p2pnet.net News:- Last year was Hollywood’s second biggest year ever with official MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) box office figures at $9.5 billion.

Can this be the same movie industry where, declares outgoing MPAA boss Jack Valenti, thousands of people are losing their jobs, set builders, screenwriters and other support staff are going without and where Hollywood’s very fabric is being ripped assunder by those villainous online pirates?

The numbers come in a Miami Herald story here which also has Valenti discussing an “onslaught” of competition for movie dollars from the video game and DVD industries, digital and cable television and the Internet, all which he said are threatening to siphon away business.

“But Valenti, who formally announced Tuesday that he would step down as MPAA head in a few months, waxed poetic about what he believes makes going to the movies so unique from other entertainment options,” says the report

“In spite of the rowdy, assertive claims of the doomsday critics, in spite of all this marketplace hurly-burly, the movie theater still enchants, still beckons, still prospers,” he said.

“Even if families in the future are equipped with the latest home theater magic, it’s just not the same as the emotional alchemy in a theater,” he added.

Valenti also said audience demographics remained similar to previous years, with the ages of 16-20 being the most frequent moviegoers, hitting the multiplex more than once a month.

However, there was also a 20% rise in movie going among audience members between the ages of 50 and 59, something Valenti called a modest surprise.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2004 at 6:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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