My advice to "Hollywood"

From ABC news -
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=906992&page=1

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the problem and the solution.

1) Make better movies. The last movie that I actually looked forward to seeing and couldn't wait for it's release was "The Village". There just isn't anything to get excited about anymore. Hollywood has completely lost it's imagination. Every movie coming out these days is a remake of something, or based on something else. The movies out recently - "Star Wars III" a sequel, "Batman Begins", a sequel / based on a comic book, "War of the Worlds", a remake / based on a book, "Fantastic 4", based on a comic book, "Bewitched", based on a TV show, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", remake / based on a book, "King Kong", remake, "Dark Water", based on a book, "Herbie, Fully Loaded", a sequel or remake depending how you want to look at it. Even "Cinderella Man" is based on a true story. Why would I shell out a single dime to see something that was better the first time? And it's not enough that they remake the hits of yesteryear, they remake the crap of yesteryear too, ie. "Bad News Bears" or "The Longest Yard". Come on!

2) Make fewer movies. If you insist on making so much crap, make it for DVD release only. I'm going to feel less irritated if I return a DVD rental unwatched, than if I have to walk out of a theater after wasting $20.00 on tickets, snacks and beverages. The movie studios need to trim the fat. Most manufacturers will lower the amount of product they are creating if demand for that product goes down. The movie industry has done the opposite. If there weren't 5 or more brand new releases to theaters every single week, it would be more of a treat to go to the movies when that rare must-see movie is released.

3) Lower ticket prices, I know ticket prices are set by the theaters, but obviously they set these prices based on what the studios are charging for each screen the theater shows the movie on. The other thing about ticket prices is that they are fixed. You expect people to pay the same amount to see "Star Wars III" as they pay to see "The Longest Yard". The product isn't the same why should I pay just as much.

4) Make more G and PG rated movies. For the most part parents won't take the whole family to the movies for anything rated PG-13 or R.

5) Stop casting Tom Cruise or any number of so called "stars" who can't even act. I wanted to see "War of the Worlds" but didn't want Cruise, Spielberg or anyone else involved to get a dime of my money. So, I bought a ticket to "Batman Begins" (a far superior movie) and went to see "War of the Worlds". Based on what I know about the movie industry, this really didn't matter anyway, since the studios get paid by the theaters for each screen they show the movie on, and ticket sales don't go to the studios.

I also have advice regarding the so called movie pirating scare. If DVD releases weren't overpriced then it wouldn't be a problem. I find it hard to believe that the industry really needs to sell a DVD movie for $20 or more when it only costs pennies to manufacture. There's no argument about the cost of marketing, or production of the actual movie, or anything else to convince me that they would be losing money by selling DVD for $10 or less. It's just Hollywood gluttony, and it's going to continue to bite them in the butt until they all end up as bankrupt financially as they are morally. This might be a good thing, though. Tear the entire movie industry down, then maybe we'll get something worth going to the theater for.