I went along to hear a working Hollywood writer/producer, Paul Margolis, give a talk in Brisbane on Tuesday.
And I was shocked when he said Blockbuster in the US was closing 1000 stores: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10353762-17.html
Margolis (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0546803/), who's been working in Hollywood for 30 years predicts the demise of video stores within five years.
I believe him. I kinda been expecting it for a while.
He compares it to newspapers. He quotes a belief that the USA will have only three newspapers in 10 years time.
The trade magazines Variety and The Hollywood Reporter announced last month the scrapping of hard copy prints.
They are publishing online only now.
Movie studios aren't green lighting projects just because there are big names like Brad Pitt or Steven Spielberg attached.
Now everyone's on an even playing ground.
He listed the obstacles writers face: self-doubt, writer's block, nervousness, rejection...
Like The Nothingness from Never Ending Story, these obstacles are afflicting whole new landscapes, whole industries ...
I don't hear business complaining about technological change destroying jobs in the same way as they complain about carbon trading schemes and programs to address climate change.
Technological change is inevitable while climate change is optional? I don't think so.
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