Do iPods portend the death of movie-going?

One of the attractions of movies has always been that they are " Bigger than life." I have been a movie fan for along time and have always enjoyed going to the movies. Part of it is the screen - HUGE, bigger than any living room, and the sound the same. This is how movies are designed and meant to be seen - on the BIG screen! Part of it is also the group experience of watching a story unfold with hundreds of people and feeling the emotions, excitement and tension collectively. Although HD widescreen TV and surround sound can make a satisfying experience at home it will not replace the experience of going to the theatre. In Hollywood we have the new Arclight theaters. This move house has been designed with top notch auditoriums, excellent sound and picture, no bad seats, even in the front row, and is always clean and well maintained. Seats are reserved so there is no lining up and rushing into the theater for the best seat.There are NO COMMERCIALS or "pre- screen entertainment" and there is a full restaurant and bar on the premises with 21+ screenings where u can take your drink into the movie. This is the future of movies. It is a little more expensive than the local theateres but well worth it. If the general population would rather watch a film on a 2.5 inch screen with little tinny headphones they will be missing out on the experience that was intended.

People who are complaining about the price of a movie ticket but are willing to shell out 3- 400 dollars to have the latest gadget worry me. I think corporate America would like it if we all happily consume our media in the most highly compressed easily distributable always connected to our brain format.

Hopefully what all the technology will do is inspire a new generation of filmakers who will be able to film edit and distribute their films from home and set the artisit free from the control of the studios, moguls and political enviroment

I only go to actual movie theaters for the nostalgia of it. I pay to be annoyed, because that's what the experience is all about. The audience must make noise, the floor must be sticky, and all the rest because that's what makes it an unique human experience. Of course it's not the best way to absorb the content of a film, but so what? I doubt that theaters will become completely extinct, but the theater business at large will have to shrink in proportion to its declining importance to the public.

I don't see that cinema's will close. They survived the VCR, Video rentals and DVD rentals. However I do believe that the iPod (with iTunes, Apple, Intel etc) will kill TV advertising. I just wrote an essay about that on www.brandscribe.com

Best Dirk

Personally I think I would goto the movies more often if I was able to buy the movie on DVD after I saw it. They could charge a little more for that DVD $30?? I personally prefer to watch movies at home especially long movies like king kong. I would sit through kong at the theaters then enjoy it at home.

Saying that the release of the 5G iPod or a future Mac mini w/Front Row could lead to the downfall of the movie theater is like saying the CD player (or Vinyl Record, for that matter) would kill concerts. After all VHS and DVDs have yet to conquer the same territory, and they've been around for quite a while now...

I find it very unlikely that the death of the movie theater is near. This is why:

1. If people would download feature-length movies (that is if Apple ever offers it) they probably would not watch its entirety on a small iPod screen. Yes, a Mac mini Media Center/with Front Row would be more tolerable, but such a device could never decimate the entire theater-going desire.

2. I would be very surprised if the movie industry supported the availability of films for download during a nation-wide theater release.

3. But even if they did, there is still a very large demographic that does not have broadband internet access, so I can't wait to see someone download a 95-minute film over dial-up, when a 6-minute music video takes about 5 minutes on broadband (for me at least)...

Nevertheless, Apple has amazed us all countless times, and if anyone could do it, Apple will.

I don't see how it will hurt anymore than video and DVD sales. I remember the head of the MPAA back in the early days of videio. "The VCR is the Hillside Strangler for the movie industry" he siad. Obviously he was an idiot. Can you imagine Disney making a film these days, without calculating the potentail revenue of video and DVD sales? Let's ask Peter Jackson if he think these things are bad.

There might be a vetting of some the worst theatre's but I don't expect we will those that provide the best viewing experience disappear anytime soon. Naturally changes will occur as the ease in gaining access to media increases but I think the pattern will be the same - watch at home those movies not worth the time and effort of going to the theatre. Unfortunately for the theatre's that accounts for allot of the movies being shown lately.

I still go to the movies. Unless you have thousands of dollars to invest in a home theater room, you can't quite duplicate the experience with a projector and a 10 foot screen.

I think the movie theaters are making themselves less attractive by raising prices and advertising. 8.50 to see a movie is ridiculous. At this point, it's matinees or places that offer student tickets for me.

My favorite theater serves a real menu and beer. They set up long narrow tables in front of each row for eating on. That's my favorite kind of experience. :D King Kong on the big screen, a gourmet pizza, and a coke for $12.50 total. http://www.drafthouse.com

Movie Theaters will still last, because even though there are HD TV's, DVD's and movies, if you didn't know, movies don't pop onto DVD's the very next day. Usually the companies launch the DVD's later on for no apparent reason except to make money. Only reason I go to movies, to watch the NEW movies.... DUH

Serenity was the only movie I've gone to in some years. When I go to a theater it is always because of artificially-created demand -- I don't want to wait for the DVD to come out, even though it will give me a thousand-times better experience. As far as I'm concerned, I hope movie theaters are dying, and the sooner they are dead the better.