FilmmakerIQ.com

• Da_Cat said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  If you are an Indy filmmaker, and you are making movies that have a decent chance to been seen in theaters, even if you have connections to distributors, a good producers rep can give your film the chance to be seen by the people who make the decisions. Now with this new distribution company, this becomes even more important because there is no previous history with them unless you have personally worked for the key people before.

  This is from DeadlineHollywood.com

  he country’s two largest theatrical exhibition chains, AMC and Regal, this morning officially launched Open Road, a venture that will acquire and distribute films that can play in wide release on about 2000 screens. Distribution veteran Tom Ortenberg will run the company. He expects to have three pictures out starting this fall. “Once we’re up and running, we will be distributing 8 to 10 films per year, and possibly more,” Ortenberg said.

  The move had been expected since the Sundance Film Festival in January. Open Road joins a crowding field of companies targeting wide release finished films. What’s unusual here is that two theater chains are behind what Ortenberg termed a “straight content play.” The two entities control between 5,000 and 6,000 screens in the U.S. (Regal is slightly larger), and between them own 31% of the theaters in the U.S. that are responsible for about 45% of the theatrical gross.Theater chains like AMC and Regal have railed while big studios increasingly try to shrink the theatrical windows on the event films they supply. This venture gives the chains a little opportunity to push back: when those same studios supply stinkers that barely pack theaters or when big films wind down and try to squeeze out those final drops of theatrical revenue, AMC and Regal can conceivably allocate some of those theaters to their own product.

  While the largest allocation of P&A is the inevitable TV spend, the ability to gain in-theater promotion for films that will get at least 25% of theater penetration in the houses that own the venture should give those films promotional opportunities that others have to pay for. Ortenberg said he was unsure exactly how those promotional opportunities would manifest themselves, but they are certainly there. He said he was excited by the possibilities of an opportunity offered him by the exhibitors that are 50/50 partners in Open Road.

  Films are never totally finished……
  ….. they just get a release date!
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• Simon Hosick said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  Finally, someone is taking on the big guys. This flies in the face of what I’ve heard about chains shying away from platform releases.

  A big question will be what films are they going to show?
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• Da_Cat said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  @Dark_Water said:
  Finally, someone is taking on the big guys. This flies in the face of what I’ve heard about chains shying away from platform releases.

  A big question will be what films are they going to show?

  I have been actively involved in this since 2006, One of our films (that got wiped out with the credit crunch 2 weeks before principle photography) had equity participation from 2 theater chains. With the amount of screens, this is a way to increase their revenue streams, and it is also a defensive play against what the studios are doing to them with the shortening of the windows to DVD/VOD.

  Now if a studio movie drops off dramatically, look to them to dump them and put their own product in.

  the studios should have remembered to “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”

  Now the Genie is out of the bottle, look out for more radical changes.

  And this bodes very well for the indy filmmakers. You still have to make a very good film to get the shot, but alternative methods are expanding rapidly. Rumors about Redbox starting to offer Indy movies other venues have been surfacing lately…

  Read here
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• Sean Farrington said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  Would the marketing and promotion for these movies, the ones swapped out for the waning studio pic, be only in house (ie posters and pre-show trailers)? Or would there be some form of regional marketing?

  Christian Screenwriter and Filmmaker
  Sean Farrington’s Demo Reel
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• Simon Hosick said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  “Unique about our consumer is that they … consume a lot of movies, and so it may be a different consumer base than the kind of core Netflix one that wants to stream a lot of TV,”

  I’m learning so much today, Open Road, UltraViolet. I’m going to a filmmakers night tonight and this will be the topic of discussion.

  Thanks Cat.
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• Da_Cat said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  @stratplaya said:
  Would the marketing and promotion for these movies, the ones swapped out for the waning studio pic, be only in house (ie posters and pre-show trailers)? Or would there be some form of regional marketing?

  There would definitely be advertising, and not necessarily regional, It might be National but selectively targeted. They are looking to acquire between 8 to 12 movies a year. Including purchasing completed films, or even from scripts, Remember that AMC still has the 40 screen indy screening options also, for the films that don’t quite make it to this level. I look for some tighter integration between the 2. I am sure they will want all rights through syndication. The synergy of being able to market your own product on the screens and receive the lion’s share of the gate is something not to be overlooked. It will be interesting to see what happens, I don’t anticipate them spending 30 mil for P&A but I am sure they will spend millions to put people into the seats. And to own the dvd distribution rights, is a major payoff for all their efforts, Dvd is usually where a film actually becomes profitable for a movie studio. I anticipate they will be profitable much earlier in the time line, I think most of their films will be profitable before the end of their theatrical runs.
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• Simon Hosick said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  @stratplaya said:
  Would the marketing and promotion for these movies, the ones swapped out for the waning studio pic, be only in house (ie posters and pre-show trailers)? Or would there be some form of regional marketing?

  It would need to be both.

  A friend of mine broke down his customers into a few who selectively go by reviews, those who go by advertising and make up the opening box office and those who go every week, the loyal who only choose what to see by the poster.

  Covering those three bases gets you an audience but that’s a whole different topic.
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• 8thSamurai said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  This is really interesting – stuff that’s not talked about enough, but we creators REALLY need to know. Thanks for this!

  http://digitalisdreaming.blogspot.com/

  http://twitter.com/#!/DigitalisVitae
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• Sean Farrington said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  The way it’s being described here shows potential for a very real and constructive/destructive power shift. Thanks for the insight :)
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• Da_Cat said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  Just to keep you all aware of what is happening with distribution from The Hollywood Reporter comes information of the test that Warner Bros is doing, with streaming on Facebook.. and how far Netflix dropped.

  No wonder the theater chains want a bigger hand in distribution. It could become a very major part of their revenue streams. I bet it will be more than 8 to 12 movies a year. And a FYI my friend knows of one person already turned down by them (at the script stage) with B+ talent attached. You will still need to bring your A-Game if you want to play with these guys…
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• 8thSamurai said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  How about something with a whole ton of B- talent and a platform?
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• Da_Cat said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  @8thSamurai said:
  How about something with a whole ton of B- talent and a platform?

  probably not, but it might work with other distributors, Just remember the theaters chains are not altruistic, they will take a chance if they feel there is a good chance of making money or at the very least “breaking even” which in studio parlance is really about making money while the books show that I didn’t. Put yourself in there shoes, they are only going to get 12 movies max,, They got to go with the ones that feel will make them a ton of money. I do feel that if a film that is in the AMC indy release becomes a hit with thousands per screen, I look for the distribution side to shepard it along to even greater releasing. The saving grace is that they can be more ninble in their marketing and advertising, and can narrowcast the ads to their audiences.
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• 8thSamurai said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  Totally understand. I have a niche target audience (potential for spill) and target market cities where my research leads me to believe it’ll have a strong audience. I also know how to find my audience online, and how to get them interested.
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• Dennis said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  @Da_Cat said:
  And to own the dvd distribution rights, is a major payoff for all their efforts, Dvd is usually where a film actually becomes profitable for a movie studio.

  This is why Tom Ortenberg is such a good choice. He did a great job in building Lionsgate’s library.

  Now With Half The Calories Of Regular Bullshit!
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• Dennis said 1 year, 2 months ago:

  Producer’s Reps have been around since before Ed Wood, but over the last decade or more the Reps have changed.

  In the early to mid 90’s one rep stood tall over all others, John Pierson (Helped to start the careers of Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and Michael Moore).

  Credits:

  The Blair Witch Project (phase one instigator)
  1996 American Job (producer’s representative)
  1994 Crumb (documentary) (producer’s representative)
  1994 Go Fish (producer’s representative)
  1994 Clerks. (czar of representation)
  1993 My Life’s in Turnaround (producer’s representative)
  1991 Slacker (producer’s representative – uncredited)
  1989 Roger & Me (documentary) (producer’s representative)
  1988 The Thin Blue Line (documentary) (producer’s representative – uncredited)
  1986 She’s Gotta Have It (producer’s representative)
  1986 Working Girls (producer’s representative)
  1986 Parting Glances (producer’s representative)

  Today Producer’s Reps have become much more political and segmented, like Jeff Skoll. There has also been a big blurring of the line between Producer and Producer’s Rep
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