By Amelia Mularz
"Dahling, don't forget the opera glasses, and do put on a tie. If we're going to watch Will Smith battle zombie ex-presidents for control of the White House, we need to look quite fetching."
This is the future, according to George Lucas. No, not a zombie apocalypse led by Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon (though we'd love to see what that'd look like), but a future where going to the movies will be comparable to going to the opera or a Broadway show. It's a dark, dark future where a ticket to the big summer blockbuster could cost you $50, $100, maybe even $150.
Says who? Says George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, that's who. During a panel discussion at USC's School for Cinematic Arts earlier this week, both filmmakers predicted a meltdown in the movie industry...an IMPLOSION even. They say the trend toward big budget flicks like "Iron Man" will eventually squeeze out smaller, more narrative-driven features. We'll have to watch those at home, and going to the movies will be reserved for action and special effects. There will be fewer, larger theaters with luxe amenities and inflated admission. The hypothetical Will Smith presidential zombie flick might play for a year, just like a Broadway musical.
What Spielberg and Lucas failed to mention, is how this will affect our love lives. Dinner and a movie? Not at that price. Making out in the back row? May as well just get a hotel room. A night at the movies will become a landmark experience in a relationship. I think it's pretty serious. He's taking me to see a Vin Diesel film.
