[Fmpro] AP article

[bipcress@comcast.net]

My grandfather, George Bender Sr., was the projectionist at the first 
"Nickelodeon" movie theatre in the USA, right here in Pittsburgh (link: 
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Nickelodeon_movie_theater ). He had 
started by running lights for vaudeville. During the Great Depression my 
dad's family were the only folks in the neighborhood to have it OK 
financially. Because of Hollywood and the movies my grandfather was the 
first to own an automobile (a car and a truck). On summer weekends he would 
round up as many neighborhood families as could fit and would drive everyone 
out to the country for picnics, complete with food, beer, and baseball. 
Everybody always loved my grandfather, and I always remember him with a 
smile on his face (and a cigar). He died when I was still only a small boy. 
In his honor I learned how to operate both the old and new style (flat tray 
single reel) of movie theatre projectors. Film and film music have brought 
only joy and good things into my life. No one (right-wing moral-majority 
moron) is ever going to tell me that the Arts are a bad influence on 
society, in fact it's the other way around. - JohnB

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scootman Music Productions" <scootmanmusic at bellsouth.net>
To: <fmpro at nxport.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 10:26 PM
Subject: [Fmpro] AP article


> Economy's loss, films' gain
>
> DAVID GERMAIN
> Associated Press
>
>
> LAS VEGAS --Hollywood thrives when the economy dives.
>
> It was true during the Depression, when Americans managed to scrape
> together nickels and dimes for an escape to the movies. And as the
> prospect of another recession looms, studio executives say this time
> is no different.
> Even as evidence mounts that people are tightening up on other
> expenses, movie attendance this year has been running ahead of 2007
> numbers -- welcome news at ShoWest, the annual convention of theater
> owners, which opens here today.
> Domestic box-office revenues rose in five of the past seven recession
> years dating back to the 1960s, according to research compiled by the
> National Association of Theatre Owners.
> While budget-conscious consumers in today's economic downturn may
> hold off buying that 50-inch plasma television, "it seems they can
> always pull together the money to go to the movies," said critic and
> film historian Leonard Maltin.
> "They're not making a monthly commitment or a down payment," Maltin
> said. "They're just shelling out the 10 bucks."
> Economists are still debating whether the U.S. economy is headed for
> certain recession -- or already in one -- but closely watched
> indicators have been bleak, with employers shedding jobs and
> consumers reeling from high gas prices and tight credit.
> Meanwhile, Hollywood is more than holding its own, with revenues
> running 4 percent ahead of last year's, according to box-office
> tracker Media By Numbers.
> Factoring in higher admission prices, attendance was up 7 percent
> over last year as of a few weeks ago, before a few box-office duds --
> such as the Will Ferrell comedy "Semi-Pro" -- arrived. It's since
> fallen back to a gain of 0.5 percent.
> Though virtually everyone gripes about the cost of snacks at
> concession stands, the average movie ticket price last year was $6.88
> -- cheaper than sporting events, concerts, even bowling.
> "Most people would believe that offers a very good value. It's
> certainly much cheaper than a psychiatrist," said Dan Glickman, who
> heads the Motion Picture Association of America, Hollywood's top
> trade group. "To go into a darkened room where nobody can find you
> for two hours is great therapy, particularly when times are bad."
> Since the Depression of the 1930s, when a quarter or less could buy a
> full day's entertainment at a theater, movies have been a refuge for
> the cash-strapped -- as a place to forget about everyday troubles and
> a way to stretch tight household budgets.
> "We don't want to wish recession on anyone or hard times on anyone,
> but we certainly have done very well during recessions," said John
> Fithian, president of the theater owners group, who planned to touch
> on Hollywood's recession-proof history in a speech at ShoWest's opening.
> Amid America's longest and bleakest economic bust in the 1930s, movie
> attendance tumbled initially as investment money for films dried up.
> But in the heart of the Depression from the early to late 1930s,
> attendance shot up.
> While detailed box-office figures were not released then as they are
> today, as many as 4.6 billion movie tickets a year were sold in the
> 1930s -- three times more than in 2002, the best year of modern
> times. And the U.S. population during the Depression was less than
> half of today's 300 million.
> Granted, there was simply less to do then.
> "What were your options? Radio, books and movies," said Paul
> Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "You didn't have the
> iPod. You had your Victrola. We didn't have video games. We had, I
> don't know ... `Tiddlywinks.' "
>
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