"My Dad, DVDs and the Declining Movie Business"

My Father, Solomon Elias Horowitz, was in the dress business. I was happy to go with him to his "office" at 1385 Broadway in New York. His business was good at times, and not so good at other times. I remember that there was always a reason when business was bad. "We had a very late spring, the economy is bad, taffeta is no longer acceptable, dark colors were in, pastels out etc." He always searched for an answer.

In the last couple of weeks, there has been much written about the Motion Picture Business. It is interesting that most of the people quoted are lawyers, MBA's and finance people with a few heads of theatrical distribution at Studios thrown in. There are many "reasons" mentioned, but on the top of the list is the accelerated availability of DVD's. Does this early availability help the situation? Probably not, but it is not responsible for the decline either.

Prior to 1946, when Television was introduced into this country, if you wanted a "diversion" from work or family life you could read a book, magazine, newspaper, or listen to the Radio or go to the Movies.

60 years later, things are no longer the same. These opinions are mine, and I have an over 45 year history as a "film peddler", as well as a history of being wrong. I have had big deal titles and responsibilities, yet I am a "film peddler" at heart, and proud of it. I "sell" things. I have sold to free, over the air, network, and syndicated Television, Pay cable, free cable, Home Video, rental, sell through etc. Now not having spent one minute of my career in the Motion Picture Business, I think that this qualifies me to be wrong just like everyone else about the business.

I find it difficult to understand the expectation of a growing Theatrical Business. The industry has relied on the money coming from the ancillary utilization of it's content. Now, as it has been, that utilization is perceived to be harming the creation and exploitation of new content. Boy is that a simple premise. You needn't have gone to business school to understand that.

There are a gazillion cable and satellite channels. Of these we have a plethora of pay and free channels playing old and new "features".

We have VOD, SVOD, PPV, news channels, sports channels, explicit sexual channels, and hundreds of other entertainment and informational outlets. HBO, Showtime, Lifetime, Hallmark and many others make countless made for Television movies, and THEY PROMOTE "the hell out of them." We have the Internet, game platforms, e-mail, cell phones, satellite radio, and much more. Who would have thought that Seinfeld, after an incredible success on Network and syndicated Television, would sell Millions of DVD's?

Is there anything wrong with the move business? No, there isn't. What is wrong is the unreasonable expectation of the performance of these Movies. If there is no sickness, stop looking for the cure, and adjust your attitude towards the business.

I was almost murdered by my MGM/UA management when I suggested at a National Cable show that in the not to distant future, Movies will be available either simultaneously with, or shortly after their theatrical debut, for a "higher priced DVD, or VOD offering." If you spend all that money making and marketing the content, why wait to exploit it and waste or at least erode the value of the marketing. Why shouldn't this happen, particularly if the Studios do not own the theaters or share in the concession revenue?

Of course, you could bring back the double features in theaters, and eliminate on screen advertising, but that would be hard.

This is the truth in the matter, unless it isn't. Perhaps I have been in California too long.

Norman Horowitz
Film peddler.

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