I've been discussing the digital evolution and how artists need to evolve with it since 1995. A lot of people considered me a digital harlequin pulling rabbits out of a 3D hat. The fact that this article came out in the LA times to explain all the Hollywood gloom lately (which you can cut with a digital knife) suggests to me that EarsXXI & PlasterCITY are definitely on the right track.

THE BIG PICTURE

In a losing race with the zeitgeist
The era of moviegoing as a mass audience ritual is slowly but inexorably drawing to a close.
Patrick Goldstein

November 22, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/cl-et-goldstein22nov22,0,6581563.column?coll=la-home-headlines

Showbiz people are prone to exaggeration, but when everybody is
exaggerating about the same thing, you know something bad is
happening. There's a dark cloud of unease hovering over Hollywood. A
top CAA agent calls it "mayhem." A studio marketer says "it feels
like Armageddon." A production chief puts it this way: "Each weekend
there's more blood in the water."

Malcolm Gladwell might call it a tipping point.

The era of moviegoing as a mass audience ritual is slowly but
inexorably drawing to a close, eroded by many of the same forces that
have eviscerated the music industry, decimated network TV and, yes,
are clobbering the newspaper business. Put simply, an explosion of
new technology — the Internet, DVDs, video games, downloading,
cellphones and iPods — now offers more compelling diversion than 90%
of the movies in theaters, the exceptions being "Harry Potter"-style
must-see events or the occasional youth-oriented comedy or thriller.

Anywhere you look, the news has been grim. Disney just reported a
$313-million loss for films and DVDs in its fiscal fourth quarter.
Sony has had a disastrous year, with only one $100-million hit
("Hitch") among a string of costly flops. DreamWorks not only has had
theatrical duds but also saw its stock plummet when its "Shrek 2" DVD
sales fell 5 million short of expectations. Even Warners, the
industry's best-run studio, laid off 400 staffers earlier this month.

Although the media have focused on the economic issues behind this
slump, the problem is cultural too. It's become cool to dismiss
movies as awful. Wherever I go, teenagers say, with chillingly casual
adolescent contempt, that movies suck and cost too much — the same
stance they took about CDs when the music business went into free
fall. When MPAA chief Dan Glickman goes to colleges, preaching his
anti-piracy gospel, kids hiss, telling him his efforts don't help the
public, only a few rich media giants. Say what you will about their
logic, but, as anyone in the music business can attest, those sneers
are the deadly sign of a truly disgruntled consumer.

There are still optimists who say the sky isn't falling, who insist
that a few hits will turn things around, or gas prices will come
down, or that the business being off 7% this year has more to do with
the absence of a left-field sensation such as "The Passion of the
Christ" than a long-term decline in moviegoing.

To them, I say — go ye to Costco or Best Buy and watch the giant
HDTVs zooming out the door, the TVs that used to cost $7500 that now
go for $1995 and allow middle-class people to have a marvelous
moviegoing experience right at home without $10.50 tickets, $4
popcorn, 20 minutes of annoying commercials and some guy in the next
row yakking away on his cellphone.

Once people spend all that money on a home entertainment system,
they've got to feed the machine. I've watched friends who used to
regularly go to theaters mutate into adjunct professors in DVD-ology,
scanning the ads for the new video releases and rhapsodizing over
Netflix the way other people swoon over TiVo or XM radio.

This only highlights the biggest crack in the system: that most of
the movies in theaters don't deserve a theatrical release, at least
not by the rules of today's game. Until the DVD and pay TV money
kicks in, they're money losers. Yet the studios are forced to spend
more marketing money every year to chase after increasingly resistant
moviegoers, then go dark for months before spending another big chunk
to remind people the DVD has arrived.

The studios have no one but themselves to blame. Motivated, as
always, by an obsession with quarterly earnings, they began shrinking
the DVD window from nine months to six months to 90 days. Universal's
"The Skeleton Key," which opened in theaters in mid-August, made its
DVD debut last week, barely three months later. When the six-month
window still held sway, the theater beckoned — half a year felt like
a long time away. Three months seems like just around the corner. All
too many movies, even ones with big stars in them, including "The
Weather Man," "In Her Shoes" and "Dreamer," have died on the vine,
with millions of Americans staring at the TV spots and thinking,
"I'll wait and see that on DVD."

And that's just the adult side of the equation. What's really driving
the studio folks crazy is that a huge chunk of their core
constituency — young moviegoers — has evaporated. Poof! They've
scattered to the winds. Young males aren't just AWOL from movie
theaters, they're also not seeing the studio's TV ads — either
because they've stopped watching TV altogether, or because they've
got the TV, iPod and IM all going at the same time — not exactly a
situation in which an ad leaves much of an imprint. The only movies
that are reliable drawing cards today are behemoths such as "War of
the Worlds" or "Harry Potter," or cheap youth-oriented genre films
such as "Saw II" or "The 40 Year-Old Virgin."

One of the movie industry's crucial failings is that it's simply too
slow to keep up with the lightning speed of new technology. Who
would've believed six months ago that the day after "Desperate
Housewives" aired on ABC you could download the whole show on your
video iPod? But when someone pitches a movie, it takes at least 18 to
24 months — if not far longer — between conception and delivery to
the movie theaters. In a world now dominated by the Internet, studios
are at a huge disadvantage in terms of ever lassoing the zeitgeist.
Everybody is making movies based on video games, but it seems clear
from the abject failure of movies such as "Doom" that it's almost
impossible, given the slow pace of filmmaking, to launch a video game
movie before the game has started to lose its sizzle.

New technology is also accelerating word of mouth. Thanks to instant
messaging and BlackBerries, bad buzz about a bad movie hits the
streets fast enough to stop suckers from lining up to see a new
stinker. Even worse, the people who run studios are living in such
cocoons that they've become wildly out of touch with reality.

That's the only explanation for why Sony Pictures could've imagined
there was any compelling reason this summer to see a wan remake of
"Bewitched." Or why any of the studio's highly paid executives didn't
wonder why it should shoehorn an obscure family movie into the one-
week window between the Disney-powered "Chicken Little" and the
latest "Harry Potter" juggernaut, especially when the movie,
"Zathura," has a title that sounds like it should be followed by the
warning "side effects may include leakage or sexual dysfunction."

The ultimate perk of being a studio chief is having your own
screening room, which puts only more distance between you and the
rabble — ahem, your customers — who spend $75 to take the family to a
movie. Too often studio people have the same ideas about the same
things, a groupthink that has led to them anointing one Hot New Thing
after another, from Josh Hartnett to Brittany Murphy to Kate Hudson
to Colin Farrell, who've yet to connect with rank 'n file filmgoers.

What should studios do to come to grips with this new era? In a world
bursting at the seams with new technology, it's hard to justify the
antiquated idea of studio development, which keeps churning out
movies such as "Be Cool," an Elmore Leonard novel from 1999 that was
hilariously out of date by the time it reached theaters, having a
storyline that revolved around Chili Palmer's exploits in the music
business, perhaps the least cool place on the planet.

Hollywood needs a new mindset, one that sees a movie as something
that comes in all shapes and sizes, not something that is wedded to
the big screen. Studios have to do what record companies refused to
do until they nearly went out of business: embrace the future.

People increasingly want to see movies on their terms, today on a big
TV at home, tomorrow on an iPod or cellphone. It breaks my heart that
people have fallen out of love with movie theaters, but if I were
king, I'd start releasing any movie with multi-generational appeal on
DVD at the same time it hit theaters, so the kids could get out of
the house and the parents could watch at home.

Miss New Mexico Ane Cristal Romero and the iconoclastic State Senator Shannon Robinson are believers in PAH. They're both wonderful and extremely intelligent individuals. PAH is very happy to have their support. Also, PAH is standing behind Miss New Mexico and her dream to become Miss America. And, oh, that's CRC dressed up like some nutty wolf-hatted Falstaff character. What the hell is wrong with him?

CRC says...

Action is eloquence.

--Shakespeare

I love wolves, tigers and eagles. I have a very good relationship with Biker Cat. But, somehow I think I am a bison. I remember walking up to a full grown buffalo in North Dakota and looked into one of its eyes. I felt a gentle, soulful connection with the beast.

P.S.

I don't recommend walking up to a buffalo. A lot of people have been injured doing so. They charge and do so very fast.

Watching and helping you grow is the greatest joy for us! You can be anything your heart desires by just being you!


...papaportrait of the Bailmeister.

I remember going up to a mountain outside of Tucson, Arizona many, many years ago. A girlfriend of mine took me to a Quaker retreat. The turkey was cooking in a deep dirt hole for a couple days already. They were all mainly older, powerful women with strong political views. I think I was one of the very few boys there, if not the only one. They let me and my girlfriend have the nicest room and bed in the stone cottage. I remember feeling a bit awkward about this. I don't like putting people out. And, what if there was some kind of Druid sacrifice thing going on. The powerful women said it was in honor of our young love or something like that. Needless to say, later that night I did sleep with one eye open just in case. Anyhow, it was my first and only Quaker circle experience. Before the feast, we stood in a circle holding hands and each of us said something we were thankful for. It was very simple and beautiful. What did I say? Ah...I remember, something like: I was thankful to be able to share music, poetry, film and art with my friends. I was thankful that I had friends to share music, poetry, film and art with. I was thankful for being part of the human race. I think also I might have said that I was thankful that I had been blessed with way too much imagination to balance out the genes of my challenging family.

My wife had an idea for this Thanksgiving. We're going to pass a hat around the table. All of our guests will write three things they're thankful for on three separate fortune strips. During the dinner, we'll pass the hat around again and each of us will randomly pick and read all of this collective thankfulness.

Remember, no matter how dark things are for you, there is always something to find to be thankful for. Cherish that. It is the light that will grow within you. Work hard to keep it lit-- it is the love of our shared Human Spirit.

CRC says...

The Road to PAH was very successful. Mr. Paine and Rose did PAH proud. The only wrinkle was during the party. PAH was supposed to call in, but he hit a storm on his way to the Artic. He wanted to tell all the people how important it is to nourish the little things in life...take care of them. They are the cornerstones to the big picture.

PAH did call in later and here's what PAH said...PAH%20SORRY.mov

CRC says...

Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.

--Novalis

I was only able to recover part of PAH's message. PAH told us about three wise men trying to hide life's golden secret from the rest of us. One said to hide IT up on the mountain. The other two disagreed, they knew human ingenuity would climb up and bring IT down. Another said to bury IT under the ocean. Again, the other two disageed, they knew human curiousity would dig IT up. The third wise man told them he knew were to hide IT. They were all silent for a moment; then he told them...voice%20of%20PAH%20.mov

Nick, Rose and I had another long day campaigning for PAH. We spoke in front of the State Economic Committee in Santa Fe. That went very well. We drove back down to Albuquerque to do a live television press conference with Mayor Martin Chavez on the importance of PAH and the people of Albuquerque. We drove back up to Santa Fe to attend a fundraiser for Governor Bill RIchardson. We definitely hit a wall...we are all thoroughly exhausted. I have never met PAH personally or heard his voice. We only communicate with the wise old sage via the internet. As if PAH knew our level of exhaustion, he called us out of the blue to give us a pep talk. The voice of PAH helped us find the energy needed to carry on with his extremely important, groundbreaking mission.

I was asked to give a quote for the HD Expo. I was delighted to.

"Artists need to evolve with the digital arena to ensure that our youth still get stories with human wisdom and not just brain numbing, flashy eye candy. Artists will have to learn to tell stories in a fast paced, multi-tasking, interactive digital environment. This is why HD Expo is so important. It brings together the Artist and the HD Technocrat; promotes discussion regarding the creative process and the latest HD tools; ensures a future for storytelling; thus, preserving our collective Human Spirit." -Christopher R. Coppola, President, Ears XXI Studios

You can learn more at www.hdexpo.net

CRC says...




Don't we all look extremely fresh and lovely?

We did finally hook up with the missing person in Roswell. I have a feeling that he will turn out to be one of PAH's most important allies. He totally gets the big picture and has the connections and power to help move us forward. He introduced us to the "Goldfinger" of Roswell. The man was very powerful (he definitely had the Midas touch), yet funny. He had a beautiful humidor and a valuable samurai sword in his office. I'm not a judgmental person and I love characters, so we hit it off great. We visited an existing digital film school, then a hangar where they found an alien ship. Both were very impressive. Oh, by the way, the steak at the Cattle Baron was excellent, though I did have to teach them what Pittsburg style was. We then raced down to Las Cruces and met with a lot of the important people in the media arts community including educators. What I love about these people is that they're anxious to move forward in the digital arena yet they're really proud of their New Mexican culture. It took them a while to feel comfortable with Nick and I reeking of Hollywood the way we do, but PAH won them over. PAH is about training and empowering people in the digital arena. PAH is not about culture busting, but culture enhancing. Uniqueness is the key to PAH and New Mexico is totally unique. It's a perfect fit.

CRC says...

I'm just between meetings in the friendly town of Roswell, NM. In an hour, I will be hooking up with an impressive young man that teaches filmmaking in town. We're getting together at the Cattle Baron and, from what I've heard, I'm really looking forward to having a New York cut Pittsburg style. More on this later...

We got up early this morning and headed up to Santa Fe to meet with the Governor's main man Mr. Eric Witt and the honorable Speaker of the House Mr. Ben Lujan. I felt both meetings were successful and was told that PAH would get the blessings from the state. We will work out what sort of blessings later, but blessings are always good. I then broke the law speeding to Roswell to meet the honorable Mayor of Roswell Bill Owen. We covered 171 miles in a couple hours. It's not easy to have a meeting after a long, very fast drive, but I always feel at ease with the people of Roswell. They are very friendly and hospitable and Mayor Owen perfectly personifies this. He invited me on a special 4-day motorcycle ride in May. If I can, I would be delighted to join him. What I like about Roswell, and I'm sure I will find this to be true in the other counties that are not in either the Santa Fe or Albuquerque circle, is that they totally get PAH's big picture. Using this pro-consumer HD technology doesn't just empower individuals but whole communities as well. I have to tell you lately the stuff that really rings true for me is helping people like Mr. Aarne (the retired construction worker from New Jersey) share his story, bringing HD Art to everyday people in Wal-Mart, helping an Art School make an experimental HD lab for its students, helping filmmakers make short digital films at the Duke City Shootout and being able to confidently and articulately spread the word of PAH-- all of these achievements fill me with the greatest sense of well-being and pride that I have never felt before. I need to thank my dear business partner, Elyse Meredith, for backing me so I can achieve what I consider to be so important...bringing people together.

Thank you, Elyse.

Love

CRC

CRC says...

The only kind of dignity which is genuine is that which is not diminished by the indifference of others.

--Dag Hammarskjold

Your service and sacrifice always make me remember Abraham Lincoln's great words:

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . . we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . . that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth.

Thomas brothers hosted a beautiful evening at their El Pinto restaurant. This is the same great restaurant where Biker Chef cooked his final meal for all the wonderful people he met in New Mexico.


This was the first evening that Nick and I really talked about the importance of PAH and how in the long run it will be beneficial to everyone in the state. We tried out our Coppola/Paine one two punch. I talked about how the State of New Mexico has nothing to lose by completely embracing the digital arena. I talked about the importance of immediate global grassroots art and storytelling through broadband, cell phones, podcasting and other technologies on the verge of being developed. It's a brave new world, but, to me, a very positive one. People all over the world can share their art and stories through this digital arena. The more people of different lands and cultures communicate the better off we all are. And so on and so on. I then left the table to pay my bar tab. This was Mr. Paine's cue to get into the nuts and bolts of PAH. How it works and why. He discussed the digital pro-consumer methods that EARSXXI/PLASTERCITY uses at 6500 Sunset Blvd. Seed money will need to be raised to build PAH, but PAH will save money and make money in the long run. And so on and so on. We got back to the pad late. BIC took some snap shots early this morning.

CRC says...




BC & BC AT THE BLACK CAT IN SELIGMAN, ARIZONA


MR. SLIPERY AS BIKER CHEF'S FOOD SCIENTIST

Today is the first day of the EARSXXI P.A.H. campaign. Mr. Paine is already hard at work in Santa Fe, NM. I'm packing up and moving out to the Land of Enchantment. With the success of Southwest Airlines (a truly great airline), I'm thinking of changing Project Alternative Hollywood to Peoples Alternative Hollywood. People take care of stuff that they feel truly represents them and gives back to them. That's what PAH is all about. So, stay tuned for all of my wild adventures as I hit the Road to PAH.

A homeless man came up to me today and told me I was bald. I think that must be a good omen. I mean it's pretty obvious that I'm bald, right? I've been shaving my head for years now. You see, I can't stand the horseshoe look or dust balls growing on top. It's always best to clean up shop. Shaving my head has become a very important ritual for me. I like to slowly wipe water droplets off my head a la Marlon Brando in "Apocalypse Now" or Takashi Shimura in "Seventh Samurai". It doesn't get much cooler than that, my friends.



Also, I received an e-mail with a photo attached from someone I can't remember. I'm trying to figure out what I was working on and who it was that took the photo. It might have been an America's Most Wanted. I think the photo must be over 10 years old, because I'm using a Bolex. I'm strictly digital now, no film. One things for sure, I was very bald back then too.

There were two people in his life who Genghis Khan held in fear and awe,
his mother, and his wife Borte.
Women were powerful figures among the Mongols, and he regularly
consulted with them even on military matters.

Mr. Slipery and Biker Chef helped out at The Caribbean Celebrity Waiters Night which benefits the New Mexico Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Our Abbott & Costello routine helped to pull in a 1000 bucks for the cause. We'd like to thank the dignified guests at our table for the generous tipping.

CRC says...

I can't sleep. My brain has been simultaneously playing Chess, Risk and Go all night. The Diplomat, The Gangster, and The Healer were having the most heated discussion. Oh, to be able turn off one's brain is such a blessing. I almost left the house to take a motorcycle ride to force my brain to shut off. I've recently been accused of living in a fantasy world. Actually, I'm okay with that. I do believe fantasy & reality, tragedy & comedy, extraordinary & ordinary, the macro & the micro and the tiger & the ox are all intertwined. I guess my biggest fear is the various ramifications of what the statement can also mean. Do I not always practice what I preach, am I superficial, am I selling out...even worse, am I a quack or hypocrite? Even worse yet, am I addicted to myself? (pause) I just remembered his kind face. A man who fought in a tank during World War II. "Just Be Who You Are...Just Be". Suddenly, everything just turned off. My heart is not racing. I think I can now get a couple of hours of sleep.

CRC says...