I hope it all burns down, and we get a 70s style resurgence of low-budget creative projects.

Also, I call bullshit on a lot of that article. She talks about DVD sell-through as the holy-grail, except that Hollywood was doing just fine for 60 years before home-media was even a thing to be thinking about, so it seems weird as a crux for the collapse of everything. I suppose that combined with dropping theatrical attendance would do the trick, but she does a poor job of making that clear if that's her point. Also, I think the studios could absolutely get a good chunk of those revenues back via internet distribution if they got their act together and offered proper online distribution world-wide (instead of just the US) at reasonable prices.

It just blows my mind, EVERYTHING about making and distributing movies is easier and cheaper than it has been at any other point in history, yet the studios are terrified, and somehow spending and losing hundreds of millions of dollars on overblown tent-poles. If Shane Carruth can make a movie for 50 grand, do practically same-day self-distribution theatrically and online, and make a pretty big profit, there's no reason others can't follow.
What this tells me really, is that the studios are horribly mis-managed, with people who don't know what they're doing that are pissing the money away, and that deserve to collapse.

Also, back 60 years ago, didn't the film studios also own their theaters? Or something like that.

Anyways, totally with Keanu here.

Holy shit. Without physical, they can't forecast sales?

The digital consumption metrics must be massively different, and with the speed of change there must be no solid historical data to use as a base for future projections. You've mentioned long-tail in the past, this indicates that doesn't really exist as we knew it any more.

Talk about watching the industry burn doesn't help - it's a business, profit is king. There must be some serious negotiation with Apple, Microsoft, and Sony about delivering content in to the home to try and rebuild reliable income streams. Netflix provides too much choice to the consumer for basically no risk to them - they don't need to decide between buying that film they know they like, and something they've never heard of - just watch both.

it doesn't make good business to go with just a break-even mentality.  Movies are a product and all products need to make the business a profit.  If I put in a million dollars, and I only get that same million back, what's the point of doing business?

Cinemas will be known as 'Mannies' by 2020, as in 'want to go to the mannies'?.  'cos they'll only be showing Bat MAN, Spider MAN, Super MAN, Iron MAN, etc. 

And it'll be hard to remember which sequel of which reboot we're up to.

Then DC and Marvel will merge their franchises in the great singularity event of 2024.

cut twilight sparkle trey and i'm in. She just makes me sad now

Aliens versus Jedis versus Superheroes versus The Enterprise versus Wizards versus Expendables versus Transformers versus Vampires versus Zombies versus Mutants versus Werewolves versus Dinosaurs versus James Bond versus everything that came out of the evelators in Cabin in the Woods versus The Tea Party versus Samuel L Jackson's cussing versus Ryan versus Dorkman versus Your Mom