Barry Willis

The picture is improving for cable giants <A HREF="http://www.cablevision.com">Cablevision</A> and <A HREF="http://www.comcast.com">Comcast</A>. Both are enjoying increased revenue and profitability, according to figures released recently.

Ongoing financial losses to the Indian film industry from widespread video piracy provoked a one-day strike last week in the city of Bombay. On Tuesday, August 14, about 5000 people---including actors, producers, directors, and technical workers---streamed into the city's business district in a protest march from the suburb of Bandra. The strike was led by the Film Makers Combine, an industry association that called on the Indian government to step up enforcement of copyright laws.

The completion of two more films will close the books on a long-running partnership between Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Company. On Thursday, January 29 Pixar announced that it had abruptly ended discussions with Disney and would not renew its distribution agreement when it expires in 2005.

The upswell in the popularity of DVD, and its low cost per disc, would seem to be a good thing for all concerned&mdash;movie fans, video stores, and film studios. But the very aspects of the new format that are making it grow so huge so fast may cause permanent changes in the business of video rentals and sales, especially for the studios.