"Over 100,000 books published in the US last year", possible direction of growth in the film industry

Just heard a conversation on NPR re: books & the publishing industry. The guest on the show said something like that there was "over 100,000 books published in the US last year". This made me think about the increase in indie film production following the DV Revolution, and the new distribution initiatives popping up this year ("Bubble"/Landmark/HDNet, IFC Films, Withoutabox, self-distro by various filmmakers) and how the US film release landscape may look in a couple of years. I guess Hollywood releases, theatrically and on DVD, also through cable/TV play, a few thousand movies a year at this point. With new individuals and companies engaging in indie film distribution, the number of films released in the US is bound to go up. In a few years the film scene could look like the book or music scene: with blockbusters or best-sellers, with pop stars, but also with relatively unknown indie bands with dedicated followings, with indie publishers putting a few thousand copies of a book out. Basically a more diverse field with more productivity, several thousand more films coming out each year. This is a very good thing, 'cause for decades many individuals and population groups were not served well by Hollywood or mainstream TV releases. Now there will be more choices, and more opportunities for work in filmmaking.

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