Orogun01

Today I did the Harlem Shake

The main plot is bad but i find the side stories to be of great quality.

You forgot to mention the best part: Snarf is now mute.

I was referring to big companies rather than just a single one, meaning that the market is their playground and now with globalization and chain stores is hard for small business to compete against the big guys. Also IIRC some of those laws were re-appealed during the Bush administration which was considered to be one of the factors in the economic collapse. Nevertheless I would also question how much can these laws be enforced since companies have zero transparency, so they could hide very well their monopoly and we'd be none the wiser. Of course that's all speculative but my initial point stands big companies have made a fissure in microeconomies which has in turn lead to the decline of the middle class which was sustained by small businesses.

God, I hope people won't start making excuses for Castro when he dies. Saying that he wasn't that bad, or comparing him to some benevolent dictator, that would rub me the wrong way. Seems this thread has forgotten that the man was a dictator.

There are exceptions, but as a general rule most moviegoers are on their teenage years and dramatic films aren't exactly geared towards that audience. Also, you mentioned Brad Pitt who seems to be making less movies nowadays. I think that the Oscar buzz may give movies like Lincoln an edge in the box office, that said it was a hell of a good movie.

Dear God, your are wound up tight. You didn't have to take it serious.

Since Adam Sandler is now considered one of the most overpaid actors in Hollywood, I would say that you are a bad investor. Also, you seem to have the notion that star power is the same now as it was back in the 90's. Those dynamics seem to have changed.

I know a few Venezuelans that will be happy he died, I'll be sure to congratulate them next time I see them.

It is just a matter of proportion, the amount of money that they pay actors is grotesquely disproportionate to the amount of work that any living being would be able to do. That money comes from the studios cutting cost on on other sectors, so everyone from the rest of the cast to the crew takes less of the pie just so that actor John Doe can have his big piece. You could make a whole movie just from what they pay some of these actors, and if you ever take away the smoke and mirrors people will probably realize that a lot of them just aren't worth their paycheck. Also I would ask you to consider that most of the films that make it in the box office feature special effects or 3D, that's why there is a high demand to put out crap like "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" or "Hansel & Gretel".

Are you suggesting that the president should have a separate computer just to tweet? preposterous

They are replaceable, as most of the stars of major blockbusters lack talent and their only selling point is their perceived good looks you can easily take another would be actor. Plus in the utilitarian sense, they don't work more than the rest, its not worth to outsource a whole company's job just so they get more money than they can possibly need.

It's time they realize that blockbusters are made by special effects teams and not the ponces with six packs who star in them. No one should be paid millions to play dress up and pretend.

Good excuse as any to get drunk

But with the lack of a strong middle class and the magnitude of today's corporations it is unlikely that there's going to be that much competition. Plus due to the sheer size of of their enterprise big companies can buy out smaller ones or endure them. It would take a great number of small companies which are sustainable in order to bring down the profits of a mega corporation, with that many competitors in a zero sum game their slices of the pie get smaller and smaller. So i'm afraid that any industry that's being controlled by a conglomerate is going to continue to be controlled by a conglomerate.

Today I woke up, came to the forums and saw Walshingham's face all over the last posts. Are we a bit overactive?

There are people out there who have absolutely no problem with the publisers.If the majority of gamers refuse to buy the products, they have the power to do what they want.until that happens(and it's not going to happen) whatever power they have is dormant Meanwhile they bury some beloved franchises under a sea of banality. If a single game is bad because it tries too hard to be another; more successful, game then it is reasonable to believe that the fault lies with the developer. If every game released by a single publishing company is like this, then it's reasonable to believe that this is the publisher's direction that's affecting the games. Yes there are people with no problem with the publishers and without any real emotional investment on games as an industry or any desire for something more. Publishers are not doing any favors to the industry by trying to make it more like the bad habits of Hollywoood.

True. I think what they mean is that John McClane bleeds, he gets hurt. He is a tough guy, but he's still just a guy. In number four he was almost untouchable and made of steel and it doesn't look like he'll be any more vulnerable in the new one. A geriatric 50 something guy that is in constant live or die situation, yeah he's probably got enough steel implants to be bulletproof.

You mean the TES community that loves making waifu mods, nude meshes and textures and everything worse? Yeah, because the Elders Scrolls are going to go backtrack to their previous iterations.

Now you have two good motives to not fail.

As if the thing with Christopher Dorner wasn't enough like a movie he now escapes his cabin; while it was on fire, on horseback. http://laist.com/2013/02/12/possible_christopher_dorner_sighting.php

Can you elaborate what you mean by "control"?

He did a great job in "J.Edgar" edit: DiCaprio I mean

if you're going to break all ties with your current friends, please do so in a grandiose spectacular manner. By which I don't mean to call them all up to tell them what you always have thought of them, but rather something akin to secretly taking them to a gay bar to see a donkey show and continuously inviting them to S&M clubs until they stop speaking to you. That should relieve some of our boredom (your's included) and make some interesting stories to tell the children someday.