The announcement of a new pay-TV/ VOD/ Web 2.0/ Super-futuristic-total-entertainment-experience service from Viacom, Lionsgate, MGM, and Paramount is big news, but what’s giving industry analysts pause is the idea that the lifespan of a Hollywood movie is going to get a whole lot more compressed.  Channels like Showtime and HBO aren’t make the money they used to off TV premieres--they argue that new movies aren’t worth much anymore on TV, so they don’t want to pay the high licensing fees. So studios are taking back control over the twilight years of their films (before they become catalogue titles), as well as their delivery windows.  The fact is, nobody cares about the HBO premiere of a six month old movie.  Why not put the film on TV in two months?

So what does this mean for indies?  Well, for one thing, Showtime, HBO, STARZ, and their ilk are going to be looking for content.  That’s one opportunity. But another might be with the studios themselves.  If studios get the idea that the TV roll-out is part of their overall marketing campaign (the same way that a theatrical release becomes a loss leader), studios might become a lot more flexible in their ideas about how a film can reach an audience.  More stops on the studio tour mean more places for indies to get on.  Times are changing.

The situation between longtime frenemies the Geeks and Hollywood heat up in 2008.  Never before has a Hollywood slate catered so vigorously to the tastes of filmgoers of the comic con, fantasy, and sci-fi set. Sure, the geeks are bad on downloading movies (they’re downloading some right now) but they are also an audience: a real live film audience that goes to the theaters and will pay money just to see how badly Hollywood has screwed up their favourite franchise.  Even better, their extracurricular hobbies, such as blogging like mad about films that interest them, have basically acted as a template for how Hollywood has come to understand online marketing.

So here’s to you geeks and here’s to Hollywood.

Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming big geek films with breakdowns, ratings, and embedded trailers!

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"‘Geek Films’ Dominate Hollywood Slate in 2008: But Will Any of Them Be Any Good?"

SXSW 2008 Film Festival wrapped up this weekend, leaving in its wake a single tattered, oh so earnest, snapshot of Indie filmmaking.  If Sundance is the official word on the state of indie filmmaking, SXSW is what you’ll learn going to your local bar.  Getting down with SXSW is what it takes to get your ear close to the American independent film underground. Here’s a look at the Top 5 Key Trends that emerged from this year’s diverse group of fiction features and documentaries. 

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"The 5 Trends That Make SXSW 2008 the Indie Film Fest You Need to Know About"

SXSW Film took a backseat to the SXSW Interactive on the blogosphere. While film coverage has been few and far between, the Interactive component has, perhaps not surprisingly, engaged the minds and keypads of bloggers from all over.

The fest’s biggest news so far was Sunday’s keynote address by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Of interest was not his address per se but the manner in which interviewer Sarah Lacy alienated the entire crowd as the whole talk ended in heckling and chaos – and much Twittering.

However, if you’re actually interested in film...well, Variety has you covered:

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=sxsw

A brief note on the film fest’s opening: www.keyetv.com

A story that ran everywhere, basically an ode to the fest’s hip-ness: National Post

Laremy Legel gives some mini-reviews/grades to Secrecy, We Are Wizards and American Teen. We Are Wizards comes out on top, with the grand praise as one of the best films of 2008.

A review of the documentary Second Skin that finds the film, a look at people addicted to online multi-player games, “depressing”:

http://www.news.com/8301-13772_3-9889170-52.html?tag=blogFeed

South by Southwest Film Fest starts today with a flurry of film screenings and a treasure trove of panels and discussions. Here are a few picks from the festival’s opening weekend.

Films

Second Skin. World premiere of this much-buzzed doc that looks at the lives (or lack thereof) of some hardcore online gamers. Think of it as the Cinemania of the gaming set.

Sex Positive. Docs are really where it’s at this SXSW. Sex Positive is the story of AIDS activist Richard Berkowitz and his pioneering work in “inventing” safe sex.

Films on geeks and geek culture are the rage these days. We Are Wizards looks at the culture of Harry Potter fans and the imaginative and creative ways they engage with their super-fandom.

Panels / Workshops

As well as films, the festival has a ton of panels set up that look at every aspect of filmmaking, financing, distribution, etc. All well and good, but I would go and hang out at Arrested Development‘s Jeffery Tambor’s acting workshop just to see him live.

Long the cultural beat in the heart of Texas, Austin is just now enjoying its status as Indie film capital of America. As far back as Richard Linklater’s Slackers (1991), Austin has offered glimpses of a small but vibrant film scene, one that has now fully flourished. All the stars have aligned and Austin is the city to be in if you are a young filmmaker.

Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Every scene needs a venue. Austin has the best. Austinites may take this theater for granted but for those of us living in Muliplex hell, the Alamo sounds too awesome for words. Food and beer, watching movies in a mature environment, with programming that covers everything form first run to eccentric audiovisual events. Want to watch Showgirls with David Schmader’s live running commentary? You can at the Alamo. Am I out for a movie, or have I died and gone to heaven?

2. SXSW
Every scene needs a festival. Austin’s South By Southwest is the little fest that could—and did. Already having proven its bankability—2002’s Spellbound broke at SXSW and went on to an Oscar nom—SXSW gets better every year and has yet to sacrifice any of its credibility. Programming at the fest manages to ride the fine line between hipness and accessibility, providing a vibrant venue for emerging filmmakers.

3. University Of Texas Film Institute
Every scene needs a draw for the local talent and UTFI may be one of Austin’s biggest as far as film is concerned. The institute has been aggressive in looking for opportunities for their students, partnering with Burnt Orange Productions and giving students a chance to work on feature length films (2005’s The Quiet was a part of this initiative).

4. Filmmaking Frenzy
Every scene needs a website. This is one of the best online sites for young filmmakers. Constant competitions are running with videos posted online. If you live in the area you can check out Frenzy events at the Alamo; if you don’t, check out the site for a dose of inspired filmic antics.

5. Congress Avenue Bats
Every scene needs its bat cave. Under Austin’s Congress Avenue bridge is the world’s largest urban bat hangout. The bats have even spawned their own music fest—Batfest. Peak seasons sees over 1 Million bats congregate and at sunset these little devils whoosh out from under the bridge, creating a spectacle that is equal parts inspiring, beautiful and a little creepy. A bat colony, it’s just so cool.

Documentary trends are difficult to nail down as the sheer proliferation of content keeps the subject matter broad, but a mini-trend seems to be emerging in ought-8’s documentary slate.  A number of recent pics are focusing on the addictions, habits, and casual self-destruction or escapism that accompany modern life.  Documentary’s revenge on fiction or an answer to the age of ‘truthiness’?

Recently acquired by Magnolia Pictures, Bigger Stronger Faster, a standout doc at this year’s Sundance, takes a hard and honest look at steroid use in the steroid nation.

And two upcoming documentaries at SXSW (which stars this Friday) Second Skin and Super High Me, take a look at, respectively, massively multiplayer online games and marijuana use.

All of these films are not interested in judgment or cautionary tales as much as they are invested in looking at real-world ramifications of “bad behavior.” What is coming across in the films is that every day in every way, people are looking for some way to check out of reality.

Stage6, long a resource for high quality video online has closed up shop as of yesterday. Reasons for the closure are multifarious. Here is an excerpt from an e-mail by Stage6 guru Spinner:

“So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the short answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it’s really as simple as that.”

Geekazine chimes in on the closure and the looming closure of another online resource Bloglines, which seems also to be a casualty of no-profits. 

When I was invited to start blogging for IPEX, most of my film reading came from the trades: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, IMDb Pro, Worldscreen, and C21, with the odd issue of Film Comment or Cahiers du cinema thrown in when I found the time to feel cultured. Over the last month, I’ve really enjoyed the chance to catch up on the state of online film blogging and am pleased to report that it’s a wild and woolly world out there with a lot of gems and really cutting edge information if you know where to look.  This week, I’m happy to present a satisfactorily comprehensive directory of film blogs, categorized under headings that make sense to me.

Coming soon: I get all Andrew Sarris on the list and offer my top picks, and top picks for industry professionals who are looking for the kind of alternative industry perspective blogs can provide.

Have I missed your blog?  I’d love to visit it, so please leave me a comment.

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"The Film Professional’s Guide to the Blogosphere: A directory of film blogs"

In 2007, retail behemoth Wal-Mart announced it was bringing in HD-DVD players made in China that would be retailing for around $200. In a nutshell, Wal-Mart’s support of HD seemed to be ringing the death knell for Blu-Ray. However, in a somewhat surprising turn-around, over the last month a number of studios jumped ship, Wal-Mart’s ship that is, and backed the great Blu-Way, leading to Best Buy and then Wal-Mart’s decision to also go Blu.

The odd thing here is that it seems Wal-Mart might have caved to studio pressure on this one, which would be a momentous role reversal indeed. Wal-Mart is used to calling the shots. Oh, well, war does strange things to a man. And, apparently, to America’s Most Massive, and possibly asinine, retail outlet.

We’ve already talked about the history and meaning of ‘sweding’ and we took a quick look at the marketing campaign intent on slipping New Line Cinema’s brand into Webster’s dictionary. But what about videos!

Here are my favourite sweded videos for your delectation. Believe me, after watching the critical amount (4 or 5), it’s the real oddballs that win you over.

Die Hard

and Ghost

I give it to these guys if only for the sing-along soundtrack—nice touch.

See the Sweding YouTube channel here.

The Sundance Film Festival, though firmly in its mid-twenties and suffering all the expected crises, is one of the world’s most important cinema venues. It’s been said that what plays well up in the mountains of Park City this year will be trickling into the Hollywood mainstream by the summer after next.  If this is true, the 2008 iteration of the festival leaves us with a lot to think about.  Here are 5 things to chew on as American movies face what is likely a pivotal year.

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"Sundance Film Festival 2008: Five Key Trends and Must-Knows for Indie Directors and Producers"

Esteemed and often peeved Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has done the heavy lifting, and here are the numbers he’s crunched from Film Comment‘s Annual List of films played theatrically in the United States:

Major studios released 119 films

Specialty divisions of major studios released 49 more

Independent distributors were behind nearly 500

Films playing at Festivals accounted for the remaining 1,600-plus titles

Total: 2,400 titles

With that many films, of course, it’s impossible to see them all.  That makes the anointed best of the year either really impressive, or not impressive at all.

[Source Jonathan Rosenbaum’s Year End Piece from the Chicago Reader.  Yes, Mr. Rosenbaum plans to retire from film reviewing at the end of February 2008 and we wish him well. A truly great critic and a tireless prospector for the rarest of cinematic gems.]

Finally, a film festival that targets those of us with limited attention spans.  We may be easily distracted, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t discerning. Check out Renderyard’s One Minute Challenge Online Film festival.  You can submit through Withoutabox, and there is a winner every month.

Here’s the December 2007 winner...very likable, quite buzzable, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome:

Shhhh: Short Film Festival Winner

Renderyard Film Competition 1 Minute Challenge

This ongoing series looks at film and video licensing industry trends.


For Distributors
PBS, that unfairly ridiculed U.S. bastion of public broadcasting and stodginess, has always been a cutting edge source for children’s entertainment. One such stunning experiment in multiplatform entertainment is PBS Kids Sprout. This 24 hour channel of bite-sized Kids entertainment (drawn from classic and time-tested properties) mixed with original segments that speak to toddlers about their day, is supplemented by a VOD service and a web portal inviting kiddie interaction with the linear channel and advice for Moms and other caregivers. Revolutionary place-shifting pedagogy or breeding ground for pint-sized TV and Internet addiction? Programming that follows and comments upon a toddler’s hectic schedule is meant to encourage making time to go out and play, read a book, quiet down, and cuddle up: in short, the channel wants Kids to have “Sprout-type experience even when the TV is turned off.” Now that’s good branding.

The channel has licensed many well known kids titles, as well as lesser known foreign faves like The Hoobs, a Channel 4 commissioned/Jim Henson Company Produced series.

For License Buyers
When web savvy toddlers get a bit too old for Barney, it's time for them to start thinking about their portfolios. Check out this superb 30’ HD Kids license distributed by John Mclean Media:





Biz Kids - Distributed by John Mclean Media


For Independent Producers
That buzzing you've been hearing is the sound of Juno, the winning teen-pregnancy comedy produced by Mandate Productions and distributed by Fox Searchlight, earning 16.2 million this weekend and now completely groomed for awards season glory. Zero surprise if blogger-screenwriter-stripper Diablo Cody wins a nomination for best original screenplay. Very well received on the festival circuit (it was the opening film recently at the Barbados International Film Festival), Juno has slowly and stealthily grossed over 50 million this month. There is a good podcast available on NPR which gives some insight into the production (Juno's not really that Indie).

Slate.com has some words about this year's unwanted pregnancy theme.