A Press Release From the Not-Too-Distant Future

The following press release was meant to go out this coming September, but apparently a draft was accidentally left in a bar on Madison Avenue, and immediately found its way to the web.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2010

NEW SONY TELEVISIONS TO BE PROTECTED FROM PROBLEMATIC CONTENT
NBC UNIVERSAL PLATFORM NO LONGER SUPPORTED

Sony Corporation announced today that its new line of LCD televisions, to be introduced later this month, would have built-in protection against what it termed “problematic content.” Sir Howard Stringer, Sony’s Chairman, CEO and President said “Sony’s goal is to create an environment where consumers can trust that what they are getting is worthy of the TV set it is being played upon.” Right out of the box, all content from NBC Universal will be blocked due to what Sony is calling “its instability.”

In a lengthy public memo elaborating on the reasons for the new strategy, Stringer said, “Sony has had a long history of working with NBC. In fact, every TV we’ve ever built could get NBC programming. However, there are the issues of reliability, security and performance, and NBC’s programming fails on all three fronts. NBC’s late night schedule is just one example of why Sony has determined that the network is not a stable platform.”

In reponse to criticism that Sony is creating a “closed” platform, Stringer responded that Continue reading “A Press Release From the Not-Too-Distant Future”

A Cautionary Tale for Filmmakers

A few years ago, I was involved with a lovely little film called “Red Doors.” After a stint on the film festival circuit, we sold the film to a company called Polychrome Pictures, and that was when the trouble began. Let’s just say that the company never lived up to its obligations; never paid the advance, kept trying to renegotiate the deal, and on and on.

Finally Polychrome and its principals went bankrupt, and there is still pending litigation on behalf of a number of filmmakers who were also screwed by these folks.

Today I discovered that one of those filmmakers has posted all the transcripts of the bankruptcy hearings. It makes for fascinating reading (read from the bottom up). Check it out at http://kissesandcaroms.com/blog/?cat=1

Leave comments after the break… Continue reading “A Cautionary Tale for Filmmakers”

Some Useful Wisdom From Branding Experts

Last week, I went to a conference at the Columbia Business School, and I saw a presentation by Columbia Professor and branding expert David Rogers. He was giving a summary of major themes the emerged from a recent branding conference that he organized. In the aftermath of “The Conversation” and “DIY Days,” I wanted to share these ideas with the indie film community as we grapple with our own branding strategies going forward. I’ll just tick off the major points here, and you’ll have to go to David’s blog to see the explanations.

1. Stop thinking of customers as individuals. Start thinking of them as networks.

2. No customer is statistically insignificant.

3. Be the influencer. Continue reading “Some Useful Wisdom From Branding Experts”

A Peek at the Process of Theater Booking – Courtesy of the Tropic Cinema

There’s been a lot of speculative discussion lately about how to change the way films are booked into theaters. There have been experiments like Moviemobz in Brazil, and proposals like Critical Mass Ticketing from withoutabox. Screening request tools are being created by Brian Chirls and separately by the OpenIndie team. In that context, I thought I’d share the following link from the Emerging Cinemas venue in Key West, the Tropic Cinema. The article describes in great detail the complexity of booking an independent theater. Perhaps this can start a larger discussion about how to reconcile our urge to create new models of theatrical distribution with the realities of running a theater.
Thanks to the Tropic for sharing this.

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=111195254058

Comments after the jump…

Continue reading “A Peek at the Process of Theater Booking – Courtesy of the Tropic Cinema”

More conversation on “The Conversation”

It seems that my kickoff speech at “The Conversation” had at least one comment that seems to be causing some distress. I said (quoting a business school professor) that “film has never been a business…it’s a hobby.” Let me clarify why I brought this up, and perhaps it will ease some of your minds. 

First, I WAS QUOTING SOMEONE ELSE. As much as I don’t mind being provocative, this was the point of view of a third party, who was not judging the individuals in the room, but was making an observation that the creation of content has never been a good, consistent business…a hard concept to argue with.

My point in bringing it up was that as much as my entire life has been a quest for a business model that reconciles my urge to promote quality work with a need to make money, that goal has been nothing if not elusive. The biggest challenge we face as filmmakers and marketers is sustainability.

I also made another point, which is that success can only be measured relative to what you really want. The majority of serious filmmakers that I know are making films for reasons other than making money. They are expressing themselves through their art, or making a political point, or both. Does that constitute a hobby? Perhaps that’s too pointed a word. Some people have complained that it makes it seem frivolous.  Again, it wasn’t my word.

Listening throughout the day to the various panels and speakers, I don’t see a clear through line to some new dawn. I see a lot of cross-currents that make me feel that such conversations are important, as much for batting around new ideas as for some kind of reality check.

I’ll have more thoughts about the cross-currents I was feeling, but that is for another day. Feel free to comment after the jump. Continue reading “More conversation on “The Conversation””

Art Cinemas Dying? No Way!

In case you thought that we were approaching some kind of art film apocolypse, I have good news. Art film theaters are thriving, wherever they are managed by people who really know what they are doing, and who really care. I’d like to offer up one example.  The Miami Beach Cinematheque, one of the venues on our Emerging Cinemas Network, has just announced plans to move into new, larger quarters. This is great news not just because it shows that such an institution can still thrive in the age of i-stuff, but the increase in seating capacity will enable larger grosses for distributors out of a market that should be one of the best in the country. Check out the link below and be blown away.

http://miamibeachfilmsociety.memberlodge.org/new-mbc-coming-soon

You can comment after the jump… Continue reading “Art Cinemas Dying? No Way!”

Kicking off the Conversation

The following is the outline of the kickoff speech I gave at “The Conversation,” a conference on the future of independent film at Columbia University. Sorry that it’s missing the adlibs…maybe someone taped it.

On behalf of the Columbia University School of the Arts and the Columbia Business School, I’d like to welcome you all to our campus. If you haven’t been here before, I’m sure you are a bit shocked to see that a place like this exists right in the middle of Manhattan. It’s a great place to live and to learn. I want to thank Daisy Nam at the School of the Arts and Hollis O’Rourke at the Business School for making this day possible.

When Scott Kirshner put the word out that he wanted to find a place in New York to hold this event, I told him right away that I wanted to bring it to Columbia. The reasons why are a bit complicated, but I thought they might be a good starting point for the discussion that will be going on all day. Continue reading “Kicking off the Conversation”

The Hierarchy of Contemporary Communication

I’m constantly amazed at how many people have such a hard time catching on to the various forms of available communication, and don’t realize what is appropriate usage for each of them. There are ways of reaching out to people that require very little research to find out an address, and those are the places least likely to get a response. On the other hand, one can easily abuse having access to someone’s cell phone number or email address. For what it’s worth, here is my assessment of the priority given to the various forms of communication…

1. The Telephone: Yes, you read that right. The phone is still the best way to reach out to someone with urgency. I went to a conference recently where they put up a slide that said, “You can’t get milk from a cow by sending an email.” If you need an urgent answer, pick up the phone. Continue reading “The Hierarchy of Contemporary Communication”

Interview for the Workbook Project

Below is an interview that I did with Lance Weiler for the Workbook Project about what we are doing at Emerging Pictures, and how I think we could potentially be part of the solution for theatrical distribution of independent films.  If you don’t know about the Workbook Project, and all the transmedia work being done by Lance, you should check it out at www.workbookproject.com.

UPDATE: Unfortunately the Workbook Project website is no longer with us.

You can comment after the break… Continue reading “Interview for the Workbook Project”

Another New Breed Video

Here’s another video in the New Breed series, featuring yours truly.

NEW BREED PARK CITY – Exploring the Solutions, Part 2 from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.

Make sure you check out the whole series at www.workbookproject.com, and feel free to leave comments after the break. Continue reading “Another New Breed Video”