Long ago in a galaxy far, far away….. That is how the whole thing started, back in the 1970’s before many of its rabid fans were even born. A movie dynasty came at us from outer-space that grabbed the planet like nothing before it and nothing since. Now for the first time in

by Sam Hendrix, Independent Writer

The holiday season has, in the past, always been a time when box office numbers hit sky high with the string of “Oscar worthy” movies that hit mainstream theaters but this year has seen lower numbers than 2006.

Bringing in $8.7 billion since January 1^{st, this figure is down 0.9% from the year-to-date totals in 2006 of $9.2 billion (www.boxofficemojo.com). Not since the 6.1% decrease from 2004-2005 has the movie industry lost money from the year before. This has many movie goers questioning what exactly has caused this decrease of box office intake. Some blame the high price of gas; others say tickets cost too much; many blame the lack of interest in Hollywood movies. All are valid points when considering the possibilities of the financial downfall of the movie industry this year. With gas so high as well as ticket prices, this limits the frequency of attending movies by the regular audience. A result of the peak of gas prices is the increase of most essential items such as food and other living necessities. This has scraped the pockets of audiences across the nation directly contributing to the less money available for entertainment purposes. (Full story)}

by Bob Shultz, Independent Writer

A long time ago, in a time not so far away… there existed a Holiday TV special that the makers were sure would be as popular as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Perhaps, it would even be bigger then Charlie Brown and his anemic Christmas tree. It had adventure; it had music, wild colors, and it had a cast that was loved the world over.

It was to be a sure fire hit; a slam-dunk for years to come. An epic of “appointment Television” that fans and advertisers alike would swoon to year after year. (Full story)

My original thought for this issue was to do a top 10 list of favorite Christmas Movies. Go online, talk to a few friends and throw something together. Then, the more I thought about it, I realized our twisted readers would probably more appreciate a worst list.

The internet is such a great tool for this kind of stuff. I thought maybe I’d try to find ten top ten lists and compile the numbers to come up with the Mother of all Lists. Make a comment or two on each one, and it’s on to the eggnog. One problem, every list is completely different. When you leave out the Christmas aspect, the lists are fairly consistent. You’ve got your “Citizen Kane”, “Raging Bull”, etc. etc. Apparently it’s when you add Christmas to the mix that everything gets all screwy. (Full story)