Robert Urbanek
Platinum Member
The acquisition of Hollywood assets by colossal conglomerates, asset management firms, and private equity firms, made possible by low interest rates after the Great Recession of 2008, is undermining creativity and the power and income of writers in Hollywood, according to the article “The Life and Death of Hollywood” in the May 2024 issue of Harper’s Magazine.
True enough but the author, Daniel Bessner, is blind to other strains on the industry. He said not a word about the impact of COVID on movie house attendance and nothing about movie goers averse to loud and rude theatre audiences. Nor does he address the conservative claims that audiences, with some exceptions, are turning away from “woke” content, though he hints at the issue when he noted that the industry is moving toward programming that appeals to all demographics.
Bessner suggests solutions, if not currently promising, may be found in more public programming to increase competition, more antitrust enforcement and writers taking copyright ownership of their work instead of treating compensation as a wage issue.
After an unsuccessful stab at screenwriting in 1993, I recently took it up again. I may report any interesting developments.
True enough but the author, Daniel Bessner, is blind to other strains on the industry. He said not a word about the impact of COVID on movie house attendance and nothing about movie goers averse to loud and rude theatre audiences. Nor does he address the conservative claims that audiences, with some exceptions, are turning away from “woke” content, though he hints at the issue when he noted that the industry is moving toward programming that appeals to all demographics.
Bessner suggests solutions, if not currently promising, may be found in more public programming to increase competition, more antitrust enforcement and writers taking copyright ownership of their work instead of treating compensation as a wage issue.
After an unsuccessful stab at screenwriting in 1993, I recently took it up again. I may report any interesting developments.
