It usually takes many years for a movie to take the long transition from idea to finished product. The process is brutal and careers are usually put on high risk for each movie project. Not to mention the fact that millions are usually invested in a picture due to the high production expenses (hiring many professionals, actors, building sets, composing music, building sets and marketing the movie).

But because of the almost instantaneous reporting of box office results once a movie is shown in theaters, studios and production outfits will immediately know (usually within a few hours) if the movie that took so long in making and cost so much is a box office bomb or a huge blockbuster.

This is in huge contrast to about thirty years or so ago when movie executives would actually drive to theaters and look at the opening day lines to the theaters ? a much more hands on approach compared to today?s very strategic juggling of advance polling techniques, demographic minded scheduling and usage of historical models.

With the level of accuracy of the agencies that report box office takes for the movies getting more and more accurate, studio executives are relying on them on an ever increasing basis to gauge if they are actually going to make money or not.

The bad thing though with an industry that has become more obsesses with math and the bottomline is that quality and artistic expression has fallen by the wayside. Movies are nothing more than products now that is marketed no differently from a hamburger.

Hopefully the movie studios will also realize that money is not the be all and end all in a place that fuels the imagination like no other.

Hollywood is always getting accused of all sorts of things, so I am not at all surprised by the recent accusations being thrown left and right. You might have heard of the latest dirt being thrown at Hollywood people. It involves the recently released movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

The news is that the casting was done in favor of white actors. Obviously, many of the characters in the movie are supposed to be of Asian or Middle Eastern descent. However, as we all know, many of the actors taking on the lead roles are not exactly from that part of the world.

Let’s take a look at hunky Jake Gyllenhaal who plays the lead role. He’s definitely not Middle Eastern – he’s American with Swedish and Jewish blood in him. (At least there’s a bit of Asian in him.)

Then there’s his leading lady, the princess, who is played by Gemma Arterton. She’s a full blooded Brit. No Asian blood in her.

It’s really not a surprise that critics are up in arms about the way the cast members – the leading cast members most especially – were chosen. Of course, there must be some reasoning behind the choices. There may be things that the general public – and the critics even – may not be aware of.

Then again, independent filmmaker Jehanzeb Dar might just be right. He said something like choosing white people to play the roles of other races is an insult to everyone involved. What do you think? Have you seen the movie?

Does the name Mark Zuckerberg ring a bell? If it doesn’t, you either live under a rock or you just don’t care. This guy is 26 years old, and he’s already worth billions. What kind of business is he in to make this kind of money at such as early age? One word: Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg is a Harvard dropout who co-founded the most popular social networking site today. He has also been in the limelight because of the recent changes made to Facebook privacy settings. Naturally, he has been the target of so many angry tirades.

His time in the limelight is not about to end any time soon. Hollywood has its eyes set on Mark Zuckerberg, and they are making a movie out of his life.

This kind of news will normally make people jump up and down for joy. Who has not dreamt – at least once in his life – about a movie being made to celebrate his life? Then again, celebrate is the key word here.

Recently, the screenplay of the movie was leaked, and from the looks of it, Mark Zuckerberg will not be very happy about his story. Title The Social Network, the movie will be depicting the Facebook founder as a sex maniac. It will also detail how Facebook was conceptualized and created.

Disclaimers already abound – the movie is a highly fantasized version of reality, some details might not be accurate, and so on. Still, I am pretty sure that this movie will draw a bit of a crowd.

Hollywood relies mainly on one thing for revenue: making movies. While there are many other streams of revenue in this town, movies are what really rake the dough in. That is why when something threatens movies and the revenue they are bringing in, Hollywood execs are quick to go up in arms.

The latest threat comes in a unique shape – that of a big red box. Dubbed Redbox, this “threat” is a self-serve DVD rental kiosk which is placed in strategic locations all over Hollywood. The price of a rental is a mere $1, making it such a convenience for anyone who wants to watch a movie. Being self-serve, the Redbox kiosks are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no danger of having the movie rental store close on you or anything like that.

While people might be happy about this development, Hollywood execs are not. In fact, they are taking rather drastic measures in order to stop this threat from becoming a full blown problem. The management of 20th Century Fox, for example, has already issued a directive that their wholesalers are not allowed to sell DVDs to Redbox until a month (30 days) after the initial release. Obviously, this step is meant to help increase the DVD sales before Redbox can release their own for rental.

I know that the movie companies are out there to make money but in these hard times, average people like me really really appreciate services like Redbox. Heck, that’s better than downloading movies illegally, right?

As if Hollywood were not already steeped in enough controversy, we are now seeing the world of the stars collide with another equally interesting sector: the world of technology. Last week, the trial between Hollywood studios and RealNetworks began.

The issue revolves around the product called RealDVD, which allows people to convert their DVDs into files that can be played on personal computers and other similar devices. Hollywood studios point out that this is basically hacking while RealNetworks maintains the stance that it is not a hacker’s tool.

For one, they say that the software maintains the DVD’s copyright protection. On top of this, RealDVD also adds another layer or protection by employing digital rights management that locks the converted file to the PC. The Guardian has this story:

RealNetwork’s defence is that RealDVD strengthens DVD copy protection. Some observers, such as Fred von Lohmann, a senior lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, think Hollywood is fighting a losing battle: “I’m not sure what alternate version of reality the MPAA is living in, but consumers have been able to copy DVDs for a long time, thanks to free, widely available DVD rippers,” he says.

Hollywood argues that it has introduced features to its discs such as Digital Copy, which allows users to copy DVDs on to a hard drive, although in much lower resolution and with DRM constraints.

So what’s it gonna be? Who knows? One thing we know is that the judge is the same one who presided over the Napster case, and that she ruled in favor of the music industry.

Hollywood has made a name for itself all over the world, and not one person does not know about it. Still, in the recent years, films from other countries have been making names for themselves. Perhaps this is part of globalization, but whatever the reason, we know that there are many good movies made in other parts of world other than Hollywood.

And the people in Tinsel Town are not denying this. In fact, earlier this month, the Chinese Film Festival opened in Hollywood. This is actually part of the celebrations for the 30th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries, China and the United States. While our governments may not always see eye to eye about matters such as the economy and the military, it is good to experience their culture through film.

The Chinese Film Festival is featuring 14 movies. According to Tong Gang, the current director of the China Film Bureau:

“In 2008, over four hundred movies were produced in China. But most of them remain unknown to audiences in the United States. So we’ve brought fourteen movies here, hopefully to generate widespread awareness and interest in Chinese movies and culture.”

Indeed, while 14 is not a huge number, especially given that fact that hundreds of movies have been produced last year, it is a good start. At least, those in America who have not previously been aware of Chinese films will be given a glimpse. The hope is that we will find something we like and an exchange can be initiated.

What’s going on in Hollywood aside from the current season of American Idol? By the way, I heard that the show gathered the most votes ever for their top10. Anyhow, after the recent Oscars, it seems to me that the movie scene has not been that active. However, that is not really true. There is much going on behind the scenes, and I got wind of one story that just might make it to the big screen.

The King of Sting is the story of real life con men. Think Catch Me If You Can. It runs along the same lines. The protagonists of this story are Craig Glazer and Don Woodbeck. They operated all across the United States, posing as cops, and conducting drug stings. The caveat is that they kept all the money and drugs involved. Now you can just imagine how much they raked in!

In fact, they were so successful in their activities that they were hired by the Attorney General of Kansas. Unfortunately, Woodbeck lost his life in their final attempt. Glazer subsequently wrote a book about his colorful life, titled The King of Sting: The Amazing True Story of a Modern American Outlaw.

It seems that it was received warmly and is now targeted to be turned into a movie. Eric Eisner, a known producer, is said to have locked in the rights to the story. While there are no other details known as of yet, I am thinking we’ll get to see this movie by early next year.

If you thought that everything that has to do with the movies we see come out of Hollywood all come from the same place, think again. The truth of the matter is that more and more TV and film producers have been moving away from Hollywood – and the state of California, actually – in an effort to save on their expenses for production. It is but understandable, as the taxes in the state are quite notoriously high.

A natural consequence of this mass exodus of TV and film producers is the state’s government effort to stop them from leaving. And what has The Terminator done to do so? He has signed a bill offering considerable tax incentives to those TV and film producers who carry on with their production within the state of California.

If you are thinking that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being a sell out by offering these tax cuts, you just might be wrong. Looking at it from another point of view, the fact is that he just might be doing the state a huge favor. If he didn’t offer these incentives, the state’s losses could very reach $10 billion by the end of the year. The tax incentives, on the other hand, involved $100 million per annum. Now compare those two figures….

The question now is this: “Is the tax program working?”

Apparently it is. According to Amy Lemisch, the executive director of the California Film Commission, she is swamped with calls from producers, directors, and studios, asking about how to keep production in the state. For us viewers, I guess this means “authentic” Hollywood films?

Visiting Hollywood is something that many people dream of. There really is not much that you need to do to entice the average person to visit THE Hollywood. However, did you know that there is another place named Hollywood? This one is located in the state of Florida and despite its geographical distance, the two Hollywoods do have some ties that bond them together.

Take this recent stunt by the Hollywood Office of Tourism (Florida). Capitalizing on the success of Hollywood (California) movie Marley & Me, the Florida office has decided to give away freebies to tourists who will visit and book through their online portal. The Miami Herald has this news:

Visitors to Hollywood who register for rooms online can fetch great rates and a special gift to coincide with the first month of movie theater screenings of the new family film Marley & Me, according to a statement released last week by the Hollywood Office of Tourism.

The Hollywood Office of Tourism gives Hollywood two ”paws up” for its dog-friendly accommodations at local hotels and public facilities, including Poinciana Dog Park at 1301 S. 21st Ave. and Hollywood Dog Beach on the ocean between Pershing and Custer streets.

That just goes to show that the reach and influence of Tinsel Town goes far and wide – even if it’s because of a mutt movie star.

These are hard times. No one can deny that and no amount of denying can change that fact. Perhaps it is better to think and behave much like the characters in many Hollywood movies which, based on an essay I read earlier, uphold the spirit of Christmas. In the essay titled “In Hollywood, hardship boosts Christmas spirit,” written by John Petkovic, the idea that things will get better in the end was highlighted.

Petkovic writes:

The way Hollywood sees the holiday, these are hardships that reveal the true meaning of Christmas.
Picking up on a sentiment born in the Dickensian 19th century, Christmas movies have made the most of the least, spinning tales of holiday woe that are meant to assure us. It doesn’t matter if you’re broke, because Christ, your fellow man and maybe even Santa Claus — if you’re good and lucky — will come through in the end.

Indeed, there are countless Christmas movies wherein the protagonist meets hard times and yet experiences the true meaning of Christmas. This may happen in various ways – with family, friends, or whatever other agent – but the theme is recurring. An ordinary person meets seemingly insurmountable problems and then somehow, help is given along the way. It is the classic happy ending that all of us dream of at some point. This theme is actually even observed in movies that are not about Christmas.

This year is perhaps of the most difficult years that we all have experienced. This is especially true for those in their 20s and 30s. Let’s be reminded by Hollywood movies – they may be make believe but there are some insights to gain from them.