So much on the Internet appears to be free. What do you tell people who think there's no harm done?
The product doesn't make itself. You only have to sit around until the end — the credits sometimes take as long as the movie! Those are hardworking people; the average salary is about $55,000 a year; 90% of the jobs are blue collar, from that person selling popcorn to that truck driver, that makeup artist.
We bring back more money to the United States than aerospace, automobiles or agriculture. [But] it isn't just economics. It's an accessible, democratic form of culture, and people need to understand how critical this is.
“The Hurt Locker” is a great example of a great film about an important issue. By the time that film went to DVD, it had been stolen so many times it was a money-loser, despite having won the Academy Award. [You can't] get people to invest in the “Hurt Lockers” of the future [if] you can't get back the investment you make.
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