"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four screens,And I looked and behold: a pale horse.And his name, that sat on him, was Harvey Weinstein.And Hell followed with him." The man has come around. As foretold in the Book of Hollywood Babylon, the end times have come to tinsel town. The signs of this forthcoming cinematic apocalypse have been appearing for years now, but it's only recently that we've become aware of them. They're impossible to ignore at this point; you need only peruse the movie listings to see an industry that is starved of ideas, talent, and good sense. It's alpha and omega's kingdom come. You can see it, too, in the increasingly empty cinemas across the globe. From the drive-in theaters of the deserts to the strip mall multiplexes to inner city art houses, there is a noticeable lack of bums on seats. For the few who do venture from their homes, they make up the difference by paying hand over fist for food and drink before being subjected to half an hour of adverts before the trailers can even begin, let alone the feature presentation they already shelled out an extortionate price for. These are not the signs of a healthy, growing industry. They are the death rattle of a system which grew too big for its boots, and is in the process of collapsing flat on its face, bloodied by poor box office returns, scandal and streaming services that keep the film-viewing public at home, paying a set fee for the flicks they watch. Listen to these words long written down when the man comes around, and you'll understand that these were ten things that signalled the death of movies.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
