It's 1996 and the world has had its first taste of so-called New Media, which, if one chose to listen to some of Hollywood, might already be called, "Old Media." But frankly, what we have witnessed is the first round of a championship bout between the Hollywood as it exists today and the industry of the future. Here is a copy of the latest "fight card" with descriptions of the blow-by-blow accounts.

Toy Story. © Disney Enterprises

To The Future and Beyond!
As everyone who saw the feature length, computer animated Toy Story knew, this type of entertainment is exciting, novel and fun to watch and probably presents a serious threat to the status quo. Will it replace fine, Disney-style animation in the long run? Probably not. Why? Kids don't care what they watch. The parents do, and every holiday season, they will take their young'uns to see whatever it is that is served up hot and fresh--unless they were burnt in the past by a company which served up too much hype in advance of a mediocre product, such as The Pagemaster.

When Pixar sold Toy Story to Disney lock, stock and barrel, with no hope of receiving any backend participation (or so the story goes), the company knew it was giving away a tremendous product at a god awful price; but it also knew that using Toy Story as a loss leader could generate the name recognition, public support and credibility to allow them to make another feature.

However, just when it looked like Pixar was on the ropes, the company and its well deserving creators scored a knockout with a well received public stock offering. Thank you public. Thank you Disney. Thank you Buzz Lightyear!

3D or Not 3D, That is the Question
Every year they trot out a couple of 40 year old plus professional boxers and these palookas go at it like they were fresh out of high school. Sure they are over the hill. Sure we feel bad for them. But, boy, they make lots of money and sure are fun to watch!

Many people regard Hollywood studios as aging dinosaurs looking for a place to fall down, kept alive by clinching their younger and less experienced opponents until the latter give up the ghost, or until they consent to be permanent sparring partners. On the other hand, computer animation companies, such as RGA, Digital Domain, Metrolight, or Dream Quest Images, which are considered part of the genre of New Media, have all grown up in a hurry as a result of the hard and frequent beatings each have been forced to endure from these pugs with horseshoes in their gloves.

The main problem which these animation companies face is that they have not acquired or established an ownership interest in the product which they produce. The fiercely competitive marketplace has forced them to cut their fees to the bare bones merely to survive.