Industry Innovations, Funding Entertainment, and Controversial Theater Snacks: Questions From One Moore Hollywood Podcast’s Listeners

In the most recent episode of One Moore Hollywood Podcast, we find the hosts, Chris Moore, Katie Marpe, and Dennis De Nobile, answering questions straight from their listeners. 

Sourced from friends, family, and OMHP's official email account, these questions explore various innovations within the industry, the source of entertainment funding, and our hosts' favorite (and potentially controversial) theater snacks. 

What are your predictions on the biggest innovations in movie making/viewing that we'll see in the next ten years?

Marpe gives us a little film history lesson to provide context for this question, harkening back to the 1950s and ‘60s, when television's popularity grew rapidly enough that the movie business got nervous, pushing them to brainstorm innovations to make theater-viewing a more unique experience. 

The inventions developed to coax people out of their homes and back into the theaters included 3D, Cinerama, widescreen, and technicolor. Another significant change was to relax the Motion Picture Production Code guidelines, an attempt to differentiate movies from home television, allowing films to be less family-oriented and showcase more mature content.

Regarding the innovations we might see unfold over the next ten years, our hosts wonder about the continuation of 3D filming and the incorporation of bonus content into the film viewing experience, akin to the lost art of DVD extras. There's also a growing popularity of theaters that curate themed nights for specific films with dinners and drinks, a type of event programming discussed on the podcast several episodes ago. 

But according to Moore, unless new technology emerges that elevates the viewing experience significantly (think holograms or virtual reality for the masses), the innovation question is a tough one to answer right now, especially with studios choosing to continue lazily pouring more and more money into their blockbuster hits.

"My point in bringing up history is that they didn't know what would stick… we're going to look back on all of this and see what stuck."

–Katie Marpe

It's interesting to think about what innovations might emerge from the current panic within the film industry, Marpe muses. This time, of course, the alarm revolves around the popularity of streaming rather than television. The similarities beyond that initial difference are striking, as the industry is again trying to figure out how to get people back into theaters. As it is, the innovations of the '60s, while considered gimmicks at the time, have almost all stood the test of time and are still widely implemented today. 

It makes you wonder what we might see stick around from this era.

Where does the money come from?

The biggest issue in the entertainment industry boils down to this exact question. Where does the money come from?

Ultimately, Moore says, the money comes from the customer. The audience funds their own entertainment industry through what they pay for streaming subscriptions, movie tickets, cable packages, DVD purchases, and digital movie rentals. 

However, as Moore clarifies, this industry functions throughout periods in which the movie-makers collect money from the audience to pay back what they put into their films and earn a profit. Similarly to how most people can't buy a house outright, instead having to pay for it over the years in the form of a mortgage with interest, so do these giant film companies, borrowing millions from banks to fund their films until they can pay them back.

"It's a complicated thing about where the money comes from, and right now, there's a lot of assumptions from the bankers from the investors and the companies that aren't panning out."

–Chris Moore

In the past, the film industry has been a lucrative and predictable business, so the banks haven't had a problem making their money back. Nowadays, it's a different story, leading industry giants to try and figure out how to make more money from the customers, resulting in increased costs for everything related to entertainment. 

What are each of your favorite snacks to get at the movie theater?

Marpe's chosen theater snack is a classic: medium popcorn with lots of butter. Layered butter, of course.

De Nobile goes for Reese's Pieces, while Moore chooses a trifecta with a twist: M&M peanuts, milk duds, and popcorn…all together. The ratio is specific–not too much chocolate mixed in with the salty popcorn, but just enough to get the best of each world. 

Marpe and De Nobile remain skeptical of the combination, but this may be a movie theater innovation for the ages. We’ll find out in approximately fifty years.

 Listen to the entire episode here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iHeartRadio.