What does Hollywood do? Seriously, what do they do? They don’t produce movies so why do we talk about them so much? Why don’t we talk about Lucas film and celebrate them and say “The Lucas film awards” or the Warner Bros awards or Warner bros is collapsing. Whenever we talk about the movie industry the first thing that comes to mind is Hollywood and all its glory.
Hollywood does not make any movies, they just promote it. In other words, Hollywood creates the buzzword. Hollywood is where the movie premiers and paparazzi happened. It was where all the major film companies would reside. People that wanted to work in the film industry would move to Hollywood the same way that people. Walt Disney was born in Chicago Illinois but then moved to Hollywood when his company was booming.
Film Studios That Were Built In Hollywood
DisneyParamountWarner Bros21st Century FoxColumbia PicturesMGM
RKO
Hollywood is just the place the same way that Silicon Valley is a tech hub and that is where all the tech companies move to. However, now things have changed and thanks to technology Hollywood will never be the same. As big companies continue to have a big monopoly, buying out other companies and owning a large portion of the entertainment industry.
How Technology Changed The Movie Industry
The 2000s was the decade when people started to not only download music illegally online but also movies and TV shows. Online piracy was the beginning of watching movies for free alongside bootleg DVDs. Netflix did not really take off until the 2010s however, the company was founded in 1997. It wasn’t until video become easily accessible online with websites like Youtube that things really started to change.
Some people thought that DVD sales would go down because who would buy DVDs if anyone can just download movies on the internet for free. It wasn’t far from the truth. Block buster did go out of business with only one store remaining in America.
Bootleg DVDs and online piracy did contribute to the fall of DVD sales however, what came afterwards really affected the movie industry. That being said, please do understand that although online piracy affected DVD sales, it had little to no effect on box office ticket sales.
The movie industry was first struck when the invention of the television came to be. As more and more Americans bought a television there was no need to go to a movie theater anymore. So the movie industry had to find ways to convince people to go and watch a movie.
Film Production Becoming More Affordable
As technology improves, creating a movie has become easier and easier. You no longer need thousands of dollars to afford good filming equipment. For less than $1,000 you can buy a really good professional camera with a good lens. As a matter of fact, you can find good equipment with $500, 4K quality camera and everything.
As film production became more and more affordable. Your average Joe was able to buy the same quality tools for making videos as well as video making software. The latest Iphone had such good resolution that it became a good tool for Youtubers.
As technology makes all these tools cheaper, Hollywood became more and more unnecessary. Anyone could start a film production company or making really good quality videos for themselves.
Also, if you look at creators on Youtube, many of them make really good content. From independent animators to independent film makers. The age of the indie creator, some call it. That is not to say that these creators somehow overshadow Hollywood, but rather it shows how many creators did not have to rely on Hollywood as much.
So film companies like Paramount and Disney will not go extinct because of technology. Hollywood is becoming less and less necessary. Why use Hollywood to promote your movies when a multi billion dollar company like Disney can do that with their own budget on the internet.
Also now with crowdfunded projects with organizations like Legion M. Indeed, Hollywood is losing fans.
The Pandemic That Bankrupt Everyone In 2020
We all know that the pandemic of 2020 bankrupt a lot of companies. Many corporations were laying people off by the millions. Local businesses had to close. Restaurants closed for months as well has, live events such as concerts…it was a disaster.
The movie industry was doing just fine or rather, video streaming services. Since everyone was stuck at home with nothing to do except play video games and read books, no one could go to the movie theater. At this point Hollywood was burning. Since no one was going to the movies, companies like Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros, 21st Century Fox and others were not making money. If people did not go to the movie theaters then they would not be motivated to buy other merchandise from the movie especially superhero movies and other films aimed at children.
Hollywood lost billions of dollars during the pandemic. Remember, when we say Hollywood, we are talking about all the film companies that reside in that area.
Not only did more people started working from home since it was so much more convenient, faster, better, more affordable, but many people realize that they didn’t have to drive to the movie theaters when there was so much more that they could do for entertainment.
Remember, movies is entertainment therefore they are also competition with other forms of entertainment for attention.
Film Companies Abandon Theaters
During the 2020 pandemic, films companies abandon theaters. They realized that since no one was going to the movies anymore and they had lost billions, they were going to go the video streaming route. Services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video were doing just fine while the world burn during that time.
Disney had multiple superhero movies releasing that year but they decided to release the movies on the video streaming platform Disney Plus. So why continue making deals with movie theaters when film companies can keep most of the profit. They don’t have to share revenue.
Movie theaters started to close down and video streaming services gained millions of subscribers. So when a new movie came out people did not need to drive to a movie theater or take the bus, they can stay home and watch the movie.
This was bad for movie theaters but good for film companies.
The Video Streaming Service Take Over
Video streaming service had been on the rise since the early 2010s. Netflix lead the way to the top while other services started rising up. First it was Hulu then a few others came into the picture. What made Netflix unique is that it was making their own original content. So they did not have to pay for the rights to stream a movie or TV show, by having their own original content and keeping people on their platform they created a blueprint for the video streaming service business model.
Now there are video streaming services left and right. Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Peacock and a few that are free such as TUBI.
Video streaming services added to the demise of Hollywood because people saved so much money. Especially not that movies are being released on the platforms instead of the theaters, film companies saved so much money. People also saved money by not having to drive to the movie theaters, not having to pay for multiple tickets for their family, not having to spend money on popcorn, they can cook right at home. It was so convenient.
This had many effects on Hollywood and the way we consume entertainment.
Celebrities would take a pay cut because there would be no big box office hit like before.
Film companies were able to use a lower production budget for a TV series or movie.
More people worked from home so they didn’t have to move to Los Angeles (especially animators).
This took power away from cable companies like Direct TV, Optimum Triple Play, Verizon Fios and many others. Millions of people opted out of cable TV and just pay the small fee of $9, $7 or $10 for the video streaming service to consume as much as they wanted.
Now all you need is internet, you don’t need cable television anymore.
People create their own home theaters and don’t need to go to the movies. A 50 inch screen TV can cost as little as $500 instead of $1000 like it was a decade ago.
Many People Are Leaving Hollywood
Its official, the rich and famous are leaving Hollywood and California in general. This is good for people that want a future in the film industry and entertainment.
Los Angeles and the Hollywood area are no longer a great place to live. It has become a cesspool of homelessness, dirty streets, people pooping on the street and many more problems. Also it is no longer safe and the pandemic made this much worst.
Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro and countless Hollywood celebrities are getting out of California and taking their companies with them. This is good because why does everything need to be in California. That just takes opportunities away from people. If you like in Delware and want to be a voice actor, you had to move to California in Los Angeles and live in a crappy apartment paying $2000 rent or more.
As many companies leave the area and go to other places, it gives other people opportunities to be in the industry.
So is this the end of Hollywood. Not yet at least but it sure is on the decline and at a fast rate. The truth is, we don’t need them anymore. The Hollywood collapse started way before the 2020 pandemic. It started when people realized that they had the power to make movies and TV shows that they wanted to make.
