This week all of the movie executives are meeting in Vegas, partying, golfing and toasting each other on their box office success at the annual Movie Theater Owners event ShoWest. I was planning on attending but at the last minute real life interfered. This week I was able to catch up with Paul Dergarabedian the box office analyst at of one of the first film sites on the web Hollywood.com (although we did beat them to the punch a few years earlier, they’ve always had money and a great domain – man if I could turn back the clock). The interview we talked a bit about the history of Hollywood.com, where the film industry is and other stuff. Check out the interview, it’s good.
EM
Can you start by telling us a little bit about your role at Hollywood.com?
PD
I track and analyze of box-office data and trends as well as publishing a new blog called Hollywood on the Run (http://ontherun.hollywood.com/). The blog includes my musings on entertainment trends and also original video content that I produce myself.
EM
Hollywood.com has changed over the years, some of the changes were good others bad. What would you say Hollywood.com’s focus is now?
PD
As one of the lucky few to be considered part of the “original” online movie sites, Hollywood.com has evolved significantly over the years with our audience. Because “movie” is interchangeable with “Hollywood,” we’re dedicated to the lifestyle of movie lovers. In October, we unveiled a major site redesign focused on super-serving the ultimate movie fan and since then, we’ve been continuously enhancing our site with more features like enhanced community, more video and smart commentary. Whether you are in Kansas City or New York City, Hollywood is for everyone and we’re here to share the experience.
EM
How do you separate the site from the thousands of other movie and entertainment sites?
PD
Hollywood.com has always stayed true to our movie focus. We still cover topics like TV, music, popular culture, etc., but it’s all about entertainment through the movie lens. We also understand our distinct market position which is why we aren’t trying to be a generic entertainment portal or database like some of our competitors. Similarly, we aren’t focused on the paparazzi, salacious slant like some of the celebrity blogs or video sites. Hollywood.com doesn’t claim to break every entertainment news story but we guarantee that we’ll filter and cover news with our own fun, snarky spin for the movie insider.
EM
It seems like lately there’s been a theme going in Hollywood, a few years ago it was the Summer of Trilogies, last year was the year of the Superhero, what is the overriding theme this year?
PD
Major movie-going in the time of recession. 3-D is also a huge trend with 15 features set for release this year and more on the way. One need only look at the performance of “Monsters Vs. Aliens” to see how important this technology is to the future of the movie biz.
EM
The movie going experience has gotten worse over the years and with home theater systems now at an affordable price, what is the incentive for people to put up with bad audiences, bad projectors, etc. When you can have a pristine experience in the home?
PD
There is simply no substitute for a 50 screen and the communal experience of going to a movie theatre. Despite the many pitfalls of the theatrical movie going experience it is one that has stood the test of time and with revenues up 12 percent over last year, it seems that despite home theatre and other competing entertainment options, folks still love to go out to the movies. {Editor’s note – The communal experience is overrated, especially when the community is made up of rude, inconsiderate, jerks}
EM
ShoWest 2009 is happening now, what are the main themes for this year’s show?
PD
I just got here, but I think the key focus will be on the upgrade of all theatres to digital projection. Also, lots of talk about the fact the attendance is up 10 percent at theatres despite this rough economy.
EM
In this down economy it seems like the film industry is rolling on like gangbusters, why do you think this is?
PD
Movies offer solace and escape from the daily grind; in this economy 10 bucks for two hours of entertainment is the cheapest form of therapy out there. At this price point it remains a guilt free pleasure and that holds a lot of value right now.
EM
What is going on with the SAG Strike and do you think it’ll happen?
PD
Luckily the theatrical side is a very slow moving beast. Only a long term strike would affect movie output in a way that could put a crimp in the product pipeline. However, no product means no box-office so we certainly would not want to see a long term strike.