Hey all, I just thought this was a very interesting article and wanted to share it with you. Recently, I was in Los Angeles and noticed how many different channels they have on basic cable...maybe 60% English speaking and 40% other languages. In my neck of the woods we have about 80% English and 20% other.

Anyway, this article is about "Bollywood" - which I'm starting to see more and more of in the news and entertainment world. I'd be interested to know what others think. My thoughts are that it will be huge in the coming few years because of the sheer amount of people - over a Billion people apparently spend $ on Bollywood entertainment because it's the only thing they've got available to entertain them.

Also, has anyone watched that "Sunday Morning Shoot-Out" show? They give a lot of facts and figures on that show. (The younger guy is annoying as Hell, but otherwise the show is good. The older guy is much more thoughtful and sincere. Both are industry veteran's though.) Anyway, they talk about internation markets in relation to films and it's very enlightening.

I've been writing a screenplay for over 4 years now that's based in WWII. (Over 4 years of research and 15 drafts...it's quite the story!) I think that the audience for larger thought provoking films is coming back. The international world seems to be tiring of American Pie, force-fed entertainment....they want romance, drama, dance and overall more value in their film experience. That's exciting to know!

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=410630&page=1

Bollywood taking over Hollywood? I don’t see it. First off, there needs to be major Indian actors over here in Hollywood first, secondly, a good amount of their stories are musicals, and I just don’t see musicals boxing out something like Star Wars Episode III. And finally, as many people as there are in India buying Boolywood fair, it’s still a poor third world nation.

Ever seen Asoka? While the musical numbers may seem a bit jarring to modern western audiences, they don't take away from a movie that's better than 90% of what Hollywood churns out.

And, of course, Bollywood's audience isn't just India any more than Hollywood's audience is just the US.

I think it's great! I enjoy Bollywood films. Despite whether you actually like the movies or not, the actors and productions are usually very high quality and show a great deal of talent.
Really I enjoy a lot of foreign films in general. Netflix has been a big help with that because you can find a decent selection of foreign films and be referred to others according to which ones you enjoy. There is a particular writer/director from Iran I enjoy named Abbas Kiarostami. If you have a chance to catch a few of his films, I recommend them. Not your typical movies, these actually have thought in place of CGI and loud noises and they are "stories" instead of strings of punch lines with an occasional special effect.
Anything to escape the incessant product placements, advertising and reality TV!

Well Bollywood is nothing new - they've been churning out movies, good and bad for many years now. There's really no question of Bollywood and Hollywood somehow conflicting or going up against one another or anything like that. They're just two very different entities, from very different nations, appealing to very different cultures that sometimes overlap.

I grew up with a lot of Bollywood movies, and I can tell you, they've been ripping off Hollywood movies and music for years! And on occasion, they spit out a film that is just phenomenal. Even more so now than in the past, but nevertheless, there's no vs. thing going on there.

I have heard, though, that Bollywood spits out more movies than Hollywood consistently every year. And they're probably the most bootlegged films that you'll find anywhere - which gives you an idea of how much they are watched, by Indians, Pakistanis and other South Asians around the globe.

Hey, I'm watching The Kumars at #42 on BBCA for the first time. It's hilarious. Outrageously funny.

<<<-- Originally posted by Robert Crawford : Ever seen Asoka?...a movie that's better than 90% of what Hollywood churns out... -->>>

That could be said of a huge number of films made outside of the Hollywood system, inlcuding true American indies. It doesn't really mean much.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050429/film_nm/leisure_india_bollywood_dc