Why are they still building movie theaters?

Today's headline in my local news was that Deltona, Florida, is celebrating the opening of a new movie theater this weekend. Deltona is a bedroom community approximately halfway between Orlando and Daytona. It was built without a town center, shopping mall, or industrial park. I was happy to hear that its residents are celebrating the opening of a business that could provide entertainment for their own city.

But the larger question for me is why is anyone bulding a movie theater today? After all, can't we access just about any movie we want on line, or via cable, only a few weeks after it opens? Isn't it more convenient to see the film in the comfort of our own home, where we can eat our own reasonably priced food and pause the film when we want? For years experts have been predicting the death of movies. First, television was going to kill them, then cable TV, then home video stores, and then the internet. And yet, they are building new movie theatres in Deltona! And not just in Deltona, but probably in your town, too.

The fact that people are still building movie theatres demonstrates a fundamental truth about human nature: People enjoy some kinds of entertainment in groups more than they do as inviduals. Concerts are more fun (and cost more) than listening to CDs. It's more exciting to be at a live ballgame than to watch it on TV. And people still prefer to watch a good movie with strangers on a big screen than to watch it at home later. Current technology creates many more opportunities to consume content that even just a few years ago. It has not changed human nature.

Our ancestors revered story tellers who could enthrall them while they sat around their lonely campfires in the wilderness. We are still looking for great stories today, however they're told. The rewards for telling a great story remain great for the individuals that do. My blog has identified examples for you of authors who didn't give up on their stories, and achieved great success when their stories finally reached an audience. Don't you give up either. Keep developing your story and your content, no matter what form it's in. We can never have enough good stories. Someone's got to make the movies that they're showing in Deltona.