Drop in DVD sales causing some belt-tightening in Hollywood

Due to the collapse of the DVD market – up to 25% drop – the entertainment industry and movie studios are suffering major quakes. A large part of this decline can be blamed on a world-wide financial crisis.

But it warms my heart to see the the anti-American-entitled-elite-activist “artists” might be suffering some income decline, too. If they want to “share the wealth” then they also need to “share the misery” that the rest of us are toiling under.

I’m still boycotting movies. I refuse to line the pockets of activist, anti-American entertainers. And I refuse to call them movie stars or even artists. They are no more special than you or I and have no business telling me who I should support or how I should vote or what kind of car I should be driving.  They are not going to impose their political beliefs on me.

As the lineup of newly elevated studio executives scramble for solutions, expect an even greater emphasis on so-called “branded entertainment”: sequels and movies based on toys, old television shows and other familiar themes. Movies already in development include one based on the View-Master children’s toy and an adaptation of the board game Battleship, scheduled for release July 2011, the same month as a third “Transformers” film. There also will likely be far fewer adult dramas and less reliance on movie stars — many of whom can no longer draw ticket buyers, and are seeing their guaranteed salaries slashed.

Although the studios will occasionally devote more than $200 million producing high-profile titles like the “Harry Potter” and “Spider-Man” sequels, executives are trying to spend less on star compensation, especially since some of the town’s highest-paid stars — $20-million actors such as Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Russell Crowe — have proved over the last year that their names on the marquee hardly guarantee that crowds will come.

Editor’s note: I’ve found 2 great websites for movies and tv: hulu.com and firstonmars.com. They’re really great. One has dozens of old Star Trek and Alfred Hitchcock episodes. And the best part is – they are free!