Posted 2:37 PM by Gene

In a state-of-the-industry report released in Washington Tuesday, the Motion Picture Association of America said that movie and TV businesses were responsible for contributing $60.46 billion!!!!! to the country's economy and that they were responsible for generating 1.3 million jobs!!!!! in 2005. Speaking to an MPAA symposium, MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman!!!!! said, "The creative output of the American motion picture and television industry is widely appreciated around the world, yet its contribution to the nation's economy is seldom recognized. This report ... confirms the importance of filmed entertainment production to America's economy!!!!!!!!!!" [Obvious copy-from-a-press-release overemphasis added!!!!!!!!!!]

That's 0.485 PERCENT of our 2005 GDP, and 0.9 PERCENT of our January, 2007 workforce (and that figure probably includes the Reverse Robin Hoods and a lot of customer-service types and technicians in the CABLE CONSPIRACY, not to mention the teenage slobs, er, ushers who let the floors of the popcorn restaurants accrete with Coke). You're not THAT important, SAMMY GLICKMAN -- except for the way you can HECTOR US.