According to Fox.com President Obama has been very critical of Las Vegas suggesting that Americans need to " tighten up the belt" and watch spending in these economic times. He suggests that Americans need to re-think how to spend their " vacation money or college money". All very valid points in this economic time and with all the outrageous spending in the government I would be inclined to agree. I do have to ask the question why and how does the President think regular Americans need to watch their spending? How about being critical of Hollywood. I was doing some research on the new movie Avatar and how much it actually cost to make because I have heard anywhere from 230 million to 500 million. According to Rebecca Keegan of Vanity Fair she thinks its right around 280 million just for production and not including marketing costs. The marketing costs may topple 150 million. Excessive spending? Why not look at Hollywood? Is it because Hollywood bigwigs contribute to both parties? Or is it because its a form of entertainment that helps people forget about the economy and all the troubles that surround it. Same thing with Vegas, people need something or somewhere to get away from it all. The President has no credibility when it comes to telling Americans how to spend their money because he sure is good at spending our money for us. He should try and gain credibility inside the Congress and Senate and reevaluate the spending that is going on there. Its time to " tighten up the belt" inside Government spending.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/03/obama-backs-anti-vegas-remarks/
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/12/how-much-did-avatar-really-cost.html
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I feel like individuals from Las Vegas have gone on the defensive and taken Obama's comments out of context. I don't think he was trying to bash the city and say it is bad for any American to go there ever, under any circumstances. Rather, he pointed out that it isn't a fiscally wise decision to spend money on a vacation - anywhere - when you are trying to save for college tuition. Perhaps he would have been better suited just saying "vacations" than giving an example such as Vegas. I imagine some people are easily influenced by Obama and his every word, but I highly doubt Vegas will truly lose all it's luster from this comment. The "slow learners" in this situation are those that take things out of context and fail to see the big picture and underlying message.
ReplyDeleteYou can be critical of Hollywood all you want... They spend excessive amounts of money on films, such as Avatar. However, there is a blaring difference between and Hollywood bigwigs spending money and the "average Joe" going to buy a boat when he can't pay his mortgage (an example Obama gave in the Fox News article).
Movies - especially big pictures with the hype that Avatar has gotten - make money. The return on investment is huge compared to to buying a boat and risking losing your home and eventually going broke.
Production companies, private investors, and James Cameron - who together footed the bill for Avatar - are DOUBLING their investment with Avatar. Sure they spent a crap ton of dollars in an economy that isn't thriving and as stable as it has been in the past, but big pictures make money. They made a smart investment and it paid off.
Maybe if the movie would have been a huge flop 20th Century Fox, Cameron, and the investors would be scrutinized more.