Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

A cinema goer uses his mobile phone to take a photograph of a film poster at Cinema Pamir in Kabul on May 4. Once a treasured luxury for the elite, Afghan cinemas are dilapidated and reflect an industry on the brink of collapse from conflict and financial neglect. Kabul's cinemas show Pakistani films in Pashto, American action films and Bollywood to rowdy, largely unemployed crowds in pursuit of any distraction from their drab surroundings.

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

Cinema goers watch a Pashto film at Pamir Cinema in Kabul on May 4.

Danish Siddiqui, a Reuters photographer, looks to local movie theaters to learn more about a city's personality and culture. Last year, he documented a popular "travelling cinema" making a stop in Ond, India. On the Reuters Photographers Blog, he writes about his recent time inside Kabul's theaters:

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

A projectionist rewinds a roll of film inside the projection room at Cinema Pamir in Kabul on May 3.

I believe that sometimes you learn about a city and its society from its local cinemas and the genre of films they choose to screen.

There are only half a dozen cinemas in the whole of Kabul. Most of the theaters like Cinema Park and Ariana Cinema were destroyed during the civil war and were later shut down by the Taliban who had banned, among other things, going to the movies. Now every theater has three films shown every day with the first one starting at 10a.m.

For me, it was a treat to be inside the cinemas and watch the inhabitants of the otherwise disturbed city sneak away a few moments of fun. At such times, they seem to forget the outside world and the tensions therein. For them, it’s a different Afghanistan inside the theater.

Read Siddiqui's entire blog post.

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

Employees of Ariana Cinema stand on film cans as they work inside a storage room in Kabul on May 3.

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

The audience at a Bollywood film screening at Ariana Cinema in Kabul on May 3.

Reuters reports -- Clouds of hashish and cigarette smoke float across a screen showing a dancing Pakistani woman, who evokes yowls of excitement from the hundreds of Afghan men passing their time in one of the capital's rundown cinemas.

Once a treasured luxury for the elite, Afghan film connoisseurs are deeply distressed by the dilapidated state of their cinemas, which reflect an industry on the brink of collapse from conflict and financial neglect.

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

A cinema goer watches a Pashto film at Cinema Pamir in Kabul on May 3.

"Before our audiences were educated. Now they are illiterates who understand nothing of cinema and come only to smoke (marijuana)," said Sayed Khalid Sadat, manager of Pameer cinema, which sits on a corner in the bustling centre of Kabul.

Kabul's cinemas show Pakistani films in Pashto, American action films and Bollywood to rowdy, largely unemployed crowds in pursuit of any distraction from their drab surroundings.

It's a far cry from the heyday of Afghan-produced film 40 years ago, when cinemagoers were required to wear suits or evening wear.

Continue reading.

See more photos of Afghanistan in our slideshow: A Nation at crossroads.

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

Ahmad Wali, a 15-year-old projectionist, works inside the projection room at Pamir Cinema in Kabul on May 2.

Danish Siddiqui / Reuters

Cinema goers rush into the theater before a show at Pamir Cinema in Kabul on May 4.

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By Sarah Max, Entrepreneur.com

Any time a bow and arrow play a prominent role in a Hollywood hit (think Braveheart, Lord of the Rings or Avatar) the 29-year-old Lancaster Archery Supply in Lancaster, Pa., gets a bump in business.

Charles Sykes / AP

Garrett Chamberlain participates in the youth archery league at Targeteers Archery in Saddle Brook, N.J on April 13, 2012. In schools and backyards, for their birthdays and out with their dads, kids are gaga for archery a month after the release of "The Hunger Games."

Charles Sykes / AP

Christa Mattessich, 7, retrieves her arrows after a round in the youth archery league at Targeteers Archery in Saddle Brook, N.J. Archery ranges around the country have enjoyed a steady uptick among kids of both sexes in the movie's lead-up, though 16-year-old heroin Katniss Everdeen, the archery ace seems to resonate with girls more than boys.

But this time, in the four weeks since the The Hunger Games hit the big screen, the 55-employee distributor and manufacturer of target archery equipment has seen sales increase in a “profound way,” says President Robert Kaufold, who chalks it up to tweens and teens interested in emulating the sharp-shooting heroine Katniss Everdeen.

Charles Sykes / AP

Nicole Donzella of Fair Lawn, N.J., 15, participates in the youth archery league at Targeteers Archery in Saddle Brook.

Indeed, the story has proven a fertile ground for entrepreneurs. Penned by Suzanne Collins, the plot involves a life-or-death game show in the post-apocalyptic future, where “tributes” from one of a dozen “districts” are pitted against the elements and each other. Full Story

Murray Close / Lionsgate Films

Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games."

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Dave Kettering / Debuque Telegraph Herald file via AP

People enjoy the "Field of Dreams" baseball field in rural Dyersville, Iowa.

“Field of Dreams” is one of the few movies that actually moved me to tears when I saw it in the theater. I know it’s corny, but it still does. I can’t stop myself from watching whenever I run across it while channel surfing late-night television. Who can resist ghosts, baseball and believing in the impossible?

It appears that the town where the movie was shot continues to wrestle with one of the central questions of the movie. Dyersville, Iowa is considering a $38 million plan to turn the farmland around the famous cornfield diamond into a marquee destination for traveling youth baseball teams. While the plan could provide an economic lift to the region, it also has unleashed an emotional battle as the town of 4,000 tries to decide if they should build it.

From the City of Dyersville website:

In 1982, screenwriter Phil Robinson became interested in the novel "Shoeless Joe."  He recognized the potential for this heartwarming story and looked for a setting for the film.  In the early months of 1988, Robinson came upon the Lansing farm near Dyersville and said, "That's it!  That's my farm!"  The movie produced was called "The Field of Dreams," starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones.  Today the site is well maintained and visited by many baseball enthusiasts.

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Ajay Verma / Reuters

Activists of radical Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) Hindu group shout slogans during a protest at the shooting site of the movie "Zero Dark Thirty" in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh on Friday. Hindu radicals in the city protested on Friday against the shooting of a film by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, on the grounds that the film-makers were portraying Pakistan on Indian soil.

Anil Dayal / AP

Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow, left, stands on the sets during the shooting for her upcoming film about Osama bin Laden in Chandigarh, India.

Reuters reports that the India set for director Kathryn Bigelow's film includes the flag of Pakistan:

The film-makers, denied permission to film in Pakistan, converted parts of Chandigarh to look like the Pakistani city of Lahore.

But for right-wing Hindus, the use of India to portray sworn enemy Pakistan was too much.

"They have made Chandigarh like Pakistan, as if it is Pakistan," said Vijay Bhardwaj, a leader of the radical Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) Hindu group.

"We strongly oppose this and we will not let them put Pakistani flags here and we will not let them shoot for the film."

AFP - Getty Images

Indian police stand outside shops adorned with temporary signs written in Urdu, Pakistan's official language, to be filmed for scenes depicting Pakistan's Abbottabad town.

AFP - Getty Images

Indian right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists shout slogans during a protest against filming scenes in the country depicting Pakistan's Abbottabad.

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Mark J. Terrill / AP

The cast of "The Help" accepts the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Jan. 29, in Los Angeles, Calif. From left, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek, Ahna O'Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Cicely Tyson and Jessica Chastain are seen onstage.

 Reuters reports:

The Screen Actors Guild on Sunday picked the actors in drama "The Help" as the top ensemble cast of 2011 and gave it two other awards for best lead actress and supporting actress, in a surprise over heavily favored silent movie romance "The Artist."

"The Help" earned three awards overall and "The Artist" only one for French actor Jean Dujardin as best actor in a drama for his role as a fading actor at the end of the talkies.

Full story: 'The Help' earns top honor at SAG Awards

Slideshow: Screen Actors Guild Awards

Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

Stars of film and TV, including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Alec Baldwin are among the celebrities to attend the festivities in Los Angeles.

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Larsen Haakon Mosvold / EPA

An audience of around 300 people gather for the outdoor premiere of U.S. director Wes Craven's movie "Scream 4" outside the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway on April, 15, 2011.

When should a movie studio retire a successful, but aging, franchise? Click here to read some suggestions from Today.com’s Mark Blankenship for the “Scream” franchise, or watch the movie trailer below.