@LouisIngenthron @carlmalamud every still-under-copyright film is a monopoly of the licensor, who apparently earns more (likely over a large portfolio) from pricing restrictively and charging the occasional taker a lot than by licensing cheaply to attract all who might be interested. there’s option value in hoarding something someone might come to desperately want, and you get to be a playah. the deep public interest in comprehensive access to our own culture only encourages them to hold out.