APR Financing (Subtitled - Going to the Movies)

Any one out there been to a movie theater lately? Apparently you have, since the latest results have the average Hollywood production bringing in about $30 million a week.

Last week, I broke down and went to "Munich", the Steven Speilberg story of what the Israeli government did after the tragic events of the 1972 Summer Olympics. I took my teenage son, because I thought it would be good for him to learn about something from over 30 years ago that we are still very much living with the consequences of today. I was impressed with the film, although it's difficult to not be impressed with anything done by Mr Speilberg.

What I wanted to talk about was the beginning. Not the beginning of the film, rather the beginning of my descent towards becoming a statistical part of the national poor. If it wasn't the $8.50 per ticket price that floored me, the purchase of 2 sodas and a large popcorn had my son dialing 9-1-1 on my cell because he was terrified that his dad had just had a cerebral hemorrhage when the clerk said, "That will be 18 dollars and 75 cents, sir." I had no earthly idea the lesson my son was really going to learn stemmed from my rant about how 30 years ago 4 people could go to a movie, gorge themselves on every imaginable kind of junk food, and do it for less than or at least equal to - $10. It's a darn good thing the kid behind the corner called me "sir", because I was beginning to think I had been fleeced.

In between bouts of flinching, facial ticks, and the inability to stop stuttering, I asked the kid what the deal was with charging me in excess of 18 bucks for 33 cents worth of popcorn and a dollar worth of soda. He calmly explained to me that the money spent at the concessions was how the theater kept the electricity turned on and paid it's employees. Evidently the rest of the money goes to George Clooney. Okay, okay...it doesn't really go to Mr. Clooney, but the point is - every time you and I go to some boring, this-one-is-the-same-as-the-other-one film, the rich get richer...and the poor....well, you get the idea.

Meanwhile, these well-to-do Hollywood folks like Sean Penn (Sean, if you're reading this, please don't hunt me down and punch me. I promise I won't take your picture) are flying around the world, bad mouthing the very nation that makes them so stinking rich, while simultaneously asking for even more of our money to support one of their causes. Now I'm not an idiot, and I know the influence of Hollywood can do some extremely good things. The rallying by the Beverly Hills crowd helped raise billions in support of the Tsunami and Katrina victims, and I for one am thankful for that. But those billions came from us, you and I...not them.

You know what would make me even more impressed?

Seeing Woody Harrelson or Susan Sarandon on television writing a rather substantial check from their own account, with a follow on story to show all of us that the check was real and cleared the bank.

Theoretically if that were to happen, the next time I go to a movie I might even buy 2 boxes of popcorn.