You ever get the feeling that, with this recession they got going on, businesses are just firing people, cancelling Christmas parties, freezing wages and withholding Christmas bonuses because they can. Well if you do, congratulations, you're a cynic. We're a small but dedicated group but we welcome you to our ranks.
You may get a similar feeling when you hear the news that there was a 3D Entertainment Summit in Century City this weekend, in which it was pointed out that it costs, on average, an extra $15 million to make a 3D movie so now, because he can, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg plans to charge an extra $5 for tickets to 3D pictures, beginning with Monsters V's Aliens next year.
Hold on just a Goddamn minute here! Did we read that right? They want to charge extra because it cost them extra to make? Even though, the reason they are spending that money in the first place is to provide an extra attraction that will bring punters into the cinema and make them loads of money. Consider this analogy. If a studio spends $20 million on Tom Cruise's salary are we going to be charged an extra $5 for the privilege of seeing the flick? No! Studio's (perhaps incorrectly in the case of Cruise) assume that the attraction of Cruise will bring audiences in and pay for his salary and make them a bucket load of money to spend on coke and hookers. If a movie spends extra money on an expensive action sequence are we going to be charged extra for the privilege of seeing it? Of course not. 15 year old boys will go see the movie for the very reason that it includes said badass action sequence. The same should hold true for 3D.
They may argue that we are paying for the technology in cinemas. Funny I don't remember ticket prices being raised by 50% when sound, colour, technicolour, widescreen, panorama, digital projection or any other development was brought upon us.If it had, we'd now be paying 50 quid for a ticket. These things were done to attract audiences and they did. This is the thin end of the wedge folks. You could maybe justify a euro/dollar extra for the price of the glasses...maybe but as a Welshman more articulate than myself once said, if you tolerate this, your children will be next.
I say this pointedly and loudly. Fuck You Katzenberg. I will not go to a single 3D movie that increases the price for 3D'. The boycott starts here. Spread the word.
2 comments:
I absolutely concur.
This could end up backfiring on Katzenberg, especially since the target market of Monsters V's Aliens is going to be families with young children.
Are they going to add $5 to the price of a child's ticket too? Surely they can't.
Nowhere will a family of 4 willingly pay an extra $20 just for 3D. I hope not anyway. For an as yet unknown children's movie?
Perhaps fanboys would fork out that much extra for the next Batman or such.
But when the cinema across town, which doesn't have the speciality 3D projection technology will be showing the same movie at the regular price, I think the cash-strapped young families will vote with their feet. Good poster, though.
Here here. If we allow increases for new technology (which is expected of any industry to move with the times) then we'll be paying 40 odd quid for a ticket in 10 years. I'm joining the boycott.
Post a Comment