‘Futures’ trading on Hollywood movies. Good idea?
November 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under sales commissions definition
Here are two definitions:
1. “A market for professional traders to make financial bets on how well a new movie will do in ticket sales.”
2. “A futures market linked to the box-office performance of Hollywood films.”
(Its proposals are going through the US Commodities Futures Trade Commission (the same commission that regulates pork bellies, etc.)
“Film Futures Market Approved Over Studio Objections”, By Todd Shields; April 16, 2010 (Bloomberg)
[two excerpts]:
1. “Professionals would use the market to hedge risk to movie investments from “catastrophic events such as the World Trade Center bombing, to climate events such as severe snow storms,” the company said. It said its initial offerings would be based on domestic box office sales in a film’s opening weekend.
Media Derivatives [the company] told the commission its proposed market could transfer financial risk from producers, studios and theaters to “a community of speculators willing to assume these risks” in return for being paid a premium.”
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2. “A kernel of wheat is a kernel of wheat,” said Peterson, whose committee oversees the CFTC. “Movies are very subjective.”
To me, it sounds like the next generation of Enron – a shell game with extremely easy ways for manipulation (for one, think of intentional good/bad word-of-mouth), that does nothing other than shuffle millions of dollars for the sole purpose being that it can.
How do you see it?
(see if 4/16 Bloomberg link works here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=agDfa26Qhpuk
Ta da… it did work!
Here’s today’s updated article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ap1vTQy3YiV4
Most movies aren’t made with artistic creativity as it is, and it will only get worse.
I see it exactly the way you do. I think it will be open to all kinds of fraud as well, including insider trading, and not only that, but it takes the power away from the distributors. Once the distributors are out of the decision-making game, it will make it harder than it already is to get a film project financed.
Your gut instinct is right.
Get a good insight, Watch the interview with Aaron Russo on http://www.knowthelies.com/?q=node/4700. It will put it all together, he was once part of the NWO
Why not? I wouldn’t invest in such a risky venture, but if it’s available for those who are fool enough to try it, then so be it.
I saw this in the paper and thought it was a joke until I read it. I guess all we will get now is big name stars in big blockbuster movies. Whatever happened to real art. Movies are fighting the same loss of artistic integrity as music.