But films like "Mall Cop" could succeed in any financial climate, said Jeanine Basinger, a film historian and chairwoman of the film studies department at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

CNN: Will the recession change movies?

He is torn, understandably, between the two women, yet the tearing goes on much too long, and the film mislays, in almost every department, the quick, insubordinate wit of its hero.

NEWYORKER: Nowhere Boy

"The franchises and tent poles that each studio has are just out there to make money, " opines Jonathan Kuntz, a film historian at the University of California Los Angeles' department of film, TV and digital media.

FORBES: Hollywood's Best-Paid Stars

In a statement, the economic development department said it was pleased the public accounts committee was keen to support the film industry in Jersey.

BBC: Deputy Tracey Vallois

Somsak, the administration chief of the Krabi province, started legal action against Fox, the forestry department and Thailand's agriculture minister over the decision to give Fox a licence to film there.

BBC: DiCaprio's Beach closes

The department's varied landscape has made it a favorite for film producers from Europe and North America, and no less than 57 made-in-Narino films were shown.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A very different face of Colombia

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue concluded in 2008 that each dollar of state tax revenue lost because of the film tax credit returned less than 69 cents to residents.

FORBES: Strapped States Go Hollywood On You, The Taxpayer

The web's links now encompass computer-science technical reports, folk-song lyrics, economic statistics from America's Department of Commerce, tarot cards, satellite weather photographs, film reviews, legal databases, the Bible, library catalogues, literary magazines and more.

ECONOMIST: From the archive