DISNEY'S DVD PROPOSAL ANGERS THEATER OWNERS

I think it's a swell idea!

"The tension in Hollywood over declining box office receipts heated up Thursday as the head of the trade organization for movie theaters accused the chairman of the Walt Disney Co., Robert A. Iger, of leveling a 'death threat' against his industry, the NYT reports on Friday.


The trade official, John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, was responding to a statement by Iger to Wall Street analysts earlier this month that movie studios need to accommodate changing consumer demand by releasing films simultaneously in theaters and on DVD.

'Simultaneous release would seriously damage the theater industry,' Fithian said in an interview, referring to the prospect as a 'death threat to our industry.'

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