Eugene David<br>...The One-Minute Pundit

Posted 8:17 AM by Gene

Another Hollywood flack searches desperately for a way to save his beloved movie biz -- and can't find one.

As Nietzsche once wrote, "that which does not kill us makes us stronger"....

We know, we KNOW, your CORPSE refuses to DIE.

"Movies that fail fall on their faces. They don't just stumble on their knees," says Nina Jacobson, Disney's production chief. "We have to win back the trust of the audience that moviegoing is going to be worth the money, time and energy it takes to experience it."

Here's another well-paid jackass who believes watching a movie should be WORK.

"When I first started the job three years ago, everybody asked me what my intention for the studio was," says Jeff Robinov, Warners' production president. "And it's really about filmmakers and writers." Yet trust those same people too much and you end up with ... Sony's "Bewitched."

Isn't it always? It isn't about the moviegoers.

The next generation of movie fans may avoid the multiplex and take in the latest releases on their iPods, wi-fi laptops, Xboxes or Bluetooth cellphones, devices that often can provide a better entertainment value than many movie theaters.

I'd gladly watch Gone with the Wind on a cellphone.

And here's Moronna Dargis's MOVIE OF THE YEAR:

Miramax's "Best of Youth," among the year's best-reviewed movies, nearly required moviegoers to take a day off: It ran over six hours and grossed just $274,000.

Not long enough.

[I]t's fair to wonder if such 2006 movies as "Poseidon," "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction," "The Omen 666" and "The Santa Clause 3" are part of the solution ... or part of the problem.

Any industry run by DR. EVIL and SAMMY GLICKMAN...never mind.

And now, our sacred industry's NEW MOTTO:

"Next time, I'll wait for the DVD."

You may not have to.