Apple’s iPad invasion: First stop, Hollywood

Steve Jobs appeared at the Oscars last night looking radiant in a strapless Giorgio Armani Prive organza evening gown with a side train accented by Swarovski crystals.

Oh, sorry, that was Jennifer Lopez. My bad.

[ Before Apple can reshape Hollywood, the print industry is looking for a lifeline from the iPad first | Stay up to date on all Robert X. Cringely’s observations with InfoWorld’s Notes from the Underground newsletter. ]

(Though Jobs could very well have been in that gown too, along with Marc Anthony and half of The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. There was enough J. Lo to go around for everybody. If she were a commuter train, her engine would be arriving at its final destination before her caboose even left the station.)

But I digress. Yes, Steve-o really was at the Academy Awards ceremony, looking dapper in a classic black tux, though I’d bet $50 he had a black turtleneck on underneath it. Marketing dude Wayne Sutton was apparently the first to spot Jobs entering the Kodak Theater, and his squeals of excitement echoed across Twitter, even in plain text.

The point here, such as it is: Hollywood has officially been taken over by the geeks — and not just James Cameron and his army of blue-skinned cartoon cats. There have always been techies making movie magic. ET didn’t really fly that bicycle. I’m talking about the business side of geekdom: the decision makers. That’s what’s changed.

Jobs’ understated appearance at Hollywood’s biggest party was his way of announcing that the nerds are driving the bus, and all you pretty people need to step to the rear.

He is, of course, the world’s largest holder of Disney stock, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of his $5 billion net worth. That came as a result of selling Pixar to Disney four years ago, after 20 years of helping those talented folk change how films are made. So he may have just been there to help his old Pixar pals celebrate the success of “Up,” which won two Oscars, including Best Animated Feature Film.

But I think it was deeper and more symbolic than that.

Not coincidentally — because there are no coincidences in Jobs World — the Oscar broadcast also saw the debut of the first iPad commercials , which brought forth its own Category 5 tweet storm.

As those ads amply demonstrate, the iPad is a content-delivery device — possibly the first gadget to deliver every kind of content possible, from newspapers and books to movies and video games, to any location anywhere within reach of an Internet connection. It won’t be the last, by any means, but everything else is already in catch-up mode.

So Steve’s message to the gowned and tuxedoed assemblage boils down to this: You make the content (or at least some of it), I’ll deliver it. And I’ll create another $10 billion-a-year market in the process.

There’s always been tension between Hollywood and the consumer electronics industry. One side wants to control everything and dictate how people can consume its content; the other side wants universal standards and wide-open innovation. So far, the only geek macher who’s been able to bend Hollywood’s aging mandarins to his will has been the Man in the Black Turtleneck. No longer an outsider, he’s now a player — bigger and badder than ever, and with a brand-new bionic liver.

Who was the richest person in attendance? Who has the most influence and commands the biggest audience? Who’s the least bound to Hollywood’s old ways of doing business? The answer to those questions is the same.

It is truly revenge of the nerds. That’s something any geek can be proud of.

What do you think — can an army of geeks change the entertainment industry? What should they do first? Post your thoughts below or email me: cringe@infoworld.com.

This article, “Apple’s iPad invasion: First stop, Hollywood,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Robert X. Cringely’s Notes from the Field blog and follow the latest developments with Apple and the iPad on InfoWorld.com.