Originally Posted by B-Line

You would not think that if you saw all the time/money/work that actually went into making a movie. For every minute of on screen time you see, there is MONTHS of work behind it on the backs of writers, agents, producers, directors, actors, -- Not to mention the entire city of Los Angeles.

- Movies have become so expensive to make, unions, advertising and marketing, etc. And what you forget to account for is, only a small percentage ever hit the cineplex in your local mall.
- It is not unheard of a distribution company making 10-20 movies a year and only making a profit on one or two. So the profit of those blockbusters that you pay to see in the theater subsidizes the cost of many, many, other films that you may or may not ever see.

It took Clint Eastwood over 5 years to get Million Dollar Baby made and it was a relatively low budget at under 30 Million. And, even when you hear about the $20 million dollar paycheck for a Bruce Willis, etc. That actor is only taking home about 30% of their paycheck. Granted that is still alot of money, and there is a lot of money to be made in the entertainment business, but you don't often hear the stories of the companies that put EVERYTHING on the line for a movie or two.

Is $10 really that much to pay to see a movie that has cost over $200 million to make (not including advertising.) So much is spent to get you in that seat, it does need to be recouped.. And what about all the movies that hit the cineplex that you didn't see.

It is a very, very, complicated business. And because there is no absolute formula for success, a lot of bad films are paid for by the successful ones.

Just to go back to the original arguement, when you buy a CD, that is what you are buying, a CD. No where in the sales agreement does it say that you are buying the use of the intellectual property in what ever way you see fit. We take for granted that in the past, we have made tapes, stored on computers, and used it in whatever way we see fit. But since that has effected the business model because of theft, it needs to somehow correct.

I have friends who work in the music industry, if you read the trades, you will see, thousands are being let go on a yearly basis. I am not saying you are wrong, but until there is a solution to the problem, the industry has been reduced to trying to save it's own butt.
- And think of all the free music you still get, RADIO, INTERNET....
- And, record companies do not make money when an artist tours, they make money on the sale of the media, the CD, the download from Itunes, etc. They are not infringing on your rights.. They are protecting their product, as would any other business.