tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post8263909333591842805..comments2023-12-11T15:35:23.779-08:00Comments on Pulp 2.0: 2008 Sez: "Eff You Theatrical Distribution!!!"Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-45118016130352431462009-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:002009-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00You only had to visit the Used Car Salesmen conven...You only had to visit the Used Car Salesmen convention that is AFM this year to know that theatrical distribution is heading into oblivion.<BR/><BR/>If the truth be told (which it isn't very often in this business), indie distribution has been oblivion for most indie filmmakers for years, anyway.<BR/><BR/>As you mentioned, possible returns beyond initial advances (if you're lucky!) are expensed to hell and back and you never see a cent, anyway.<BR/><BR/>Then you're supposed to feel grateful that you got a "theatrical". What utter bullshit! In some businesses it's called stealing. <BR/><BR/>In countries where there is a large component of government funding, the "theatrical" allure dies hard mainly because these agencies are not run by people with a finger on the current pulse. They're usually years behind where the new markets are going because they dwell in an insulated world, not a market.<BR/><BR/>For example, Australian funding bodies don't even recognize Direct-To-DVD movies as movies. They won't even create a category for them. In Japan, these have been legit for years. In the US, the majors have finally embraced them.<BR/><BR/>Broadband distribution and a type of simple but airtight encryption process will grow indie distribution and, hopefully, curtail piracy.<BR/><BR/>As long as the big boys don't achieve their aim of controlling the internet, there is a hope for the induie sector. If the big boys do get their way, we'll be right back where we started with an elite few anointed to carry the flame of filmmaking.<BR/><BR/>For mine, as soon as downloading a movie is as simple as pressing a button (and is a fast process), traditional indie distribution will become irrelevant (and producers/directors may start seeing some returns). I can't wait for that to happen!Phantom of Pulphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03684169251989469824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-38195586314327083372009-02-10T11:52:00.000-08:002009-02-10T11:52:00.000-08:00I understand that the the whole government funding...I understand that the the whole government funding issue is a big deal up there. <BR/><BR/>I think that requiring a theatrical screening for funding credit is an outmoded, archaic point-of-view that falls into my "indie film assholes" and "intelligentsia" comments in my opening paragraph. <BR/><BR/>Things will evolve. They must or they WILL die out. I personally want to back a filmmaker who makes a profit FAR MORE than I do a filmmaker who knows how to give a politician a paperwork "handjob" in order to finance his film. <BR/><BR/>The point isn't to look good on paper, but to look good onscreen (whether that's a laptop, tv or iphone). <BR/><BR/>And seriously, the more you demonstrate you can make a profit without a theatrical screening because you use new media, the more YOU WON'T EVEN NEED THE GOVERNMENT HANDOUT. People will be lining up to finance you. You won't be a filmmaker, you'll be a media maker, a new media business person.Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10931739.post-23621304929978139532009-02-10T11:36:00.000-08:002009-02-10T11:36:00.000-08:00Bill, great points as usual. A quick comment, thou...Bill, great points as usual. <BR/><BR/>A quick comment, though from outside the U.S. <BR/><BR/>I don't know about other jurisdictions, but in Canada, being considered a "professional" by the standards of government funding agencies like Telefilm does mean having had a film released or at least screened theatrically (although that can include festival screenings and sometimes even a second-run theatre you rent yourself for a premiere). <BR/><BR/>Otherwise your credits don't count towards the minimum required to qualify for funding. I know that government funding for movies is a highly debatable issue, but it is a real part of the equation up here, for a whole lot of people. <BR/><BR/>You're clearly right that onlne distribution is the future (and increasingly the present), but the transition is going to be tricky for a lot of Canadian creators.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02835818958230874412noreply@blogger.com