to do or because it’s all you can afford. But please, don’t do it because its the way you have always done it.

Reading reviews and having conversations about our films and others here in Toronto lead to a discussion about reporting on budgets of movies. The amount of money spent to develop a movie is no one’s business but the people involved. Once the movie is completed, either the viewer is going to like it or not. How much people got paid is irrelevant.

Yet for some reason, coverage of entertertainment has gotten so difficult for those who write about it that they have to play the “salary card” or “boxoffice card”. Want to say something derogatory about a player but don’t want to actually have to write something of substance, just mention their salary. Want to chastise a movie that you havent seen? Just mention the box office.

If making salaries public is so important, why don’t reporters disclose their salaries? If weekly box office is so important, why don’t newspapers report daily sales and subscription numbers? If box office is the ultimate reflection of the quality of a movie, shouldn’t a newspaper, or magazines ‘ daily or by issue sales be a reflection of the quality of that issue?

It’s not hypocritical is it?

Which leads me to the stupidest of all financial disclosures.

Why in the world do sports teams disclose our attendance for games? Does it make even a little bit of difference to anyone at all? Do people bet on the number? No. Does it change the outcome of the game? No.So Yogi Berra knows it’s too crowded and no one goes there anymore?

Does it help competitive entertainment outlets know how our business is doing Yes. Could it give them an incentive to spend more money on promotion to compete with us if attendance is good? Yes. Could it give them more incentive to reference our attendance if it’s down? Yes. I know I read the attendance figures of the other Dallas teams and it certainly impacts the marketing decisions we make in our market.

What’s more, since teams do report attendance, it gives media something more to analyze. They want to dissect how we get to the number. Is it paid attendance? If the number was X, why were there so many empty seats? Which in turn allows them to speculate even further about what they think is impacting attendance. How stupid are we for reporting attendance?

So why do the Mavs report attendance?

I think it was 2 years ago that I told the management at the Mavericks not to report our attendance for a game. After each game, we turn in the boxscore, and I told them to leave the attendance blank. The league got all upset. They called us. They threatened to fine us. I told them I was of course going to report the numbers to the league, but I didn’t want the media to report it because it was competitive information.

Sorry they said, you have to report your attendance after every game.

Why?

Because that’s the way we have always done it.

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If you ever really want to get me mad, just bring up this phrase or something comparable in a business conversation. “That’s the way we have always done it.” Could there ever be a worse reason for doing something.

Do it because it’s the right thing. Do it because it’s the only thing. Do it because it’s all you know how to do or because it’s all you can afford. But please, don’t do it because its the way you have always done it.

Reading reviews and having conversations about our films and others here in Toronto lead to a discussion about reporting on budgets of movies. The amount of money spent to develop a movie is no one’s business but the people involved. Once the movie is completed, either the viewer is going to like it or not. How much people got paid is irrelevant.

Yet for some reason, coverage of entertertainment has gotten so difficult for those who write about it that they have to play the “salary card” or “boxoffice card”. Want to say something derogatory about a player but don’t want to actually have to write something of substance, just mention their salary. Want to chastise a movie that you havent seen? Just mention the box office.

If making salaries public is so important, why don’t reporters disclose their salaries? If weekly box office is so important, why don’t newspapers report daily sales and subscription numbers? If box office is the ultimate reflection of the quality of a movie, shouldn’t a newspaper, or magazines ‘ daily or by issue sales be a reflection of the quality of that issue?

It’s not hypocritical is it?

Which leads me to the stupidest of all financial disclosures.

Why in the world do sports teams disclose our attendance for games? Does it make even a little bit of difference to anyone at all? Do people bet on the number? No. Does it change the outcome of the game? No.So Yogi Berra knows it’s too crowded and no one goes there anymore?

Does it help competitive entertainment outlets know how our business is doing Yes. Could it give them an incentive to spend more money on promotion to compete with us if attendance is good? Yes. Could it give them more incentive to reference our attendance if it’s down? Yes. I know I read the attendance figures of the other Dallas teams and it certainly impacts the marketing decisions we make in our market.

What’s more, since teams do report attendance, it gives media something more to analyze. They want to dissect how we get to the number. Is it paid attendance? If the number was X, why were there so many empty seats? Which in turn allows them to speculate even further about what they think is impacting attendance. How stupid are we for reporting attendance?

So why do the Mavs report attendance?

I think it was 2 years ago that I told the management at the Mavericks not to report our attendance for a game. After each game, we turn in the boxscore, and I told them to leave the attendance blank. The league got all upset. They called us. They threatened to fine us. I told them I was of course going to report the numbers to the league, but I didn’t want the media to report it because it was competitive information.

Sorry they said, you have to report your attendance after every game.

Why?

Because that’s the way we have always done it.

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It’s fortunately no secret that HDNet Films and HDNet Movies are leading the charge in collapsing windows all the way to Day and Date releases of Movies in theaters, on TV (HDNet Movies), and soon, on video.

Our first movie, Enron – The Smartest Guys in the Room, premiered in theaters and on HDNet Movies the very same day. Enron went on to not only get great reviews, but also become one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time.

HDNet Films next 3 efforts have all been accepted into the Toronto Film Festival (as I write this, I’m on my way there )

The War Within, (watch the trailer) a tale of a terrorist, intent on avenging the torture and murder of his brother who is smuggled into New York. Saying he has come to find an engineering job, he is invited to stay with the family of childhood friends that had emigrated to the US and had found success and security. Hiding in plain site, he must come decide between his mission, a suicide bombing, and his renewed feelings for his longtime friends.

The War Within opens in New York and Los Angeles on Sept 30th, and expands across the country the following two weeks. It will also premiere with 2 HDNet Movies showingson Sept 30th. After which it will be exclusively in theaters.

We also hope to have a special announcementon some extra value for those who buy their tickets for the War Within through our partners. HDNet Filmsis always looking for ways to create value and excitement for our theatrical partnes. Stay tuned!

Our 2nd Feature is Bubble. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. I’ts a murder mystery set in a small town,centered around 3 people who work in a doll factory. It’s visual. It’s creepy. It’s Steven Soderbergh. A release date hasn’t been set yet. Stay tuned for a lot more information.

The 3rd is One Last Thing, starring Cynthia Nixon. Gina Gershon, Sunny Mabrey, Michael Angarano and Wycleaf Jean. “One Last Thing…” is the funny and heartbreaking story of Dylan and his mother, Carol, as they struggle with the boy’s terminal illness. Invited onto national television by an organization that grants last wishes to dying children, Dylan surprises everyone by making an eyebrow-raising request. As Dylan gleefully prepares to have his final wish fulfille.

This movie isamazing. It’s hysterical, uplifting and heartbreaking.I promise you will laugh and cry. For guys, it’s a movie that will have you laughing out loud . For girls, it’s every bit the chick flick. Which hopefully will make it the perfect date movie for everyone.

I’m incredibly proud of all 3. Each takes on difficult subjects. Each was filmed exclusively in high definition. Each will make you think and have you talking about it not only as you leave the theater, but as you think back about them days later.

Hopefully everyone will get to see them and let me know what you think!

But wait, there’s more!

HDNet Films isn’t our only film company. Todd Wagner, my partner, has an amazing slate coming up from 2929 Entertainment, our more traditional film production company.

Opening October 7th is George Clooney’s Good Night and Good Luck. (Cinematical Updates) It was a huge award winner at last weeks Venice Film Festival and is already being talked about for this years Oscar nominations.

Coming this winter is Akeelah and the Bee. A 12-year-old African-American girl (Keke Palmer) overcomes social pressures and her own insecurities to compete in the national spelling bee with the help of a jaded former spelling champion (Laurence Fishburne) and her mother (Angela Bassett).

Make sure to not miss either!!

So anyone who says that movies aren’t as good as they used to be.Well you just aren’t paying attention to the right movies!

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Is it even remotely possible that once we returned home from volunteering, helping, donating and doing the things that we as Americans do well, that we could possibly direct just a fraction of that energy towards calling, writing and emailing our Congressperson and Senator and ask that monies that had been directed towards projects that no longer seem as important be redirected to financing the funding that our President has earmarked for relief?

Projects that have been called into question by various media outlets supporting Rap Songs or Highway Bill projects that were described as “Egregious and remarkable,” by Sen. John McCain, refering to the estimated $24 billion in the bill set aside for highways, bus stops, parking lots and bike trails.

Maybe Sen. McCain and other politicians can use their podiums to ask for states and municipalities to redirect some of the money to be received for what are now, relatively less important projects, when compared to the unexpected financial needs created by Hurricane Katrina devastation, towards relief projects.

It may be projects to support evacuees who have relocated to their states or cities, orto help the Gulf Coast areas impacted

Sometimes it makes sense to re-evaluate where the dollars are going when circumstances change. If ever there is a time, this is it.

It’s just a thought I throw out there for discussion.

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