What's wrong with movies these days?

Hollywood is getting disturbed. Sales are down again for the third year in a row. That's 12.6% since 2002. This is the first such extended slump in 40 years. Why?

OK. I have my opinion. Look at how many remakes and sequels of the better films from yesterday that are being put out. Most may have been good the first time, but there aren't that many remakes that are up to the standards of the originals. Right now, for example there are "Cheaper by the Dozen 2", "King Kong", Your, Mine and Ours", and I think "Fun with Dick and Jane" is a remake. "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" is worse than a remake. It is a sequel to a remake. Doesn't Hollywood have any writers?

Not if it is true that they want younger writers and stop hiring them when they pass age 40.

I really think Hollywood has gone down a cul-de-sac. They think they are selling a series of images, so they spend more and more money to achieve greater "reality." They think that well-known stars sell movies, so they pay well-known stars more and more money. They also suspect that they can distribute the movies differently so as to get reach different and better audiences. So they spend more money on distribution in different channels that may or may not work. The end result of this is movies that cost a lot more than movies used to. That means that each movie has to bring in more revenue to cover the expenses before any profit is made.

So how do you make movies that can pull in all that revenue? You have to stick to tried and true sellers. You don't spend money on unknown actors. You don't spend money on writers. You don't experiment with new ideas for movies. All of these are places you try to cut costs. So to be safe you do remakes and sequels.

The result? Those of us who used to be regular movie-goers are flat bored to death with the pablum we are being offered. We've seen all the average movies on TV and are looking for something new and better. That means no remakes or sequels. The only movies worth watching anymore are the indys that are hard to find out about.

We want to see good movies that are well-written and well-produced. Most of us do not need the most elaborate computer graphics and the greatest realism. This is acting for Christ's sake! Good professional actors working from an interesting script do not require extreme movie realism. They create it by delivering their lines well. These don't cost what the Hollywood blockbusters cost, and these can make money with a lot smaller audience.

So is Hollywood ready to get this message? You tell me. This is from the Christian science Monitor:

One of the most telling developments, say analysts, will be the impact of a new idea by film Steven Soderbergh and producer Mark Cuban. The two have struck a deal to release films in three formats - theaters, DVD, and television - all on the same date. The first of them is scheduled in the next two weeks.

"Soderbergh and Cuban are projecting that the current model of theater-release, then a delay for DVD, and another delay before showing on TV is history," says Mr. Lehman. "How consumers respond to this experiment will be very telling."

They're still going to be making more expensive films with young hack writers and trying to sell to bigger audiences by more elaborate distribution models.

Good bloody luck!