Now you’re pushing it Hollywood!
Tonight we went to the movies to watch the new Madagascar movie. To start off with the positive points - the movie rocked, we really enjoyed ourselves. Dreamworks almost always deliver. The APG (Anti-Pirat Gruppen - comparable to the MPAA in the US) didn’t even display their ‘warning’ to uphold the law… which is the same as saying to me “Hey you, yeah you - the one that paid to get in here - We don’t trust you! We think you are here to steal from us!” Now comes the ranting…
Why in the nine hells do I get 20 minutes of advertisment before a movie, I paid to see? This in addition to the ticket costing me the equivalent of 12 $ a seat - it isn’t exactly cheap, you know. I can live with the trailers lasting another 10 minutes, but they aren’t exactly necessary. I hate commercials with a vengeance (well, aside from the good ones… but hey, who doesn’t have double standards… they are so far between anyways). Here we are - loyal customers paying a lot to see your damned movie - and you do everything to annoy us? Yeah, I’m talking to you Hollywood - you honestly expect us to sit through a 5 minute crappy commercial for a pair of jeans with a Romeo and Juliet theme played absolutely horrible just before a movie aimed at kids?
Now, let’s say, I look for the alternatives… I have:rna) waiting for the movie to hit the DVD-shelves - if I take a region 1 import, this is about the same time it hits the theatres here… it will cost me somewhere in the vicinity of 30 $… but then I can watch it an unlimited number of times, I don’t have people farting and talking during the movie (aside from myself and my guests) and I get better quality (yes, we don’t have digital cinemas here yet). Oh wait - can’t do that… and why? Because Hollywood has decided that Denmark is region 2… and thus I have to wait another 3-6 months for the DVD to be released (and that is just the blockbuster hits… get a region 2 music DVD or a non-Hollywood production? Good luck…)rnb) contact one of my friends in the underground businesses and get a shiny DVD about 1-3 months ahead of release in theatres in premium quality - no annoying “We don’t trust you!”-ads at a price of say 5$. I can play it in any DVD-player, I can make backups to avoid scratches on the ‘original’.
And they are wondering why it is so hard to get young people to stop copying their crap? The illegal copy is BETTER than the original. Back in the day of VHS - you had better quality in the original (and you could fast-forward through the “We don’t trust you!”-ads). But Hollywood - those times are long gone. You have been sleeping - and you are light-years behind.
And they say that this is just the beginning of annoying customers… meet the wonders of DRM. A bright and new technology built into tomorrow’s TV’s. This means the end of taping a show to watch it later. It means the end of playing that narrow-aimed movie only released in Japan… oh wait, we already have that…
Now, don’t get me wrong - I like movies and I’m willing to pay for it. But I demand quality and I demand a no-crap policy when I’m being honest and pay for it! We are getting less titles at higher prices - and a crappy product filled with ads to boot. I have already discarded my TV - don’t make me discard you, yeah you Hollywood, all-together!