"People saw E.T. one year and were still talking about it one year later. Today, the equation has flipped: First, we talk about movies for a full year in advance; then, we finally see the movie, and the conversation essentially stops." (Franich, D)
This is at the heart of the conflict between the Internet and Hollywood. Cinema has been continually shaped by the new technologies that have been introduced, and most have ultimately benefited the film industry. The rise of the internet, however, prompts one to question just how beneficial for the film industry the new technology is.
Online movie leaks, illegal downloading, and an endless ocean of amateur video are symptoms of internet's plague upon the film industry. The example Darren Franich explores in his article 'The Dark Knight Rises' vs. the Internet', is Christopher Nolan's sequel to the Dark Knight which has been highly anticipated all year.
Everyone's raving about it, and leaks have been released about characters and production, but will the conversation and interest still be stirring once the film is actually released? This is a prominent issue in the debate about internet's attack on Hollywood.
An additional issue the film industry finds itself with is the modern absence of 'quality control' in the field of screen production. Before internet, video production equipment was less available to everyday people; in this sense, viewers of video were more confident that they would be watching a quality piece of filmmaking. Now with the widespread popularity of Youtube, and the affordability of fillmaking, one cannot guarantee they will be watching well-produced videos- everyone is considered a 'filmmaker' today when uploading video to Youtube.
Indeed, Youtube encourages free speech, and everyone can express themselves. There's even the argument that many independent film talents have been discovered via the internet phenomenon. We now, however, see more unintelligible, incoherent videos reach the internet which might effectively tarnish the credibility of the notion of the 'filmmaker'. Furthermore, due to the uploading of Hollywood movies and the downloading of cinematic releases, it is much harder for films to make profit.
How is Hollywood going to combat this issue? How can we keep audiences engaged with the cinema? How can the film industry motivate moviegoers yet also use the internet to its economic advantage? And how can we give the credit back to the real 'filmmakers'?
I'm anxious to know.
References:
Franich, D 2011, 'The Dark Knight Rises' vs. the Internet: How has a culture of leaks changed the moviegoing experience', viewed 1 September 2011,
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/08/09/dark-knight-rises-leaks/
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