The End of Film as We Know It…Again?

Ever since the arrival of sound, people have been predicting the end of film as we know it. The latest to sound the alarm are Steven Spielberg and George Lucas who, last month, predicted the meltdown of the movie industry in the not too distant future…a future in which only mega-budgeted blockbusters will make it into mainstream theaters, while smaller independent films will be distributed mostly via cable and streaming. Is it apocalypse now, or the natural evolution of cinema? Steve Head, David Kleiler and Dan Kimmel weigh in on the impending catastrophe and ask, have we been down this road before?