Hollywood values out of touch, poll says

Movie fans believe Hollywood's values are not in line with the rest of America and that the quality of movies has dimished in recent years, according to the results of an MSNBC.com/Zogby International poll.

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During the week leading up to the 78th Annual Academy Awards, MSNBC.com and Zogby polled more than 17,000 readers about the Oscars and the movies. The results were released Tuesday.

When asked if they thought Hollywood values were at odds with those of most of America, 60 percent agreed. When asked if they though the success of such gay-themed films such as “Brokeback Mountain,” “Transamerica” and “Capote” (all Oscar nominees) reflected Hollywood's values or the growing acceptance of alternative lifestyles, respondents were fairly evenly split (50 percent thought it reflected Hollywood's values, 44 percent thought it reflected changing attitudes). When asked if they thought “Brokeback Mountain's” mainstream success was a positive or negative trend, again they were split (43 percent positive, 42 percent negative).

When asked if they would go to see a movie that had been critically praised which had a message or values they did not agree with, 56 percent said they would not go to see it.

Respondents also were overwhelmingly negative about the movies coming out of Hollywood in recent years. Sixty-four percent believe the quality of movies has declined in the past 10 years and 38 percent said their favorite movie of all time was released between 1980-2000.

When it came to picking a movie to go see, word of mouth was the chief deciding factor (49 percent). Trailers (25 percent) and movie reviews (38 percent) had little influence on their decision to see a movie.

Respondents also say they would rather watch a movie on DVD than go to the theater. When given the choice of watching a newly released movie on DVD or at the theater, 44 percent would prefer DVD to the cineplex (30 percent).

As for the Oscars themselves, 51 percent indicated that they would not watch the March 5 show even though most (55 percent) described themselves as regular watchers who paid attention to the nominations (66 percent). The Nielsen ratings for the Oscars reflected a similar downturn with viewership down 8 percent from last year.