Screenwriting for Profit

Chapter 6Historical Context of the Recent Evolution of Media Gives Writers Perspective

The old cliché of “everyone gets fifteen minutes of fame” has been reduced to “fifteen seconds of fame” or even to the shorter length of a viral video. A few years ago, the end of an age occurred. After years of struggling with the incursion of digital platforms and emerging media, Blockbuster finally announced that it was closing all of its physical stores. During the heyday of home video cassette and DVD entertainment, with 4,500–5,000 stores at their largest point, Blockbuster paid more money for movies to studios than any company on the globe: more than any television broadcaster and more than any theatrical exhibitor. With thousands and thousands of DVDs ...