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Hollywood Has Disquiet On The Set
Hollywood is on the edge of a nervous breakdown1. Worried about an industry wide writers strike, struck by a series of theater-chain bankruptcies, burdened with unreasonable corporate profit, requirements and seemingly incapable of producing consistently2 creative movies, the American film industry is in an intensive period of soul-searching. There's little doubt it will survive this crisis. But most insiders agree there is disease at both ends of the business —where films are conceived, and where they're shown — that may take years to overcome.
While boasting annual box-office revenue increases for nine straight years, largely due to increased ticket prices, the number of actual tickets sold has declined for the second year in a row. The construction boom has added nearly 10, 000 theaters ( more than 200, 000 more seats) in the last five years. But due to a static audience base, eight major chains have gone into bankruptcy and several others are in dreadful financial straits.
In effect, insiders say, Hollywood is now in a business it does not want to be in. "There's general problem in that the companies that have the most consistent output of material are least interested in what they're making, "says former 20 th Century Fox CEO3 Bill. And, Bill adds,"We're in a period where movies are getting bigger and more costly and less interesting and fulfilling to an audience. "
Today the studios are under the stress to increase profit margins for their corporate parents, and profit margins are hard to control in a business whose products are seen as impulse buys. Other business can increase profits by cutting costs — buying cheaper material, or making the candy bar smaller4 . Not Hollywood.
"What we're cutting is risk, "says the head of one major studio, who asked not to be named,"And risk is what great film has always demanded. " While the studios are avoiding risky concepts, their rivals in the home entertainment business have been furiously expanding the boundaries of the imagination. It was this pressure — in electronic games, the Internet, EVDs — that forced the movie theater chains into a self-destructive frenzy of expansion.
Seduced by easy access to loans during the go-go5 economy of the mid to late 1990s, the chains plunged into debt in a feverish effort to be first on the block with the biggest 158 theatres. In five years, the number of U. S. screens expanded from 27, 000 to more than 37, 000 .
" It's going to take three or four years for the complete recovery of the business, "says Kurt Hall, president of the United Artists Theater Circuit."It will take that long to get the number of screens down to a healthy level. The closer we get to 30, 000 the better off we'll be. "
练习题：
Ⅰ. Complete the summary of the passage:
Hollywood is on the 1 of nervous breakdown. It was struck by theater-chain2 , burdened with 3 corporate profit, requirements, 4 of producing 5 creative movies. Most insiders allege that both ends of the business have disease. The annual box-office revenue increases because of the 6 ticket prices. The number of actual tickets sold has 7 for the second year in a row. In the last five years 8 theaters has set up. Given the limited audience base, eight major chains have gone 9 bankruptcy and several others are in 10 11 .
Ⅱ. Questions:
1. Why Hollywood is now in a business it does not want to be in?
2. Why the studio is under stress? In what way is it different from other business?
