Kentucky Fried Movie Industry

In an article titled, “Less dream, more factory” and subtitled, “H’w’d steels itself for a perfect storm”, Variety reports:

Hollywood woke up last week to the fact that it has become Detroit.
Layoffs are rising as the global conglomerates demand higher returns. Contentious negotiations loom as guilds and unions feel they are being shut out of the growing world of digital distribution.

NBC Universal said it will cut operating expenses by $750 million this year and eliminate as many as 700 jobs. Those disclosures riveted attention on one ineluctable reality:

Having lived in its own economic cocoon for a generation, the media and entertainment community is facing the reality that it’s just another industry [You don’t say!–Ed] and that its artisans must expect to be treated accordingly.

It’s worse than Detroit! And yes, that’s a movie reference. I love movies, and I’m not at all happy to write stuff like this, but the industry largely brought their woes upon themselves.