There's no business like show business

It's that time of year.  Oscar buzz is abounding at our house.  Once the nominees are announced the race is on to predict who will take home the golden statue.  This years race is particularly interesting, with the silent film "The Artist" up for 10 awards, including one for best picture.  If it wins, it will be the first silent movie to win top honors since the very first award was presented in 1929 for the picture "Wings".

"The Artist", follows the path of a silent film star who is not able to make the leap to the "talkies" in the late 1920's.  If an actor could not make the transition, his career would most likely be at an end.  The movie industry today is going through another major upheaval, with video streaming, bootleg copies of current films abounding, the industry is faced with similar challenges that it encountered when it had to accept that talking pictures were the future. 

So what is the future of movies?  A vast array of ideas come up (mainly technology related) including holograms, 3D.  Check out a PBS discussion on this topic.

According to a DataMonitor industry report (available through Marketline -an on-line database available at North York Central Library and Toronto Reference Library),  the global movies and entertainment market shrank by 1.1% in 2010.  The North American market accounts for 42% of the market value of this industry, and despite its shrinking market value, this industry still has a large number of buyers and investors, since it is such a major part of popular culture.   Sony Corporation is identified as the top player in the market.  Check out this source and other business databases available through the TPL website.

Want more information about the history of silent films?  Check out Silent Films, a website that will take you through some of the great silent movies of all time.  Want to read up on the history of film companies?  Check out a few titles available at the library:

       

   

Enjoy the awards ceremony on February 26th.  Guess which movie I will be rooting for!