Before it is was the movie studios putting out movies they think we want to watch. NOW, people are creating what we want to watch… and if the movie studios were smart, they would listen.

A couple of weeks ago we VOD on cable “Madagascar” about NY zoo animals wanting to get out and explore the world. … I just saw a trailer for a Disney flick out this weekend I think about NY Zoo animals wanting to get out and explore the world …. 2 things going against this movie for me… 1)It’s Disney (They haven’t put out a good movie in along time.. and my 4 year old doesn’t like the mouse) 2) I just watched “Madagascar” – before I say this I probably should watch the new Disney flick (Can’t remember the name).. because I am only going off of the trailer.. BUT, the trailer is supposed to be designed to get me to want to watch it.. so, with that said. I absolutely have no desire to go see another movie like “Madagascar” .. can’t they be original.. oh I forgot.. Disney is trying to give us movies they think we want to watch and I am guessing (Didn’t follow) that “Madagascar” did good… Hey… deju vu.. I think some studios did this same thing on “Bugs Life” and “Ants” .. right??? Hmmmm I only own one in my video collection.. why own both?

And a tip to Disney – - “You better not touch Pixar.. let them do their thing!! Good job on the “Little Einsteins” tv show!! – my 4 year old son is a tough critic and loves it!! He hums the tunes all the time!”

(For those who don’t know… Disney bought all the rights to the “Baby Einstein” series from this mother who created them in her spare time for $20 mil and created a new tv show targeted for little kids)

Anyway… I think Theaters are missing the boat.. Why go… it stinks.. sticky floors and OVER PRICED FOOD!!! $3.00 for a tiny bottle of water.. JOKE. I think they are totally missing the boat. What about merchandising!!!! One of the reasons we like to go to Universal City Walk during an opening weekend of a cool movie is because we get to shop!!! “Star Wars Episode I” .. We bought a light saber for $50 bucks.. impulsive buying.. for my son.. AND in most any store that carries toys, they have toys created after media… movies and tv EVEN BEFORE the movie is out!!! … When I worked in the bakery.. a kid movie comes out.. everyone wants cakes made like that movie. The studios make more on MERCHANDING!!!! Why doesn’t the theaters get into that???? Stop jacking up the food and have a little or big section of merchandise!!! Makes since to me… while I wait for the movie to start… I could shop.. or (Worse for me) my kids sees an item he has to have!!

Look at “Harry Potter”… kids showed up in costumes and carried toys TO THE THEATER!!! They could have bought them at the theater instead! Oh and what about the kids that see the other kids’ toys… they want them!!!

Going to the theater should be about an experience.. more than just seeing the movie… because the movie creates an experience and the theater should carry that over. I don’t want to be mad because I had to pay $3.00 for a tiny bottle of water.. $1.00 ok… $1.50.. hmmm ok…. $2.00 K … BUT $3.00 I am not coming back because all the food prices were like that…the Candy, Popcorn, Soda. – Disgusting. It’s not that I don’t like spending money.. It’s that.. I don’t like getting ripped off!!! It’ll be on DVD in six months or sooner so, Ha!! Then I can own it for far less that the food cost!!!

Thanks for the vent.. little off topic.. but, I feel better.. it’s been bugging me for a while.

I have to run.. need to lay down the music track on my video…

From http://www.slate.com/id/2118819 on the economic of opening weekend movie revenue: “[B]ox-office results reflect neither the appeal of the actual movies—nor their quality—but the number of screens on which they are playing and the efficacy of the marketing that drove an audience into the theaters. If a movie opens on 30 screens, like Sideways or Million Dollar Baby, there is obviously no way it can achieve the results of a movie opening on 3,000 screens. And how do studios motivate millions of moviegoers—mainly under 25—to go to the 3,000 screens on an opening weekend to see a film no one else has yet seen or recommended? With a successful advertising campaign.

Studios spend $20 million to $40 million on TV ads because their market research shows that those ads are what can draw a movie’s crucial opening-weekend teenage audience. To do that, they typically blitz this audience, aiming to hit each viewer with between five to eight ads in the two weeks before a movie’s opening. The studios also spend a great deal of money testing the ads on focus groups, some of whom are wired up to measure their nonverbal responses … “

Here is another way to watch your PC on your TV – services like movielink, vongo and cinemanow have made these pc to tv converters really popular:

http://sewelldirect.com/pc-to-tv.asp

That way I can download it if I want to, or see it on HDNet in HD or pay to see it on the big screen. Just a thought.

For example, treading over what Wildflower discussed above, consider things that become popular with essentially zero marketing budget – movies which, due to their quality or uniqueness, generate relatively huge audiences. Such as the “Yellow Fever” movie. It’s on google video, and is getting much more play than most ‘indie’ movies, since it’s funny, original, and accessible.

The production values aren’t huge, since it’s done on a student budget; some of the humour’s cheesy, but that’s part of the charm.

The connection to all this talk of “widely distributed content”? Perhaps a totally new business model is the only effective way to use the internet.

Good things rise to the top through word of mouth, fake-artificial things sink and die.

“And a word of advice to take or leave as you see fit. Its always a mistake to listen to your customers. The goal of any organization should be to give their customers or constituents what they will want, not what they did want. Its not the job of the customer to know their future consumption habits. Its your job.”

Large organisations such as MS and Google, etc… lead the way in their technology. Small business needs to listen to the customers to survive. But at their level, it is their responsibility to drive innovation and/or culture forward into the future.

Thanks Mark for another insiders look to the industry,