Distribution
That indie article
I’ve been wondering what to do with the asinine piece that appeared in The Hollywood Reporter that seems to hang the failure of independent movies on their inability to get a major newspaper reviewer (assuming they haven’t been fired) to write about them. I had some good stuff, mostly vitriol and righteous indignation, about how [...]
WB chilly toward movies on Hulu
In a conversation with AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher, Warner Bros. SVP Jim Wuthrich said his studio would not be providing movies to Hulu.com any time soon despite the appearance of WB television programming there.
TV is one thing, Wuthrich says, and the site is great for showing off some shows and hopefully getting people to buy DVD [...]
I Am Legend “sizzle reel” and ads on YouTube
Warner Bros put a “sizzle reel” - basically a bunch of film clips set to a grand, sweeping score - for I Am Legend on YouTube to promote the movie’s release on home video.
The clip is alright. If nothing else it serves to show how well some scenes in the movie worked without any sort [...]
Nancy Drew gets bonus material on VOD
When Nancy Drew hits video-on-demand viewers will be enticed by a separate version of the movie that includes enhanced features, reports Variety.
The “Drew’s Clues” (O RLY?!?) version of the movie will be made available through VOD the same date as the movie is released on DVD. It will offer pop-up alerts on things that need [...]
Lionsgate adds iTunes copy on upcoming DVDs
Lionsgate is the latest studio to announce that, through a deal with Apple, it will include digital copies of two upcoming home video titles on those movies DVD releases.
Select copies of Rambo and The Eye, both on DVD and Blu-Ray will contain a digital copy of the movie that can be copied to iTunes on [...]
Chains tapping into desire for better movie experience
More and more exhibition chains are seeing the value in a premium movie-going experience, with the quality of the food and drink going up exponentially. The chains are embracing this after seeing the success a handful of independent houses have had by offering micro-brew beers and restaurant-quality food for a higher ticket price.
The changes are [...]
Studios willing to risk packing releases together in 2008
In their desire to put as many of their eggs in the basket of summer as possible, studios are willing to risk overwhelm the public with each weekend’s releases.
The summer of 2008 will see 25 major releases compared to 2007’s 18. That’s leading to a handful of weekends where flicks appealing to the same audience [...]
New Star Trek DVDs rumored to be coming
Well of course Paramount is going to re-release the Star Trek movie franchise on DVD in preparation for the new movie, the one being directed by J.J. Abrams. Was there really anyone who seriously doubted that? And if it’s true that some of the extras will be so lightweight as to include interview with cast [...]
Exhibitors get updated digital guidelines
I get why the National Association of Theater Owners has issued new guidelines for digital film exhibition. I do. There’s value in making sure that everyone is using compatible equipment and trying to steer member exhibitors away from making bad choices.
I just hope that they’re allowing for as much bottom-up communication as they are top-down [...]
Portable movie audience still small
The audience for long-form video like movies on home devices remains elusive according to a new report by the research firm the Diffusion Group.
The report says only about 10 percent of broadband customers have tried one of the handful of movie download services and that just one percent use them with any regularity.
The problem, according [...]
Shocker: Few people see Best Picture nominees
Oh yeah. It’s really surprising that this year’s Best Picture nominees are having trouble finding an audience. Real surprising, especially since these movies receive limited marketing support, even more limited distribution and generally are as hidden as it’s possible to make them and still consider them “released.”
Again, here’s the general formula:
Greenlight prestige project
Realize it has [...]
Embrace distributed content
The future of media is in distributed content, especially in the form of TV shows that are sent far and wide around the Internet, finding the people where they are instead of trying to drive people to the one official outlet.
That strategy is being used by a lot of TV networks and others as they [...]
Indie films look for ways to overcome distribution, marketing hurdles
Anne Thompson has a very cool story up at Variety about the troubles faced by independent movie producers in both distributing and marketing their non-mainstream fare.
The problem of finding distribution is in part being addressed by producers finding home video or online outlets that let people find their movies.
But letting the audience find the movies [...]
Mobile as the new short film distribution platform
Based on how things have developed so far, it’s natural that short films would find mobile devices as a new distribution platform. That opinion was proffered by actor and independent film supporter Robert Redford, who appeared at the Mobile World Congress with others.
The main hurdle toward turning this into a more viable business is the [...]
Clone Wars to get theatrical release
As has been widely reported, the first few episodes of “Star Wars: Clone Wars” are being sewn together and released theatrically as a feature. The movie will hit screens August 15th, meaning it’s avoiding a summer crowded with other, similar genre fare, including Indiana Jones 4, which Star Wars honcho George Lucas created and produced.
Like [...]
